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After decades of enduring tyranny, the democratic experiment, which began after the deserved exit of Mr. Charles Taylor following the self-inflicted fall of the military junta, is taking its casualties.
Both Mr. Taylor and junta leader Gen. Samuel Doe blamed the media for all their self-made woes, and they did not relent in unleashing harsh punishments including death in their futile dream of seeking compliance.
Much has improved because, amongst others, of improved international political formula for post-conflict countries and the change of agenda and perception in the centers of global power.
But here, the suspicion, bordering on dislike, for independent and probing journalism remains high, with genuine fears that sooner rather than later, the hand of the clock will be pushed backwards.
“We have a free society - sometimes we think too free! The media, free speech”, the President told an interviewer in the US.
When is a society ‘too free’? If it is too free, who is empowered to limit this freedom? Does this represent signs of despair with a society ‘too free’?
We believe these questions are vital in view of the terrible history that has been experienced with regards to limiting freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, for reformist should aspire for a freer society.
Moreover, the President again singled out unnamed journalists for, she said, ‘hurting’ the country because, she added, they want to sell their newspapers, a trend that is universal since higher sales mean higher readership.
We are concerned because indicting the media is becoming too frequent. The same indictment was handed down when the president, in her last State of the Nation Address, threatened to ‘move against’ journalists and others she blamed for bringing the country into disrepute. Now she says:
“The training of journalists to make sure they are responsible as they exercise their freedoms, which they should, is important. The tendency toward sensationalism, because it sells the newspaper in an environment where resources are scarce and the reader public is limited - so all the bad news stories get the attention - that’s fine, but in the long run doesn’t help. We need trained journalists who can conduct investigations, who can expose, but can expose on the basis of truth, on the basis of their own proper analysis of the situation - not on the basis of rumors. And when international media pick up the rumors that we all know in the country to be untruths, it really hurts our country.”
While some of the President’s concerns are legitimate, we believe that the picture is far greater than the desire to sell newspapers or presumed lack of training. It is a reflection of current state of affairs, with impunity creeping and promises betrayed. It is normal, therefore, to lynch the bearer of bad news, but the news must be delivered.
We hope that the President’s dissatisfaction with the home media, something not with the country’s politicians, is not a warning of returning to the old draconian years using different and subtle strategies against the media to ensure compliance and silence, all impossible to achieve as past eras have shown. |
