By Aminata Phidelia Allie
For the first time in the history of Sierra Leone, the journalists association (SLAJ), has trained journalists and members of civil society groups on the provisions of the Public Order Act No.46 of 1965.
With funds from the American Embassy in Freetown, the two-day training focused mainly on educating media practitioners and CSOs about the Public Order Act, especially sections that criminalized seditious libel and defamation.
Speaking on Friday at the Harry Yansaneh Hall on Campbell Street in Freetown, president of SLAJ, Kelvin Lewis, observed that the main duty of journalists was to speak for those whose voices could not rise above the noise of the market place.
He said many journalists were however mortgaging their respect and reputations for nothing.
“For little pennies or to please their political sponsors, some media practitioners go after people to destroy their hard-earned credibility”, he lamented.
With the public looking up to the media as holding the bean stick, Mr. Lewis said, “they want us to whip those corrupt officials, those selfish and unpatriotic people and the politicians, so as to get them to learn to behave properly”.
In doing this however, he warned that media practitioners must be careful so as not to step out of the line by using a single inappropriate word or phrase “because the same public on whose behalf we risk our lives and freedom will be the first to shout crucify”.
He encouraged the media to turn away from personal attacks, saying “let us suppress the urge to go after individuals and reduce them in the eyes of the public. I know ours is a difficult and thankless job but the journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step”, adding that this was the start of a very long journey.
Executive Director, Centre for Accountability and Rule of Law, Ibrahim Tommy, who declared the training opened, called on President Ernest Bai Koroma to fulfill his promise of reviewing the “obnoxious sections of the Public Order Act, especially those sections that criminalize libel and defamation”.
He said the training was timely especially in line with recent events leading to the arrest and detention of journalists, adding that the media’s role in addressing good governance and accountability could not be overemphasized.
He encouraged the media and CSOs not to see the training as a means of putting them in an unprecedented order of self-regulation and censorship “as that may stop and undermine the vibrancy and temerity which characterize journalists”.
“It is generally advisable to err on the side of caution but when caution becomes the watchdog in the newsroom and the media, it seriously undermines the vibrancy and audacity which are the qualities of good journalists in a thriving democracy like ours”, Mr. Tommy said.
The CARL boss advised individuals who think their personalities had been impaired by a particular broadcast or publication to utilize the Independent Media Commission or the country’s civil libel laws to seek redress. He went on that Freedom Of Information and Freedom Of Expression were fundamental human rights, central to freedom and democracy.
“In my honest opinion, it is the country’s development and governance credentials that should be on trial, not journalists whose primary job is to discuss matters of public interest”, Tommy stated.
(C) 25 February 2014
