(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 23 May 2000 ARTICLE 19 press release: MALAWIAN MEDIA RIGHTS ACTIVIST RECEIVES DEATH THREATS OVER “MEDIA DISINFORMATION” ALLEGATIONS ARTICLE 19 today condemned the thinly-veiled death threats received recently by journalist and media rights activist Rob Jamieson. Numerous anonymous telephone callers have warned him of fatal consequences if he […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is a 23 May 2000 ARTICLE 19 press release:
MALAWIAN MEDIA RIGHTS ACTIVIST RECEIVES DEATH THREATS OVER “MEDIA DISINFORMATION” ALLEGATIONS
ARTICLE 19 today condemned the thinly-veiled death threats received recently by journalist and media rights activist Rob Jamieson. Numerous anonymous telephone callers have warned him of fatal consequences if he continues to distribute ARTICLE 19âs report on media coverage of the June 1999 parliamentary and presidential elections.
The report, published in March 2000, alleges that two media “disinformation task forces” were established by the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) during the election campaign to ensure that the state media solidly reflected its views.
One anonymous caller referred to the notorious “Mwanza case”, in which four prominent Malawian politicians died in 1983, stating that a similar “accident” could be arranged. Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19, said today: “Rob Jamieson was a leading figure in the ARTICLE 19 Malawi election media monitoring project during the period February-June 1999. We believe that the report which resulted from the project is an important contribution to the debate about how to sustain and consolidate Malawiâs democracy. These anonymous threats are a serious attack on that democracy. We are confident that all right-thinking Malawians will join us in condemning them.”
ARTICLE 19 is calling on the Malawian authorities to track down these anonymous telephone callers and bring them to justice.
Notes to Editors:
1. For a copy of the report At the Crossroads: Freedom of Expression in Malawi, ARTICLE 19, March 2000, see the ARTICLE 19 website, www.ARTICLE19.org, or contact the office.
2. For further information contact Jon Lunn at ARTICLE 19: Tel. +44 20 7278 9292. E-mail: africa@article19.org
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For further information, contact Katherine Huxtable, Press Officer, ARTICLE 19, 33 Islington High St., London N19LH, U.K. tel: +44 207 278 9292, fax: +44 207 713 1356, e-mail: africa@article19.org, Internet: http://www.article19.org
