US, Britain violate Press freedom
Posted: Friday, May 4, 2007By Godwills Masimirembwa
The Herald
Yesterday was World Press Freedom Day. Every year, May 3 is dedicated to World Press Freedom. It is a day designated by the United Nations to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the Press.
In the right hands, the Press plays a crucial role in disseminating news, opinions and ideas that educate members of the public on social, political and economic issues.
It assists in the shaping of attitudes and values. It serves to promote, safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of a country.
In the wrong hands, the Press can be used as a purveyor of malicious falsehoods, distortions and misinformation.
It can incite lawlessness, anarchy, chaos and civil strife.
The importance of freedom of the Press is that one of its purposes is to discover or seek the truth and report it.
Seeking the truth is noble and any journalist or media house that seeks and reports the truth and nothing else but the truth serves humanity well.
We live in a world where the United States of America and Britain seek to dominate the social, political and economic aspects of every country.
They seek, by military force, illegal sanctions and other evil machinations to subvert democratically-elected governments whose policies they disagree with.
They seek to have unhindered access to the natural resources of other countries.
Neo-imperialism is the agenda.
The world is getting more and more violent and dangerous as America and Britain seek to assert their tyranny on other countries.
These two countries are the biggest threats to Press freedom. Their ranking on the index of the world’s worst violators of Press freedom demonstrates failure by journalists to report the truth regarding other countries they claim are among the worst violators.
Reporters without Borders must report the truth as it is.
The invasion of Iraq by the US and Britain remains illegal, the death and suffering of the people of Iraq is being caused by the US and Britain.
The death of journalists and media assistants in that country is a direct result of the illegal invasion.
The general mayhem in that country is as a result of American and British hegemonic tendencies.
With their continued occupation of Iraq, the US and Britain must remain firmly anchored at the bottom of world Press freedom rankings.
Apart from Iraq, the US and Britain are the trouble causers in Afghanistan.
In Africa their dirty hands are everywhere, fomenting and inciting revolt.
In Latin America they are against popular governments that resist neo-colonial domination.
Americans, in particular, are fingered in virtually every conflict situation in the world, they are always on the wrong side of the peaceful co-existence of nations, always seeking to dominate, always masquerading as champions of democracy, yet in truth they will be seeking self interest and exploitation of other nations’ riches and resources.
The bullish and warmongerish behaviour of America and Britain is the real threat to world press freedom.
As we commemorate World Press Freedom Day, let us remember Sandura JA’s words in the case of Biti and Another v Minister of Home Affairs and Another 2002 (1) Z’LR197 (S) at page 200F that freedom of expression assists in the discovery of truth.
Let the media and journalists seek the truth about current global and domestic conflicts identifying those who incite and encourage them and their agenda.
Let us remember the millions facing starvation and who are ravaged by disease while the warmongers invest in high-tech military hardware and stockpile arms of war all over the world, ready and more than willing to incite conflict so that they dominate the world and its resources and support military industries in their countries.
They now have an army for Africa and are searching for a base from a willing puppet nation.
Hitler lives in the hearts and minds of some of these Western leaders. They pose the greatest danger to world press freedom.
Let us now turn to Sandura JA’s statement and explore its meaning in greater detail.
Seeking the truth and nothing else but the truth is the cornerstone of the integrity of media practitioners and media houses.
The constitution of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists states, as one of its objectives, the desire to "3(a) . . .uphold professional ethics in actively supporting the right to freedom of the press and realisation of fundamental human rights." Upholding professional ethics means, among other things, that journalists should seek the truth.
The Code of Conduct for Zimbabwean Media Practitioners says, " . . . media practitioners and media institutions must never publish information that they know to be false or maliciously make unfounded allegations about others that are intended to harm their reputations."
The hallmark of the various codes of conduct for media practitioners the world over share and are anchored on the same principles of truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and accountability in news gathering and reporting.
The search for truth is not an end in itself. It is for the purpose of serving the public interest. The preamble to the code of practice of the Society of Professional Journalists USA, aptly summarises the role and duty of journalists. It partly states ". . . public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialities strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honest, professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist’s credibility."
But it does not mean that the media and media practitioners have a right to report on everything so long as it is true. Every democratic country in the world has certain truths which are not for public consumption, for their reportage will be harmful to national security, law enforcement, formulation and implementation of government policy, personal and public safety and personal privacy.
Canada has a Security of Information Act that makes it a crime to be in unauthorised possession or to communicate secret government documents.
In the so-called bastions of Press freedom (United States of America and Europe), anti-terror laws have eroded the "truths" that the media and journalists are permitted to report on. Journalists and media houses are under surveillance. Harassment and monitoring of journalists is on the increase. Courts in America are forcing journalists to reveal their confidential sources of information or risk imprisonment for contempt of court.
First Amendment guarantees of freedom of expression are increasingly becoming a sham in the face of the relentless pressure from the Bush administration as it intensifies its war against self created terrorists.
Bush contravened the law by facilitating payments to columnists to enable them to write favourable stories on the US invasion of, and continued occupation of Iraq. It’s really messy for journalists out there. The prescriptions are said to be in furtherance of national security interests. Obviously, the bribes are in furtherance of Bush’s illegal agenda in Iraq.
In Zimbabwe journalists’ right to seek and discover the truth is protected by law, subject to limitations on grounds of national security, public and private interests.
Section 78 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act grants journalists the right, among other things, "to enquire, gather, receive and disseminate information."
It gives journalists the right to discover the truth and disseminate that truth.
It empowers journalists to visit public bodies, access documents and materials, make recordings and disseminate news pertaining to their findings.
It empowers the journalist to refuse to be party to reports or editorial preparations that distort his/her findings. This provision is consistent with journalistic standards.
By accepting that the discovery of truth and its dissemination is the core function and integrity barometer of the media, journalists and media houses must surely accept that falsifying or fabricating information and publishing falsehoods is anathema to their noble profession, with the offenders deserving censure and punishment.
Only the guilty are afraid of the provisions of section 64 and 80 of the AIPPA. These sections provide for the prosecution and punishment of mass media houses and journalists that, among other things, abuse freedom of expression, abuse journalistic privilege by committing criminal offences, contravening provisions of the Official Secrets Act, falsifying or fabricating information or publishing falsehoods.
There is no freedom without obligation.
There is no obligation without censure and punishment against transgression.
For the media, the freedom is to discover the truth.
The obligation is to report the truth. The censure for transgression is a claim for civil damages and/or criminal prosecution.Printer friendly version
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