African Media Leaders Forum and press environment

[Mirror]

As media owners and managers drawn from across the African continent and beyond prepare for the sixth annual convention of the African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF), calls have been made to address the repressive media situation on the continent.

The three-day convention with a focus on the theme "Media and the African Renaissance" will hold from November 6-8, 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The AMLF which is the flagship of the African Media Initiative (AMI), is a unique initiative as it is the only Forum which brings together media owners and operators from around Africa to discuss the opportunities and the future of the industry, as well as ways to strengthen the vital role of the media on the continent.

About 550 delegates attended the 5th AMLF in Dakar, Senegal in November 2012. The second edition with the theme 'Shaping the future in Africa' brought an audience of Africa's greatest in print, broadcast and online media together in Lagos.

However, stakeholders are worried about the current severe blows by various governments on the freedom of expression in Africa, despite a resolution passed by The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) in November 2010, urging governments to repeal criminal defamation.

The Pan-African Parliament's (PAP) passed the 'Press Freedom for Development and Governance: Need to Reform' resolution in 2012, and the 'Midrand Declaration' in 2013.

Both resolutions condemn violations of media freedom and put safeguards into motion for its protection, including an annual 'media freedom index' in Africa and a decision to collectively recognise WAN-IFRA's Declaration of Table Mountain Campaign to repeal criminal defamation.

Regrettably, African governments have moved in the opposite direction in the past months with the introduction of highly restrictive media legislation.

According to the 2013 Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, with supplemental statistics from the Center for Press Freedom, African countries ranked among the 179 countries on restriction of the press.

The 10 African countries with most severe restrictions on press freedom are Eritrea (179 out of 179), Somalia (175 out of 179), Sudan (170 out of 179), Djibouti (167 out of 179), Equatorial Guinea (166 out of 179), Rwanda (161 out of 179), Egypt (158 out of 179), Swaziland (155 out of 179), Gambia (152 out of 179) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ranked 142 out of 179).

Eritrea sits the bottom of the Press Freedom Index for the sixth successive year. With over 30 journalists imprisoned and no independent media outlets, access to information is severely limited. Eritrea is also the continent's leading detainer of journalists, making it the worst place in the world for Press Freedom.

Similarly, in Somalia two journalists were shot the town of Kismayo on July 18, 2013, while over 18 journalists were murdered caught in violent crossfire in 2012.

In Equatorial Guinea, President Teodoro Obiang directed or indirectly controls all media. Djibouti has no independent media and even detained a correspondent from the foreign based news site, "Le voix de Djibouti". As the only independent news outlet covering the country, its staff are continuously threatened and banned. Other forms of media access such as the Internet are severely restricted.

Criminal defamation and military protection laws in Burkina Faso and Zambia have equally delivered severe blows on press freedom.

However, while have saluted the courageous decision of the AMI board to hold the Forum in Ethiopia, others have remained critical, citing Ethiopia's huge challenges in fostering an environment in which both press freedom and freedom of expression can thrive.

According to recent report by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), there are six journalists in jail in Ethiopia and 49 journalists are living in exile.

"For an exiled journalist and publisher who faced many challenges while working in Ethiopia and who has imprisoned journalist friends, It is immoral for me to see African Media leaders gathered in one of the world's press repressive country, Ethiopia.

"If the meeting is really going to be held there, I would consider it AMI and African media leaders support the repressive press situation in Ethiopia. I would also consider it as they support the government for all actions it is doing against the press and its advocates," Ethiopian journalist wrote on a website while calling for a boycott of the AMLF.

Reacting to the criticism, the Chief Executive of AMI, Mr. Amadou Mahtar Ba in statement said he fully understands and respects the concerns being raised and is convinced that Ethiopia remains the most appropriate venue for AMLF 2013 for a number of reasons.

He said: "This year marks the 50th anniversary of the African Union, previously known as the Organisation of African Unity. Since its inception in 1963, the organisation, a symbol of Africa's desire and determination to forge ahead in the true spirit of Pan Africanism, has been headquartered in Addis Ababa. Admittedly, it has not always endeared itself in equal measure to its collective body of stakeholders. Yet we must recognize its value as Africa's largest intergovernmental organisation, where the most critical matters touching every single African are debated throughout the year.

I must admit that like many other Pan Africanists, I have been quite critical of some of the organisation's decisions. But I do acknowledge the key role it has played in the unification of Africa by promoting cooperation, friendship and mutual support among its member states, and the courageous positions it took at the vanguard for the struggle to liberate nations that were under colonial domination."

National Mirror