Permit me to focus on colleagues in my chosen field and career. For as long as I know, and have been informed, we have the constitutional right and privilege to choose any career of our choice.
Not so much have I read series of attacks and intimidation of journalists in the present age as observed in times past. And this is the 21st Century, under a governing party that championed press freedom.
The era until the Fourth Republic, was characterized by a lot of censorship, and governments at the time tried to suppress media freedom, almost gagging what practitioners could say. The stories of Kwesi Pratt, Haruna Atta, Kweku Baako and the likes, are well known.
But of course, that was ages ago when the rulers or leaders could subdue the ruled; a period where the press was totally in the dark trying to find means to break free from the control of the sovereign.
‘Saviour’ of press freedom?
The New Patriotic Party could be referred to as the ‘saviour’ of the media, or at least they seemed. The party prides itself with repealing the criminal libel law under the John Agyekum Kufuor administration. The repeal of the law provided fresh air which potentially set the media on a freedom path.
The 1992 constitution, although had provisions which hoped to grant complete press freedom, could not totally protect and safeguard journalists in the early days. In 2001, the NPP Administration, under Mr Kufour, had the criminal libel law presented to Parliament, by then Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo.
The law was eventually repealed. The government’s vision of ensuring a freer media environment had seen light. They won.
Now, we are under the leadership of the man who championed the repeal of the criminal libel in parliament in 2001. Unfortunately, or surprisingly, the period between 2017 and 2019 has not been pleasant for journalists. In the last two years, there’s been a series of reported cases of assault on media persons, the murder of a media person, and the shutdown of some media houses deemed critical of the governing party and abduction of pressmen.
Government responsibility?
In all these, it is impossible not to hold the government of the day accountable for the threats and insecurity journalists have suffered and continue to suffer. First and foremost, why do we have to wake up to the closure of two anti-government radio stations on grounds that they did not have the license to operate? I am certainly not against the National Communications Authority doing its work but why go there with armed military persons to shut them down when a simple letter could have done the trick? For many people, the manner and style employed in shutting down the media houses triggered the anger of the public.
For others, shutting down an anti-government media house when they were in the middle of broadcasting live a press conference of the opposition party on an alleged harassment of its chairman, was a clear and an intentional suppression of press freedom and dissent.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has reported that seventeen journalists were assaulted within the period of 2017 and 2018. Do you remember the three Ghanaian Times reporters who were brutalized by the police in March 2019? Malik Sulemana and Raissa Sambou, both reporters, and Salifu Abdul Rahman, an assistant editor shared a sad encounter they had with some police personnel.
The police institution which is mandated and expected to protect citizens turns around to brutalize citizens? Who do you run to for protection?
The Modern Ghana Incident
To the most current and uncalled for action by the State on journalists. As you might have already been aware, two journalists from the online portal, Modern Ghana, Emmanuel Adjafor and Emmanuel Yeboah Britwum were picked up by the National Security in their office in Accra on Thursday, June 25, 2019. The “arrest” seemed more of an abduction to me from the scenarios narrated. The two, had their heads covered with black bags, leaving little space for air, just so they will be unable to trace where their captors were taking them. They were held against their will for close to 48 hours. They were released on Saturday, June 27, 2019.
The method of their arrest has not been disputed. There is controversy however, about the treatment meted out to them, while they were with their captors. Whereas one said he was brutalized and tortured and made to do all sorts of inhumane things, the other claims he was not touched. And who were their captors? National Security Operatives. One journalist said he was grilled on an article he published on the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah.
Back to my point, being picked up against your will, covered in a black plastic bag and assaulted for simply doing your work as a journalist, leaves a lot to be desired. Let me say that according to the National Security, the “arrest” was based on cybersecurity breaches. A claim the journalist laughed off!
Do we want to be likened to our neighbouring countries who are known to suppress the press using all sorts of means? In Uganda for instance, the suppression of the media was seen even more clearly in the coverage of news related to Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobbie Wine, who is a fierce critic of the current President, Yoweri Museveni.
It is not surprising from the foregoing that Ghana ranked 27 in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index as against 23 in 2018.
There is a responsibility on journalists to also be responsible. However, there can be no place for violence against journalists. There are laws of defamation which one can resort to when that person feels slighted by a journalist’s work, but certainly not violence.
If this trend continues, I am afraid we will slide further on the World Press Freedom Index and lose our place as a media-friendly country and the ramifications of that for our democracy and economy and foreign direct investment, we may not be able to quantify. I expect our State actors to rise to the occasion and nib this recent wave of violence against journalists in the bud before it destroys our reputation.
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The writer, Bervelyn Longdon, is a National Service person with Citi FM and Citi TV