Gambian president Yahya Jammeh has slammed as ridiculous the demands made by Gambian journalists for the decriminalisation of anti media free laws and subvention ofto media outlets.
“Some of you [journalists] have made ridiculous demands that cannot be met. Tell me one country where there is no libel law and where government subvents the media?” Jammeh told the Gambian media chiefs and their editors at Statehouse on Wednesday.
The uncommon gathering between the government and the independent media was made possible thanks to the efforts of the newly appointed Director of Press and Public Relations, Fatou Camara.
The government-media relationship has been tense for over a decade. The government boasts of creating an enabling environment giving rise to proliferation of media outlets. However, the media practitioners decry lack of liberty in the face of ‘unwarranted arrest, detention, intimidation, lack of access to official information and laws that impede on freedom of speech.
The unsettled murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara and the mysterious missing of journalist Ebrima Manneh, as Sam Sarr of Foroyaa told the president and his cabinet, trigger uneasiness on the part of the executive.
And the meeting witnessed renewed calls made by media chiefs for government to address these issues for any progress to be made, but their demands were met with yet an objection by the president.
However, both parties expressed satisfaction with the initiative and hope it could be the beginning of a new chapter in government-media relations with promises of follow-up meetings all, but geared towards smoothening the rough edges.
Journalist make demands
“I would not wish to rekindle the fire of the old wounds,” said Mr Swaebou Conateh, the editor/publisher of The Gambia News & Report weekly magazine, referring to the detentions, prosecutions, attacks and the mysterious killing of Deyda Hydara, founder of The Point newspaper and disappearance of journalist Ebrima Manneh of Daily Observer.
Conateh added: “However, it is not too late to adjust or re-adjust the position, so that the Gambia can, among its many achievements under the Jammeh administration, boast of having the most free press in Africa, if not in the whole world.
Being the oldest practicing journalist in the country, Swaebou said: “I therefore propose to take the bull by the horns to ask for certain programmes of the government to be carried out in order to make more satisfactory and systematic progress on what is now a vexed question.”
Conateh calls for the decriminalizing of speech since one is in contravention with the universal principles as the free flow of information is necessary for human understanding cooperation and developments.
“Our laws on sedition publication our libel laws and false publication laws are either archaic or out of step with the information age and should be repealed or revealed” saying that other countries have done this.
Swaebou also called on the government to have an open door policy, recommending for the president, interior and foreign ministries to hold regular press briefing to entertain questions from media on offices they hold to clarify it to the public.
“I know you are capable of doing it,” Conateh told the president, “But there is some reluctance on your part which makes us to have doubts about your intentions.”
Mr Pap Saine, Managing Director and co-publisher of The Point newspaper emphasized the need for the independent press to access to government news in order to effectively execute its constitutional mandate to disseminate information about the activities of the government for the benefit of the public.
“We want to make our position very clear that we are not an enemy to the state,” said Mr Saine, whose friend Deyda Hydara was gunned-down by unknown assailants since 2004. “The journalist does not see himself or herself in that role. We are neither backers of nor the opposition. Our job requires us to report on both the pleasant and the sordid aspects of society.”
According to Sam Sarr, Editor of Foroyaa newspaper, governments have to be kept on their toes in order to assist them to become more effective, and also to preempt wrong doings and errors that may be created in the process of governance.
Mr Sarr highlighted that rather than government cooperating to bring about justice to the case of Deyda and others, there is uneasiness on the part of the executive whenever such cases are mentioned.
According to him, the government is taking pride in allowing the large number of radio stations, but the fundamental question that should be asked is where they are allowed to broadcast local news.
“There must be an alternative broadcast,” said Sam Sarr, who was among the six journalists jailed last year after found guilty sedition and defamation, but release after two months following presidential pardon.
“There must be divergent views and dissenting opinion,” he added.
For Abdul Adiamoh, publisher of Today Newspaper, The Gambia is a very beautiful country, but the Gambian media is denied to portray the image of the country.
Adiamoh said he is a Nigerian, but he considers himself as a Gambian. He told the president that throughout his extended stay in the country, he has not seen a single Gambian journalist locally who is set out to vilify the country.
And Jammeh, Ministers Respond
However, Jammeh said there is no law or policy barring public officials in his government from talking to the press.
“When we came from Mecca, I got that same comment that people are complaining that they are not enlightened; that they never have access to information - public officials are tight-lipped, giving the impression there is a ban,” Jammeh said on Wednesday during a rare meeting with the independent press at Statehouse.
“My government has no law that public officials are not supposed to talk to the press,” Jammeh said, warning journalist from making a general comment that Yahya Jammeh’s government does not even allow public officials to talk.
“When you ask anybody [the public officials] and they tell you we are not supposed to talk, ask those people to put it into writing and sign it and ask the person who does not allow you to talk to the press.”
President Jammeh however vowed that he would not compromise national security, the peace and stability in the country at the altar of freedom of expression.
“The peace and stability of this country, I will never compromise,” Jammeh vowed. “I always make it very clear, from 1994 to date, that whatever I do, write it, but if you write what I didn’t do, I will deal with you, and I will deal with you whether the West or the East likes it or not, even if the sky is going to explode.”
“Because am the President doesn’t mean that I can trample on anybody’s rights or go about beating up people. No, but also because you are a journalist does not mean that you can write whatever you want to write, knowing that it is not true,” he stated.
On the death of Deyda Hydara, Jammeh said his government has nothing to do with it and there is nothing his government could do about it. He said he has many people on a death row since 1996, but did not execute any one. “Why would I kill a journalist then,” Jammeh said.
According to the Gambian leader, the delegation he sent to the funeral of Deyda was greeted with hostility saying that he even regretted why he sent them.
On the demands for regular press briefings, Jammeh said he used to do it when he took over but had to stop it because his message is distorted and some journalists represent opposition parties.
Regarding the need to repeal anti media free laws, Jammeh there must be such laws for him and Gambian people to seek redress whenever they feel offended by the journalists.
He said the demands for decriminalization of sedition, subvention for media outlets cannot be met.
He said if the media had accepted the setting up of the Media Commission he would not have the cause to resort to courts, but rather he will seek redress at the commission.
“Let me make one thing very clear – my heart is a very small heart; it does not have enough space to accommodate hatred. My heart is full with the love for humanity and the love for this country,” Jammeh said.
He then pointed out that if his government doesn’t want the press, it won’t have allowed operation of these outlets given the fact that it is the government that issued a license and hence none of them could have operated without a license.
Also speaking, the vice president and minister of Women’s Affairs, Isatou Njie-Saidy urged on the media to recognise the positive developments registered by Jammeh administration even areas of good governance, democracy and human rights.
“Let all Gambians realise that we have nothing except the country and let us not take the peace and stability of the country for granted.” Dr Njie-Saidy urged the journalists to be responsible journalists.
The secretary general and head of the Civil Service, Dr Njogu Bah told the media practitioners to ensure responsibility in the discharge of their duties; one that will be accompanied with ethics.
Bah said the problem between government and the media is the lack of responsibility in the media.
“Nobody is saying don’t write anything negative about what government does, but constructive criticism is what we are asking for,” he noted.
However, The Gambian minister for Health and Social Welfare Fatim Badjie implored on both the government and private bodies to open up to the media, saying that the media must ‘trigger thought’ as it carries both a sweet and sour tongue.
“There is a general culture of people shutting the door at the media,” the youngest minister who was appointed minister in 2009 at age 24 as communications minister admitted.
Fatim said information on the progress and challenges are being highlighted and that the independent press has been covering their ministries’ events. She believes that the media has a steady potential for growth.
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