gambia: media protest National Media Commission
In a joint protest, the Media Foundation for West Africa and ARTICLE 19 reiterated their concerns over the Enforcement of the Act establishing the National Media Commission of The Gambia. A letter by the groups calls on media and human rights organisations to support the Gambia Press Union in their boycott of the Media Commission until the present Act is repealed. Radical revisions need to be made in order for the legislation to meet international press freedom standards and to ensure media freedom in The Gambia, they say.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
_______________________________________________________________
PRESS RELEASE/UPDATE - THE GAMBIA
4 September 2003
ARTICLE 19 and MFWA protest enforcement of act establishing National Media
Commission
SOURCE: ARTICLE 19, London
**Updates IFEX alerts of 1 August, 7 and 2 May 2002**
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is a joint ARTICLE 19 and Media Foundation
for West Africa (MFWA) press release:
Accra/Johannesburg
In a joint protest, the Media Foundation for West Africa and ARTICLE 19
reiterated their concerns over the Enforcement of the Act establishing the
National Media Commission of The Gambia (NMC Act 2002 No. 7 of 2002).
The letter calls on media and human rights organisations to support the
Gambia Press Union in their boycott of the Media Commission until the
present Act is repealed. Radical revisions need to be made in order for the
legislation to meet international press freedom standards and to ensure
media freedom in The Gambia.
In June this year, the government of President Yahya Jammeh went ahead to
inaugurate the National Media Commission without representatives of the
Gambia Press Union and the Gambia Bar Association. Recently, the Media
Commission has requested that journalists start registering in order to be
able to carry out their profession.
The Gambia Press Union is currently challenging the constitutionality of the
Act before the Supreme Court of The Gambia.
"The Act in its present form is incompatible with international standards;
it is one the most draconian examples of media legislation on the Continent.
Its many problems include the lack of independence of the Media Commission,
the quasi-judicial powers conferred to it and the mandatory licensing
conditions it imposes on individual journalists," say MFWA and ARTICLE 19.
For information on previous statements on The Gambia, visit our web sites
www.article19.org and www.mediafoundationwa.org.
For further information, contact Fatou Jagne, ARTICLE 19, Braamfontein
Centre, 23 Jorissen Street Braamfontein 2017, Johannesburg, South Africa,
tel: +27 11 403 1488, fax. +27 11 403 1517, e-mail: [email protected],
[email protected], Internet: http://www.article19.org; or Jeannette
Quarcoopome, Media Foundation for West Africa, tel: +233 21 242 470, fax:
+233 21 221 084, e-mail: [email protected]
The information contained in this press release/update is the sole
responsibility of ARTICLE 19. In citing this material for broadcast or
publication, please credit ARTICLE 19.
_______________________________________________________________
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
489 College Street, Suite 403, Toronto (ON) M6G 1A5 CANADA
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: [email protected] general e-mail: [email protected]
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/
_______________________________________________________________