Today, May 3rd 2007, marks World Press Freedom Day. 
Throughout the world, 3rd May serves as an occasion to inform the public of violations of the right to freedom of expression and as a reminder that many journalists brave death or jail to bring people their daily news. 

This year, UNESCO invites all participants to discuss the rising challenges to the safety of media professionals, identify the specific dangers journalists face when working in conflict areas, consider the problem of impunity with regard to attacks on journalists, and explore measures that can be taken to improve the safety of journalists.  Based on this call, the Gambia Press Union (GPU) has chosen as its theme “Society, the Media and Impunity.”

“The rights to life and to liberty and integrity and security of person and also to freedom of expression are fundamental human rights that are recognized and guaranteed by international conventions and instruments.” (UNESCO Resolution, General Conference 1997)

The role of the media in promoting human rights is indisputable.  To deny this right is to deny the universality of information freedom — a basic human right. Not only do free and independent media act as guardians of human rights and watchdogs against abuses by authority, they also provide citizens with the information they require to exercise their democratic rights, notably in times of election. The media also disseminates information that is crucial for the life and development of communities. They have an essential contribution to make to the achievement, scheduled for 2015, of the United Nations’ Millennium Goals, including the eradication of extreme poverty, achieving universal basic education, promoting gender equality and combating HIV-AIDS. It is undisputable that The Gambian media has played a pivotal role in informing, educating and entertaining the Gambian public.

It is also acknowledged that the space has been provided for the independent press to participate in information dissemination. There is a vibrant private press and journalists are invited to press conferences and government and civil society functions.  At the level of the judiciary, they have been allowed access to the courts, including high profile cases such as the treason trials and in the case of the legislature, they report on the National Assembly proceedings. Thus the 4th estate has improved relations with the three arms of government.

In The Gambia one of the major topics to be discussed during Press Freedom Day will be dedicated to an extremely grave and disquieting problem that is the arrests and detention of Gambian journalists without taking them to trial.  We are also concerned about the majority of crimes committed against journalists and other media professionals that remain unpunished. The case of Fatou Jaw Manneh, the continued disappearance/detention of Chief Ebrima Manneh and the protracted court case of Lamin Fatty are issues of concern.

In exercising their duties, journalists and other media people are at risk to their persons and properties. Deyda Hydara lost his life and the perpetrators of this heinous crime have not yet been brought to book. The printing press of the Independent Newspaper has been burnt down and Radio 1 FM was also burnt down. It is disheartening that the perpetrators of these crimes go unpunished.  “Impunity is freedom from punishment or injury.” The fact that these crimes have gone unpunished has been a grey area between the independent press and government and has served to force the press to impose self censorship.  It has also served to make the press, especially the private electronic media, to focus on less sensitive areas and to avoid governance and other issues. 

According to Timothy Balding, CEO of the World Association of Newspapers, “The number of crimes against journalists, violence against media professionals and their institutions remain one of the greatest threats to freedom of expression and press freedom. According to Reporters Without Borders, 75 journalists and 32 media staff have been killed last year, making 2006 the deadliest year on record. “Journalism today is more dangerous than ever. More than 500 journalists have been killed in the past decade, often for simply doing their jobs. These murders are a direct attack not only on individuals, but also on society as a whole. Yet few of the killers are ever brought to justice.”

In the last 15 years, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, about 85 per cent of all journalists’ murderers faced neither investigation nor prosecution for their crimes. “Even when murders were more fully investigated and some convictions obtained, the masterminds were brought to justice in just seven per cent of the cases”.

Murder, imprisonment and threats against journalists constitute a grave violation against the freedom of expression – and thus also threaten the foundations of democracy.  Impunity only makes the situation worse.  As long as perpetrators know that they will not be held accountable for the crimes they commit, journalists remain easy targets.

In 1997, the General Conference of UNESCO adopted Resolution 29 “Condemnation of violence against journalists” condemning violence against journalists. It aims at sensitizing governments, international and regional organisations on this topic and thus tries to fight against the existing culture of impunity. It would be good to review with all of the professional partners the efforts that have been made and the structures that have been built up in order to implement this resolution.

“Press freedom is a cornerstone of human rights and a guarantee of other freedoms. It encourages transparency and good governance; it ensures that, over and above the mere rule of law, society enjoys the rule of true justice. There are, however, those who still question the value of freedom of speech to their societies; those who argue that it threatens stability and endangers progress; those who still consider freedom of speech an imposition from abroad and not the indigenous expression of ‘all people’s demand’ for freedom.”

The GPU as a body is concerned about the promotion of the press and freedom of expression.  It believes in protecting and safeguarding the rights of the journalists. All media persons, human rights activists and concerned persons should join hands in advocating the rights of journalists and report incidences violating press freedom, free expression and violation of rights of media workers and rights activists guaranteed under existing national laws and international instruments. We must not forget that continued vigilance is the key to protect our rights and freedom.

Based on this we call on the Government, CSO, the general public to see 3rd May, Press Freedom Day as:
- a day of action to encourage and develop initiatives in favour of the freedom of the press;
- a day to assess the state of press freedom worldwide;
- a day to remind governments to respect their commitments to press freedom;
- a day to alert the public and to increase awareness of the importance of freedom of the press;
- a day to reflect on and to encourage debate among media professionals on the issues of press freedom and professional ethics;
- a day of remembrance for journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession; and
- a day of support for media which fall victim to any measures which restrain, or seek to abolish, freedom of the press.