Gambia: Murder, arson, repression thwart Gambia's independent press
A string of unsolved arson attacks, a series of unchecked threats, and the passage of restrictive new laws have created deep mistrust between the Gambia's government and its small independent press. Suspicions have been compounded by the December 2004 murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara and the government's failure to bring the perpetrators to justice. These are the findings of a CPJ delegation that visited the Gambia from April 6 to 12.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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PRESS RELEASE - THE GAMBIA
14 April 2005
Murder, arson and repressive actions are thwarting independent press, says
CPJ delegation
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**For further information on the Hydara case, see IFEX alerts of 22 March,
25 and 22 February and 6 January 2005 and 17 December 2004; for the passage
of the media legislation, see alerts of 9 March and 19 January 2005, 20 and
15 December 2004; for the arson attack on "The Independent", see alert of 13
April 2004**
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a 12 April 2005 CPJ press release:
CPJ delegation: Murder, arson, repression thwart Gambia's independent press
Banjul, Gambia, April 12, 2005 - A string of unsolved arson attacks, a
series of unchecked threats, and the passage of restrictive new laws have
created deep mistrust between the Gambia's government and its small
independent press. Suspicions have been compounded by the December 2004
murder of veteran journalist Deyda Hydara and the government's failure to
bring the perpetrators to justice.
These are the findings of a CPJ delegation that visited the Gambia from
April 6 to 12 and presented its conclusions at a press conference today in
the capital, Banjul. The delegation met with Gambian journalists from the
private and state media, executives of the Gambia Press Union, and senior
government officials, including the secretaries of state for justice,
information, and the interior.
Members of the delegation also met with the director general of the National
Intelligence Agency, which has taken over the investigation into Hydara's
murder. "We saw indications that the NIA is carrying out an investigation in
good faith," CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford said. "However,
even the basic facts of the murder have not been firmly established, and we
fear that it could be difficult to make significant progress in a climate
where journalists and witnesses are unwilling to cooperate with government
investigators." Hydara, editor of the independent newspaper The Point, was
shot dead on the night of December 16, 2004, while returning home from his
office. His murder came just two days after the Gambian National Assembly
passed two contentious pieces of media legislation that Hydara, along with
other local independent journalists, had strongly opposed.
Journalists who met with the CPJ delegation expressed dismay that President
Yahya Jammeh secretly signed this legislation only weeks after the murder.
One law imposes mandatory prison sentences for journalists found guilty of
defamation or publishing false information. A second law increases fivefold
the financial guarantee that all media outlets must post in order to
register. Media outlets were required to re-register within 14 days after
the president signed the measure into law. While authorities have not
enforced the Newspaper Act, journalists say that the new laws add to their
feeling of insecurity.
Local journalists also expressed deep concern at a series of unsolved arson
attacks on independent media, including an April 2004 blaze that destroyed
the printing press of The Independent newspaper. Access to government
information is extremely limited; the government bars civil servants from
speaking with the press without authorization from their bosses.
"A firm commitment to press freedom at the highest level would help create
conditions for the private press to operate without fear in the run-up to
next year's presidential elections," said CPJ board member and Pulitzer
Prize-winning columnist Clarence Page. "By helping to reduce mistrust,
President Jammeh can also create a more favorable environment in which to
investigate Hydara's murder."
CPJ called on the president and his government to affirm its respect for the
role of the press; condemn all threats and violence against journalists;
renew investigations into the arson attacks and make the findings public;
improve access to government information; repeal the recent repressive
amendments to the Criminal Code and the Newspaper Act; and work toward
decriminalizing press offenses.
The CPJ delegation included Crawford, Page, and CPJ Deputy Director Joel
Simon. To read the full text of the delegation's statement to the press
conference in Banjul, click here:
http://www.cpj.org/news/2005/Gambia_statement_12apr05.html
The Committee to Protect Journalists is a non-partisan, nonprofit
organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide. For more
information, visit http://www.cpj.org.
For further information, contact Africa Program Coordinator Julia Crawford
or Research Associate Alexis Arieff at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], Internet: http://www.cpj.org/
The information contained in this press release is the sole responsibility
of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit
CPJ.
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