The theme for this year’s World Press Freedom Day was “Safe to Speak: Securing Freedom of Expression in all Media”. The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists organized a panel discussion with the lead paper presented by Victor Massaquoi. One of three discussants was Isaac Massaquoi who has put his comments together in the following article.
Imagine you are on a long journey to a place you’ve never visited. You don’t even have a map or, in this world of technology, a GPS to help you chart your way. Your only option is to keep going and hoping you will get there in the end.
I had this scenario in mind when I made my contribution at the SLAJ symposium on World Press Freedom Day on the theme above.
I was also guided from the outset by the fact that there exists a clear difference between FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION as a concept and JOURNALISM as a trade. At times like this, there is always the tendency to talk about freedom of expression as if it was a synonym for journalism or media work in general.
For example, if thousands of citizens marched to parliament with placards protesting about the enactment of a law they believe wasn’t in their best interest, they would be exercising their right to freely express themselves, a right guaranteed under our constitution. Even a handful of Sierra Leoneans with a strong view about a narrow objective like banning smoking in public or ending mask devil parades because they have lost their cultural value, that action will be recorded as citizens freely expressing themselves. That’s not journalism.
Journalism is a trade but it’s increasingly been professionalised with universities offering full academic courses and professional bodies operating Codes of Conduct to guide the practice much like the classic professions of medicine and law.
I suppose however, that for many people, World Press Freedom day is about journalists and their work. So let me now proceed to make a few points before presenting my take on the lead paper presented by my cousin Dr Victor Massaquoi at the symposium.
Be it in journalism or in all the other forms of free expression in Sierra Leone, we have come a very long way and like I said in the beginning, we may not be optimistic about reaching the Promised Land, but we must never forget to celebrate all we’ve achieved so far in the realm of free speech. And let’s also not be arrogant to say that the media alone made that possible. We played a leading role.
Sierra Leone has come through one party rule, military dictatorships, a disgraceful war that claimed the lives of many of our relatives. But today we can describe our country as a very promising democracy, proudly occupying its place in the world assembly of nations.
I still remember growing up in Freetown in the mid to late 70s when people were arrested and locked up for what was termed “careless talk”. Every time anybody grumbled about the economic and political situation in Sierra Leone at the height of Siaka Stevens’ rule, to the hearing of any member of his multi-layered security apparatus, they were quickly arrested. Even radio announcers who played songs critical of the social order were forced out of the system. Comedians and theatre artists weren’t spared.
The situation has changed beyond recognition today.
Listen to programs on many radio stations all over the country, read the newspapers and listen to what is coming out of the small music industry and compare that with what is happening in our neighbouring countries, you will understand why I think there is something to celebrate.
Let me now try to deal with some of the questions Dr Massaquoi asked in his presentation:
How safe are we as media practitioners to speak, to write, to act, to blog, to take photos in a public place?
We are not doing badly but we must never be complacent. Because just behind the horizon lies the danger of politicians attempting to roll back those freedoms for which lives were lost.
Part five of the hated Public Order Act remains in the laws of this country and there was a harsh reminder of how free speech can be damaged using that law when news came through to the audience that two of our colleagues were on their way to Pademba road prison because a Magistrate had denied them bail in a libel case brought against them by a lawyer. So the campaign against this legislation must continue.
With reference to the issue of journalists taking pictures in public places, my suspicion was that Dr Massaquoi had the recent incident in Lungi in which a journalist was detained for attempting to take the picture of a Sierra Leonean lady deported from China in mind. There are ethical issues to consider under such conditions but the facts of that matter are still being assembled.
However, I find it strange that the police locked up the journalist for attempting to get that shot. I concede to colleagues who still believe that we cannot say we can freely express ourselves now if a simple phone call from a State House official can stampede a police officer into locking up a photo journalist in such a situation.
Dr Massaquoi’s next question was this: How can we secure our freedom of expression in a country whose democracy is fragile?
This question is interesting because of the assumption it makes about the nature of Sierra Leone’s democracy. Whenever the word “fragile” is used to describe our democracy, I think of the statement of the problem page of some NGOs project proposal. Anyway, my response is that working with other actors, media institutions must do everything possible to deepen the culture of being free in Sierra Leone and the people must demand freedom at all times.
Journalists must help build and defend all the institutions that underpin the nation’s democracy. To be able to do this with any credit, journalists must be prepared to be properly trained and they must educate themselves on the issues. My experience is that in most cases, journalists have approached such institutions with something more than the usual journalistic cynicism and in pursuit of individual interests they have undermined the credibility of the institutions only to grumble later about the inability of the system to properly serve the people. When US president Obama called for strong institutions in Africa, his fingers were on the pulse of the continent.
Journalists must never shy away from critiquing such institutions because that helps to keep them on their toes. But when they embark on a mission to harass or ridicule them; they do something as corrosive to democracy as allowing a Head of State to openly flout the constitution and abuse his powers without challenge from those who know such behaviour is totally unacceptable.
Dr Massaquoi also asked a question regarding which media channel was more prone to being abused and why? I know that newspapers are the most vulnerable.
Newspapers are the most abused but let’s not forget that radio is catching up very fast. In both situations we have to ask questions about the quality of the journalism published daily, the diversity of the information – is every sector of society treated with equal attention? How about respect for people caught in the news frame. The attitude these days is for journalists to leave such people with no respect after reporting on them. It is trite journalism that even despicable characters like convicted rapists must have their human dignity respected in the course of reporting on them. It is possible. This was why I called for more targeted specialised training for journalists.
What is the extent of impunity in this country and how best can we address them?
On this question, we need to look at the issue from both sides. Many crimes have been committed against journalists in their line of duty. I don’t get the impression even slightly that the authorities have done anything serious to end this overzealousness particularly among police officers. This must stop and the way to do it is for the authorities to severely deal with those responsible for such violation. No cover-ups.
I renew the call by many Sierra Leoneans for the police complaints body, the CDIID, to be scrapped. It has failed to bring discipline to the force now bloated by new recruits, a good many of whom are of questionable character. A new and independent body that re-enforces civilian oversight of the police must be formed now.
On the other side of the coin, examples abound of journalists completely overstepping all professional and ethical boundaries in reporting on politicians in particular and even ordinary people. From my vantage position at the Independent Media Commission, I can testify to this. Sometimes it has happened because the journalists have made genuine mistakes. But in some other cases, I am unable to put a finger on the real point of it. One of the colleagues at the symposium suggested the attack-collect-defend-collect syndrome. May be he was right.
So those were the views I expressed at the symposium and I stand by them. The freedoms we have so far in Sierra Leone were not given willingly. To end one party rule, to throw out the junta regimes, to end the war and restore democracy, many Sierra Leoneans were killed.
Others were uprooted from their communities and forced into refugee situations, the country’s infrastructure was damaged, a whole generation have had their bright futures destroyed and many are now on the streets with no education and sense of where next to go – a high price indeed.
As we say in journalism, we must continue pushing forward the frontiers of freedom.
