Mr Camara.

Please subscribe Nuha Jatta on the list at this adress,  [log in to unmask]


Thanks
Fye.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Momodou Camara" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2003 10:07 PM
Subject: FWD:National Media Commission to Be Inaugurated Today


National Media Commission to Be Inaugurated Today

http://allafrica.com/stories/200306240557.html

The Independent (Banjul)
NEWS
June 23, 2003
Posted to the web June 24, 2003

By Sb Camara
Banjul

The inauguration of the National Media Commission today Monday marks the
issuing of a death warrant for the free press in The Gambia, according to
The Independent's duo of editors who have joined other media chiefs in the
country to form a chorus of dissenting voices.

Despite sustained outcry from local and international media organisations
over its nature, the process leading to it and its functions the Commission
will be formally inaugurated at 2 pm today, causing reactions from editors
of private media houses all united in their opposition to its
unconstitutional bearing. One of the most salient complaints by the editors
revolves around the composition and powers of the Commission, which will
consist of people without an effective and working knowledge of journalism
and its ethics but who will be empowered to decide the fate of journalists
seen as offenders.

The Independent's Managing Editor likened the inauguration of the
Commission to the issuing of a death warrant for the Gambian press by a
body whose constitutionality will be challenged in the courts. Alagie Yorro
Jallow said that the unconstitutional nature of the Commission is not in
doubt since some its working provisions run contrary to the rule of law and
democracy. He said it is profoundly disappointing that a member of the Bar
Association, who should challenge unconstitutionality anywhere it surfaces,
would be an accomplice in "killing freedom of the press and in effect
freedom of expression in The Gambia".

The paper's Editor-in-Chief Abdoulie Sey pointed out that "journalists
would not take their place in the Commission because we do not want to be
part of the travesty of justice and an unwholesome history for which
posterity will find us accountable". He said it was offensive mockery to
any Gambian journalist worth his (or her) that after the media were
excluded from the process leading to its establishment, which was riddled
with potential flaws, "we were being invited to take our seat, not as
stakeholders but as spectators to the smothering of journalists".

"The lack of consultation and transparency and the consequent exclusion of
media stakeholders in the process leading to its establishment supposedly
for our own sake makes it very reprehensible. Gambian journalists
especially those in the private media are singing from the same hymn sheet,
which in effect is that we all opposed to the Commission. Was it correct to
exclude journalists from the process leading to it when by and large it
concerns their profession and them?

This is one of the most ridiculous things about the Commission and leaves
us justified in our suspicion that our death warrant as a media was being
signed" Mr. Sey charged. He indicated that the government's insistence with
such a Commission reflects its lack of an open-door policy of consultation
and the will for compromise with the media particularly the private press.

Baba Galleh Jallow also of The Independent was equally livid. "The
inauguration of the media commission is a blatant and evil act of injustice
and immorality. No decent Gambian should be a member of this unjust organ.
Those who accept membership of this commission for money and prestige
should know that they will go down the annals of history as people who
allowed themselves to be used as instruments of naked injustice, repression
and tyranny. They should remember that all truth, all justice and all power
belongs to God," he charged.

Stating the position of The Gambia Press Union, its chairman D.A Jawo said
the body is opposed to such a Commission, whose unconstitutionality makes
it untenable. "We entertain reservation for some of its provisions, which
will have a negative effect on the private media, instead of ensuring its
independence, impartiality and professionalism as provided for in the state
constitution" he argued.

Deyda Hydara, the Editor-in-Chief of the Point also raised strong
objections to what he called "the unacceptable powers" delegated to the
Commission.

"It is unfortunate that despite all calls for sanity, all the persuasions
regarding these obnoxious laws the government is going ahead with plans to
set up the Commission. This is the bane of our confrontation with the
government," he pointed out.

According to the media veteran the Commission violates a host of
constitutional provisions, a fact, which they as journalists intend to
challenge in the courts. Mr. Hydara believes that such a Commission should
have been a professional body of journalists and communicators, "not laymen
illegally empowered to sentence journalists to jail terms and other heavy
fines, which no journalist worth his salt would accept".

For Foroyaa's Sam Sillah, the threat on freedom of the press in the Gambia
is a foregone conclusion. He said the act is a bad law, which would not
facilitate freedom of expression.

"On the other hand what is expected under the present circumstance is a
Commission which will facilitate the training of media personnel contrary
to what we are seeing which is like a court of law with lots of powers to
impose penalties, fines and jail terms for journalists which in effect will
scare a lot of journalists or prevent them from handling their work freely
without pressure from the Commission" he posited.

Other media pundits also made similar observations, concluding that a
Commission of such a nature would not bode well for the free press. One
such pundit speaking in anonymity criticized the Commission, which he
described as discriminatory as far as the private and public media in the
country were concerned.

Meanwhile other media chiefs like Radio 1 FM's George Christensen and the
News and Report's Magazine editor Swaebou Conateh said they were reserving
their comments over the Commission until after its inauguration, later
today at the Department of State for Information, Communication and
Technology.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2003 The Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by
AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=mbia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~