(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 27 February 2004 ARTICLE 19 press release: ARTICLE 19 ANALYSIS OF TANZANIAN MEDIA POLICY ARTICLE 19 last week published an analysis of the Tanzanian government’s Information and Broadcasting Policy (1). The Policy contains a number of commendable commitments, including to bring Tanzanian law and practice into line with […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 27 February 2004 ARTICLE 19 press release:
ARTICLE 19 ANALYSIS OF TANZANIAN MEDIA POLICY
ARTICLE 19 last week published an analysis of the Tanzanian government’s Information and Broadcasting Policy (1). The Policy contains a number of commendable commitments, including to bring Tanzanian law and practice into line with international standards. Other commitments, however, appear to contradict this, as does a recent law on telecommunications.
The Tanzanian government adopted a new Information and Broadcasting Policy in October 2003, the culmination of several years’ work by a broad coalition of stakeholders, including government representatives, to this end. The Policy is generally progressive in outlook and seeks, as a guiding objective, to create an enabling environment for the media. It contains a number of positive specific recommendations, including a commitment to promote an independent and diverse media sector and to review all disputed laws. At the same time, the Policy includes some provisions which are not in line with international standards.
ARTICLE 19 welcomes many of the commitments in the Policy and looks forward to their being fully implemented. At the same time, we have concerns about some of the commitments, as well as about some matters which have been left out. Our concerns with the Policy include the following:
* its scope, which includes the Internet and even leaflets and billboards;
* the failure to commit to transforming government media into public service media;
* the continuation of registration of newspapers;
* the failure to promote independent bodies, particularly for broadcast regulation;
* a number of vague and excessively broad content restrictions; and
* the failure to address the issue of media concentration.
In May 2003, the government adopted the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority Act, 2003. This law not only fails to take the Policy into account, having been adopted just prior to it, but also breaches the right to freedom of expression in several important respects, including by establishing regulatory bodies for broadcasting which lack independence.
ARTICLE 19 urges the Tanzanian authorities to implement the positive provisions in the Policy but, at the same time, to amend it to take into account the issues noted above. We also urge the authorities to repeal the new telecommunications law or at least to amend it so as to make it consistent with the Policy as well as guarantees of freedom of expression.
1. The Submission is available on the ARTICLE 19 website at http://www.article19.org/docimages/1724.doc
