(MFWA/IFEX) – The following is an MFWA press release: THE GAMBIA MEDIA UNDER SIEGE A proposed Criminal Code Amendment Bill, which the government-dominated, and controlled, National Assembly is set to rubber-stamp into law, is perhaps the most ominous evidence yet that the government of President Yaya Jammeh is determined to kill off the independent media […]
(MFWA/IFEX) – The following is an MFWA press release:
THE GAMBIA MEDIA UNDER SIEGE
A proposed Criminal Code Amendment Bill, which the government-dominated, and controlled, National Assembly is set to rubber-stamp into law, is perhaps the most ominous evidence yet that the government of President Yaya Jammeh is determined to kill off the independent media and limit the space for freedom of expression in The Gambia.
Media freedom, freedom of expression, and the diversity and pluralism of views and the media are guaranteed and reinforced in several provisions of the 1997 Constitution, notably Sections 25, 207 and 208. However, the relentless application of arcane decrees and provisions (such as the Telegraph Stations Act of 1913), the continued promulgation of restrictive laws (such as the National Media Commission Act of 2002), and the sheer perpetration of impunity (such as the continued forceful closure of Citizen FM radio station, contrary to a High Court ruling) put media freedom and freedom of expression under siege. And now, the imminent passage into law of the proposed Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill by an acquiescent National Assembly (which has only three members from the opposition) must raise urgent concerns about the fate of media rights and freedom of expression in The Gambia.
Contrary to government claims that the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill 2004 intends to “lay down the basis for a free and independent media”, the gazetted bill outlines imprisonment terms of not less than six months, without the option of a fine, for first time offenders for “seditious and libellous” publications. Furthermore, subsequent offenders may be sentenced to not less than three years in jail, without the option of a fine, and any media used in the alleged seditious publication “shall be forfeited to the State.”
The amendments also purport to expand the original definition of libel under the Principal Act, and to broaden the scope of actions or expressions that would be liable to criminal prosecution.
Since ex-Sergeant Yaya Jammeh (who first seized power via military coup d’état in 1994) was forced to return the country to constitutional democratic rule in 1996, the government has sought to undermine the constitutional guarantees for media freedom, and has resorted to both legislated restrictions and physical intimidation to censure and muzzle the independent media and journalists in the country. In 2002, the government purported to satisfy the constitutional requirement for an independent institution which would promote “the impartiality, independence and professionalism of the media” by passing the National Media Commission (NMC) Act (Act 2002, No. 7). Ironically, the Act was conferred with far-reaching and totalitarian powers to censure, suspend or revoke the licenses of journalists and the media. The Commission could also reprimand, fine, and even sentences journalists to terms of imprisonment.
Consequently, the Gambia Press Union (GPU), together with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and other international human rights organisations, led a sustained campaign of protests and court challenges, for a repeal of the obnoxious Act. The GPU insisted that journalists should be allowed to constitute their own, self-regulatory, mechanism as envisaged by the 1997 Constitution of the country.
On October 20, 2004, the Minister for Information and Communication, Dr. Amadou Janneh, announced that the controversial NMC Act would “shortly” be repealed by parliament.
On Monday, December 13, the National Assembly finally repealed the NMC Act. But, there is still no respite for the media. The National Assembly, on the same day, passed into law legislation entitled the “Newspaper Amendment Act 2004”. The Act effectively nullifies the existing registrations of all media establishments in the country, and requires them to make fresh registrations with the Registrar General’s office within two weeks of the coming into force of the law. At the same time, all private media houses are required to post a 500,000 dalasis (about US$16,665) bond, an increase of 400 percent from the previous 100,000 dalasis.
This new law, coupled with the imminent passage of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill, effectively derogates from all the gains made for media freedom and freedom of expression in The Gambia and West Africa as a whole.
Prof Kwame Karikari
Executive Director
MFWA, Accra
December 15, 2004
