(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an RSF press release: For immediate release Paris, 3 November 1999 PRESS RELEASE Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Durban, South Africa, 12 to 15 November 1999 Press freedom flouted in 13 Commonwealth countries Of the 52 states represented at the Durban meeting, 13 flout press freedom: Bangladesh, Cameroon, Gambia, India, […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an RSF press release:
For immediate release
Paris, 3 November 1999
PRESS RELEASE
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Durban, South Africa, 12 to 15 November 1999
Press freedom flouted in 13 Commonwealth countries
Of the 52 states represented at the Durban meeting, 13 flout press freedom:
Bangladesh, Cameroon, Gambia, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Malawi, Nigeria,
Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Yet in 1991, those
countries pledged in a statement adopted at the Harare summit to “work
vigorously for human rights”. Since October 1997, when the last summit was
held in Scotland, 21 journalists have been killed in Commonwealth countries,
260 have been jailed or arrested and 190 have been victims of violence or
torture.
A total of 21 journalists killed
Since the Commonwealth meeting in Scotland, 21 journalists have been killed
in the course of their work. The civil war in Sierra Leone was particularly
deadly for the media. Eight journalists were murdered by rebels during the
month of January 1999 alone. Another was shot dead by soldiers from the
Ecomog peacekeeping force. Conrad Roy, an opposition columnist, died in
April 1999 in one of the prisons run by President Tejan Kabbah’s government.
In Bangladesh, Shaiful Alam Mukul, editor of a daily in the city of Jessore,
who is well known for his criticism of the political classes, corruption and
human rights violations, was shot dead near his home on 30 August 1998.
Ethnic violence cost the lives of two Nigerian journalists in 1999. In 1997,
five Indian journalists died in an attack targeting politicians. In all
those cases, the killers have not been identified, even though they
sometimes acted openly and in front of witnesses.
In Sierra Leone, the rebels who carried out a policy of systematically
eliminating journalists have been granted an amnesty. Ecomog and the
government did not conduct any investigations even though they were directly
involved in the deaths of at least two journalists. Ten or so other murders
have not been resolved, although everything indicates that the victims’ work
as journalists was the motive.
In Sri Lanka, in September 1999, Rohana Kumara, editor of an opposition
newspaper, was murdered in the street. He had never hesitated to accuse
government officials suspected of corruption.
A total of 260 journalists jailed or arrested
During the two years since the last Commonwealth summit, 260 journalists
have been arrested or detained by security forces. On 1 November 1999, three
journalists were in prison in countries taking part in the Durban summit. In
Kenya, Tony Gachoka, editor of The Post on Sunday, was sentenced on 20
August 1999 to six months in jail. He had made allegations against judges
involved in corruption cases. In Cameroon, Anselme Mballa, editor of an
independent newspaper, Le Serment, was found guilty of “libel” in July 1999
after he criticised the behaviour of a member of the government. He is being
held at Kondengui prison. Naresh Kalita, an Indian journalist working for
the Assamese daily Agradoot, has been in jail since February 1999. The
police accuse him of collaborating with separatists, but have not produced
any evidence of the allegations.
Most of the 260 journalists jailed or detained were victims of arbitrary
arrests. They were often arrested after writing reports or features making
allegations against political figures, particularly in corruption scandals.
Those who publish information regarded as sensitive by the army also lay
themselves open to repression, as happened in Zambia and Zimbabwe recently.
In Malaysia, Murray Hiebert, a Canadian working as correspondent for the Far
Eastern Economic Review, spent four weeks in prison after criticising the
Malaysian legal system.
A total of 190 journalists victims of violence or torture
Since October 1997 at least 190 journalists have suffered violence at the
hands of the police or political activists. In January 1999, Ray Choto and
Mark Chavunduka, journalists with the Sunday Standard, published a report on
tension in the Zimbabwean army. They were immediately taken to a military
camp and tortured by soldiers. In Bangladesh, over 60 journalists were
assaulted by the police, political activists or Moslem fundamentalists. Some
were beaten with truncheons, while others were injured by firebombs. In
India, over 13 journalists accused of supporting separatist movements were
targets for police and army violence in 1998. In Malawi, two journalists
from the weekly National Agenda were beaten and stabbed in August 1998. The
attackers, who accused them of being over-critical of the ruling party, have
not been arrested or charged. In Kenya, David Makali, editor of a monthly
devoted to human rights, was kidnapped, badly beaten and left unconscious by
a roadside early in 1999.
Independent newspapers harassed
In too many Commonwealth countries, the independent press is a victim of
pressure and sanctions from the authorities. In Zambia, the daily The Post
has to cope with various forms of harassment: journalists arrested, offices
cordoned off by the police, economic sanctions, threatening phone calls and
so on. In Gambia, the privately owned radio station Citizen FM has been shut
down since February 1998 because the authorities did not appreciate the news
it broadcast. Also in Gambia, the newspaper The Independent, launched only
recently, was banned for several weeks and its staff were arrested. In
Pakistan, before the October coup d’état, the government cracked down on the
press group Jang, which it accused of supporting the opposition. In
Cameroon, ten or more independent journalists decided to go into exile
because of pressure and threats from the authorities. Finally, in Singapore
journalists still widely practise self-censorship for fear of reprisals by
the courts. In recent years, laws restricting freedom of expression have
been extended to cover new media such as the internet.
Recommendations
The Commonwealth has shown in recent years that it is increasingly concerned
about fundamental freedoms. The suspension of Nigeria in November 1995
because of serious human rights violations, including the imprisonment of
dozens of journalists, set a useful precedent. Similarly, recent sanctions
against Pakistan following the military coup showed public opinion worldwide
that the Commonwealth is determined to ensure that democratic order is
respected. But this commitment to fundamental freedoms needs to be taken
further.
Reporters Sans Frontières calls on the Commonwealth to specifically mention
the need for press freedom in its next statements submitted for approval to
meetings of heads of government. Reporters Sans Frontières urges Kenya and
Cameroon to release the journalists jailed there for press offences. The
organisation calls on all the Commonwealth states present in Durban to amend
laws that provide for prison sentences for press offences such as “libel”
and “offending the head of state”. The highest international bodies, such as
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, have spoken out against
imprisonment as a punishment for crimes of opinion. Reporters Sans
Frontières also calls on the 13 Commonwealth countries that have failed to
guarantee press freedom, as they promised to do by approving the Harare
Declaration, to take all necessary measures to stop violence against
journalists. Those who murder journalists, and members of the security
forces who arrest them for no reason, threaten, assault or torture them,
must be identified and brought to trial. In India, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone
and Nigeria, the authorities seem in no hurry to conduct serious inquiries –
which means that those criminals are liable to commit further offences with
impunity.
Reporters Sans Frontières calls on Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas,
Bangladesh, Botswana, Brunei, Fiji, Ghana, Malaysia, the Maldives, Nauru,
Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore, Swaziland, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu to
ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 19
of which guarantees press freedom.
Finally, Reporters Sans Frontières calls on the Commonwealth
secretary-general to ensure that the English-speaking community respects its
undertakings concerning freedom of expression and to intervene with the
governments of the 13 countries mentioned in this press release to ensure
that press freedom is finally guaranteed there.
