Local journalists fear that the press freedom space is gradually shrinking and, just like the military junta did between 1994 and 1996, this signals an end to the honeymoon period for journalists. In this photo, cameras raised at President Barrow’s inauguration in February 2017 (Photo by JOOFMS/TNBES)
The Gambia Press Union (GPU) has called on journalists to not comply with State House’s proposal to have journalists screened by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) before they are given accreditation to report from the presidency.
It said the proposed screening referred to as “background check” is an interrogation placing unnecessary barriers to journalists work.
“We… consider the screening process as required by the Office of the DPPR [director of press and public relations] as an interrogation, not a background check,” the Union said in a communique following an emergency meeting on Saturday.
“We have taken a common position that screening of journalists in this fashion by the NIA is a non-starter. It violates international best practices on press freedom as it places unnecessary barriers to the exercise of the right of the journalist to inform the people of what the government is doing on behalf of the tax payers.”
The GPU said the measure provides room for abuse of press freedom that it could be used in the future to shut out media professionals who are deemed to be critical of government and government officials.
State House’s DPPR, Amie Bojang-Sissoho, said the procedure was necessary for “due diligence” security measures, but local and international journalists disagreed.
The GPU and its international partners, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) have strongly condemned the procedure and called on the authorities to allow journalists to work freely and without any form of surveillance.
Never Undergo Selection Process
The President of the Gambia Press Union, Sheriff Bojang, said that the union has asked journalists not to comply with the selection process until talks are held with State House.
“No journalists should subject him/herself to any NIA screening. Complying may bring about long term safety complications for journalists,” Bojang said. “GPU will not intervene if any such person gets into trouble arising from complying with the new requirement.”
IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “Journalists should never go through a selection process to be allowed to report on public institutions, least of all controlled by intelligence agencies. We urge the authorities to drop this proceeding and allow journalists to cover public affairs without any kind of policing”.
The National Intelligence Agency under the Jammeh regime was a notorious and feared institution that intimidated, arrested, tortured and maimed journalists and civilians with impunity, the IFJ said on Friday.
The President of the Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), Alsadig Ibrahim Alrizagi, said: “Independent journalists will never be comfortable to go through a screening process by an institution that had previously inflicted pain and suffering on journalists.
“This screening process will breed self-censorship, as journalists will be afraid that being critical in their reports could lead to a cancellation of their accreditation.”
Government officials including the president and his ministers have constantly threatened to implement restrictive laws like sedition and false publication in the wake of increasing criticisms.
Freedom Space Tightening
Gambian journalists endured a severe crackdown under President Yahya Jammeh, who presided over a 22-year “reign of terror”, according to the Media Foundation for West Africa.
While global rankings on press freedom and freedom of expression have indicated some improvements in The Gambia owing to presidential promises, the West African country is still ranked NOT FREE on press and internet freedoms in a Freedom House 2018 report.
The government’s promise of fundamental freedoms have been affected by laws restricting freedom of expression, press freedom, freedom of assembly, and active political participation.
In May 2018, the country’s Supreme Court decided that the laws, which activists say are draconian, be maintained following a challenge by The Gambia Press Union.
Government officials including the president and his ministers have constantly threatened to implement restrictive laws like sedition and false publication in the wake of increasing criticisms.
The police have also on several occasions restricted peaceful protests by refusing to issue permits and occupying protests grounds.
A March 20 World Happiness Report revealed people in the ‘Smiling Coast’ of Africa are less happy compared to conflict-affected countries with less stable governments like Libya and Somalia. Of 156 countries, The Gambia is 120th happiest country in the world in the report whose findings are based in part on level of freedom attained.
Honeymoon Period Ending
Local journalists fear that the press freedom space is gradually shrinking and, just like the military junta did between 1994 and 1996, this signals an end to the honeymoon period for journalists.
The State House has suspended, without notification, the regular press briefings and press conferences, and journalists sit-downs with the president. Monthly press briefings by the Ministry of Communications have not been holding recently.
The Gambia is among the world’s top ten poorest countries, according to the World Bank, and is recovering from a 22-year dictatorship described by rights groups as “brutal”.
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