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Namibia: 'Press Freedom in Spotlight'
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The Namibian (Windhoek)
8 February 2008
Posted to the web 8 February 2008
Windhoek
Government's announcement yesterday that it is pushing ahead with plans to establish a media council has sparked concern in press freedom circles.
Both the Namibian branch of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) and the Namibia Editors Forum (NEF) were quick to question the move.
The NEF noted that the SADC Protocol on Culture, Information and Sport, which Government uses to justify the creation of a media council, calls on governments to "create an environment to ensure that media ethics and media councils are in place, with the emphasis that they be created by the media for the media".
While welcoming Government's interest in the matter, the editors said they were "absolutely opposed to any unilateral Government imposed initiative and would reject any attempt in this regard". Misa Namibia said a statutory media regulatory organ would only "contribute to the diminishing space for media operations in the country - as had happened elsewhere in the region". "Misa Namibia calls on Government to continue to encourage the creation of a self-regulatory mechanism for the Namibian media without its interference.
Media cannot continue to be the victims of the volatile political environment," the organisation said in a statement. The right of people in a democratic society to know how Government functions, how officials perform their duties and the responsibility of the media to convey such information concerning Government operations continued to put media practitioners and public officials at odds, Misa Namibia pointed out.
While reporters aim to reveal information related to activities of elected public officials - in the absence of an access to information legislation in the country - public officials often tried to conceal or suppress such information. "Misa Namibia has been at the forefront, together with various stakeholders, in the formulation of a media mediator or media council," the organisation said.
Both Misa Namibia and the NEF agree that the creation of a media council is a process that will not happen overnight, and therefore there was a need for continuous engagement with all parties involved. Misa also referred to the recent visit to Namibia by the South African Press Ombudsman, Joe Thlole, who addressed a gathering of the Namibia Editors Forum. At the event, Thlole called on the media to put in place a mechanism to address concerns from citizens. He emphasised that having a Government-backed media mediator or media council would be "the death of freedom of the media".
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Misa Namibia recently started engaging the public in media literacy through an advocacy campaign to raise awareness with citizens that they need to be part of the process of the formulation of a media mediator or council.
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