WAN Criticizes Lack of Press Freedom in Africa, But South African President Thabo Mbeki Chides Publishers and Editors For Cutting Back On Their African Coverage

Philip M. Stone June 5, 2007

The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) told South African President Thabo Mbeki, officials of the African Union, foreign ambassadors and nearly 400 African newspaper professionals from 43 countries that if Africa had more press freedom that in itself would help stamp out the rampant 'corruption, famine, poverty, violent conflict, disease and lack of education -- afflictions of which African people's have much more than their fair share.' Mbeki basically agreed but also chided the world’s media for their lack of commitment in covering Africa for the rest of the world.

At the opening of the WAN convention in Capetown, WAN President Gavin O’Reilly told some 1600 editors and publishers from around the world, “In dozens of African nations, political transformation has been deeply flawed, if not stillborn, because of the failure to secure one of the absolutely fundamental conditions for full, living democracy and pluralism. ­I'm talking, of course, about freedom of the press, which continues to be violated on a daily basis across the length and breadth of this continent.

"This freedom, whose defence and promotion was set by the founding fathers of WAN as our first and over-riding mission, is not only a human right to which every African man and woman is entitled, but a pre-condition for the establishment of good governance and durable economic, political, social and cultural development," he said.

The day before, WAN and the World Editors Forum (WEF) passed The Declaration of Table Mountain,  that calls on African states to recognize the indivisibility of press freedom and to respect their commitments to international and African protocols upholding this freedom and independence.

Mbeki in his response did not shy away from the problem. “Our continent has not escaped the effects of the tussle between media freedom and governance. There are some countries on our continent where journalists are in prison and this is worrying for all of us. African media workers and editors have been complaining about this, as has the African Union Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression in her reports.

“There is particular anger around what is seen as impunity enjoyed by some governments in their perceived or actual actions against journalists and editors. I am also aware of the feeling among African editors that libel and similar laws are used to deal with a media that is seen as uncomplimentary to the authorities.

But at the same time he said the media also had responsibilities to the public it serves. “It is surely incumbent on the media to be introspective and to conduct itself in ways that will enhance and not undermine acceptable standards of public morality and good behaviour in a progressive and enlightened state. Though making up a proud Fourth Estate which is rightly opposed to any Government interference, surely the media also carries the basic responsibilities of citizenship.”

Just last week South African media won victory in a long, hard fight to exempt print and broadcast from a pre-censorship law. While the law, still moving through Parliament but now with the exemption, was aimed at preventing child pornography, it could have required, as written originally, any report of a sexual nature to be submitted to the Film and Publications Board before publication.

“Even if there is the necessary chasm between the media and government in the perennial debate about what constitutes the public or national interest and so on, at least the debate must proceed in openness and honesty. We do believe that both government and the media are called on to act responsibly in a well-run state. This also applies to public relations, marketing and advertising interests that can have such a powerful influence in society,” Mbeki said.

And he urged the world’s media pays more attention to Africa, opening more bureaus on the continent rather than closing down existing ones because of cost factors.

“To an audience like this we can particularly ask that the media should broaden its coverage, and be prepared to get out into our country and see for themselves the progress made and also the setbacks we have experienced in our national policies and practices. Since this is WAN's first foray into Africa, I should like to extend the argument beyond South Africa and urge that the news media should – in whatever ways they think appropriate – tell the African story in as much depth and contextual detail as possible, and physically get around the continent identifying the successes and reverses so as to reflect what is really happening on the ground.

“We in Africa can and do benefit from criticism, but we do ask that it should be based on accurate information and should be properly contextualised. We also know that the amount of foreign coverage in much of the world media has been dropping over the years. For instance, the December 2006 issue of the publication, Global Journalist, says the percentage of front-page international stories in the US media fell by 13 percent between 1977 and 2004. One might ask: ‘have world events become less significant?’ The evidence also suggests that as the news media have transformed themselves to compete with new technologies, foreign bureaus have suffered significant cutbacks.

“We appreciate that there are limits to keeping many news bureaus running in a huge and geographically challenging continent such as ours. We appreciate also that, rather than have numbers of bureaus abroad, publications may very well rely more on single correspondents to cover regions. Nevertheless, we would still appeal: ‘Come and see as much as you can!’ Get to the heart of issues. Research them before coming. Find out about the big issues which are coming up, for they may have a huge impact on your viewers, readers or listeners.”

The evening before the opening ceremony publishers and editors endorsed The  Declaration of Table Mountain, named for the prominent landmark overlooking the city. It calls on African governments to release jailed journalists, abolish draconian media laws and recognize the importance of press freedom for economic, political and social development.

"In country after country, the African press is crippled by a panoply of repressive measures, from jailing and persecution of journalists to the widespread scourge of 'insult' laws and criminal defamation which are used, ruthlessly, by governments to prevent critical appraisal of their performances and to deprive the public from information about their misdemeanors," the declaration said.

WAN members had heard earlier Sunday a roundtable discussion claiming that press freedom in Africa was hard to come by. “Media freedom in Africa is held captive both by the state and by the market,” Zambian media analyst Fackson Banda said.  

He explained that many media were nationalized upon a country’s independence, giving the state control. For those media that managed to remain independent then it was the never-ending battle fighting market forces, made even more difficult in an environment that appeared to encourage concentration of media ownership, and with investment money hard to come by.

And if state-control wasn’t enough, the state also wields powerful economic powers when it doesn’t like what independent newspapers might write, such as withdrawing advertising or taxing newsprint.

From a journalist’s point of view how difficult can it be to work in some African countries? "A great many journalists in Africa work with a gun to their head or a threat of a gun to their head," said press freedom activist Raymond Louw.  Pius Njawe from Cameroon told delegates he knows the difficulties first-hand. He has been arrested 126 times in his 26 years as a journalist. Just last week in Senegal authorities stopped a licensed news and information radio station from conducting tests.

The Declaration will be presented to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon with the request that it be presented to the General Assembly, to UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, with a request that it be placed before the General Conference, and to African Union Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare with a request that it be distributed to all members of the AU and endorsed by the organization at its next summit meetings of heads of state.

The declaration:

-- calls for African governments to abolish insult laws and all other laws that restrict press freedom "as a matter of urgency."

-- calls for the immediate release of all jailed journalists and the return of journalists who have been forced into exile.

-- condemns the repression of African media by censorship and "the use of other devices such as levying import duties on newsprint and printing materials and withholding advertising."

-- calls on governments to promote "the highest standards of press freedom" and to provide constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press.

-- calls on the African Union immediately to include press freedom and independent media in the criteria for "good governance" in the African Peer Review Mechanism.

-- calls on international institutions to promote progress in press freedom in Africa through such steps as assisting newspapers in legal defense, skills development and access to capital and equipment.

"WAN and WEF make this declaration from Table Mountain at the southern tip of Africa in an earnest appeal to all Africans to recognize that the political and economic progress they seek flourishes in a climate of freedom and where the press is free and independent of governmental, political or economic control."

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