Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
erati<strong>on</strong> that suddenly swept aside<br />
as irrelevant <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> stale, state-owned<br />
newspaper m<strong>on</strong>opolies which had<br />
been part of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> arsenal of re<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong><br />
by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>on</strong>e-party or military<br />
tyrannies targeted by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> movement<br />
for democratisati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
So<strong>on</strong>, following <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> newspaper resurgence,<br />
appeared <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> even more<br />
revoluti<strong>on</strong>ary entry <strong>on</strong>to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media<br />
landscape: <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> emergence of independent<br />
radio (and slightly later TV)<br />
broadcasting. The liberalisati<strong>on</strong> of<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> airwaves, clearly imposed <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
governments by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> mass democratic<br />
movements and enthusiastic<br />
and determined initiators and entrepreneurs,<br />
put <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> last nail into<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> coffin of state m<strong>on</strong>opoly of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
media.<br />
State m<strong>on</strong>opoly and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> silencing<br />
of dissenting and differing voices<br />
had generally produced, over <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g>, minimal day-to-day attacks<br />
<strong>on</strong> and violati<strong>on</strong>s of <strong>press</strong> <strong>freedom</strong><br />
and journalists’ rights. There was<br />
no <strong>freedom</strong> to attack. It is almost<br />
like <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> saying that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re is no<br />
re<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong> in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> cemetery.<br />
But <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> rampant invasi<strong>on</strong> of newspapers<br />
and radio stati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong>to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
previously closed social and political<br />
landscape - suddenly releasing a cacoph<strong>on</strong>y<br />
of l<strong>on</strong>g-silenced voices - in<br />
turn provoked <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> innate re<strong>press</strong>ive<br />
adrenalin of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> governments. Most<br />
governments in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> regi<strong>on</strong> were ei<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> same old unreformed dictatorships,<br />
or old military or <strong>on</strong>e-party<br />
regimes forced by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> popular movements<br />
and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> demands of d<strong>on</strong>or<br />
governments to c<strong>on</strong>duct hasty electi<strong>on</strong>s<br />
and put <strong>on</strong> new hardly fitting<br />
garbs of liberal multi-party c<strong>on</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>alism.<br />
In <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 1990s to much of<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> first decade of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 21st century,<br />
not more than three countries in<br />
West Africa could boast of genuinely<br />
democratic regimes elected into office<br />
<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir parties’ own credentials<br />
of democratic merit.<br />
The ensuing spate of attacks <strong>on</strong><br />
142 | Media in Africa - 2011<br />
“The excitement of a<br />
new dawn of media<br />
<strong>freedom</strong>, aut<strong>on</strong>omy<br />
and pluralism was<br />
now turning into a<br />
nightmare of fear,<br />
torture and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> threat<br />
of death.”<br />
journalists and media was enough<br />
to suggest <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> imminent death of<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> new, emerging media pluralism<br />
in West Africa. The irate regimes<br />
unleashed attacks through two<br />
fr<strong>on</strong>ts. The first and regular method<br />
involved <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> raw, crude, knee-jerk<br />
attacks by security operatives and<br />
o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r functi<strong>on</strong>aries – targeting every<br />
ex<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong> unpalatable to government<br />
and officials, and at any real or<br />
perceived media infracti<strong>on</strong>. The new<br />
media establishments, dominated by<br />
un-trained, inexperienced novices<br />
in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> professi<strong>on</strong>, provided plenty<br />
of ammuniti<strong>on</strong> for attack by way of<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir numerous errors and ethical<br />
blunders resulting from <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> sheer<br />
over-enthusiasm of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> excited<br />
newcomers. The sec<strong>on</strong>d line of attack<br />
by governments was to crank<br />
up <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> firmly c<strong>on</strong>trolled judicial machinery<br />
to unleash <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
re<strong>press</strong>ive legislati<strong>on</strong> still intact <strong>on</strong><br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> statute books.<br />
The governments operated in<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>ments without any, or with<br />
negligible, traditi<strong>on</strong>s of independent<br />
media operati<strong>on</strong>, and a low culture<br />
of tolerance for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ex<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong><br />
of c<strong>on</strong>trasting viewpoints in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
public space. The new independent<br />
voices of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> young <strong>press</strong> and<br />
radio stati<strong>on</strong>s came across to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se<br />
authoritarian or even tyrannical<br />
leaders as insolence, irritati<strong>on</strong>,<br />
pers<strong>on</strong>al attacks and subversi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
Governments’ resp<strong>on</strong>ses were to<br />
use <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> law to railroad journalists<br />
into pris<strong>on</strong>, to frighten o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>rs into<br />
self-censorship or submissi<strong>on</strong> or<br />
to even drive o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>rs into exile. In<br />
additi<strong>on</strong>, nearly everywhere, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
regimes passed new and additi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
c<strong>on</strong>stricting legislati<strong>on</strong>.<br />
A new dimensi<strong>on</strong> in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> attacks<br />
<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media was introduced in<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> civil-war-stricken countries of<br />
Liberia, Sierra Le<strong>on</strong>e and – to a lesser<br />
extent – Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.<br />
Warlords and governments battling<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>m resorted to some of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> most<br />
heinous violence against <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media<br />
and journalists. Over <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> decade of<br />
civil war in Liberia and Sierra Le<strong>on</strong>e,<br />
about 16 journalists were murdered<br />
in each country, and several radio<br />
stati<strong>on</strong>s and newspapers gutted by<br />
ars<strong>on</strong>.<br />
The excitement of a new dawn of<br />
media <strong>freedom</strong>, aut<strong>on</strong>omy and<br />
pluralism was now turning into a<br />
nightmare of fear, torture and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
threat of death.<br />
Inserted into this c<strong>on</strong>fusi<strong>on</strong> of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
promise of and threats to <strong>freedom</strong>,<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> MFWA’s first programme of interventi<strong>on</strong><br />
was to establish a mechanism<br />
for m<strong>on</strong>itoring and publicising<br />
attacks <strong>on</strong> media <strong>freedom</strong> and<br />
violati<strong>on</strong>s of journalists’ rights.<br />
The organisati<strong>on</strong> set up a regi<strong>on</strong>wide<br />
network of corresp<strong>on</strong>dents<br />
from each of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> 15 Ecowas member<br />
countries, as well as from Mauritania<br />
which had by now left <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> regi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
inter-state organisati<strong>on</strong>. The aim<br />
was to m<strong>on</strong>itor violati<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> a<br />
daily basis. Thus <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>press</strong> <strong>freedom</strong><br />
ALERT of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> MFWA was born, and<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinues to today.<br />
In certain circumstances, such as<br />
during <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> worst stages of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> civil<br />
wars in Liberia or <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> violent crises<br />
in Guinea, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> m<strong>on</strong>itoring was<br />
expanded to include violati<strong>on</strong>s of<br />
o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r human rights. In later <str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g>,<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>me was expanded also to<br />
include m<strong>on</strong>itoring of violati<strong>on</strong>s