Editorial
Media still under siege
Government must do more to protect press freedom
The statistics, which were unveiled by the human rights group Odhikar on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on Monday, make for sobering reading for all of us. The fact that five journalists have been killed and 176 injured during the course of their professional duties in the past two years should shock and distress everyone, not merely those of us in the media.The reason for this is that an outspoken and unfettered media is the sine qua non of representative democracy. It is the media that uncovers evidence of wrongdoing, both public and private, and thus keeps both administration officials and private operators honest. If the media are muzzled or intimidated or coerced into silence, then it is the country that suffers. The government must therefore do more to protect the press from violence and intimidation at the hands of those who would seek to silence them. However, the record of prosecution for violence against newsmen and women is dismal, and this sends the wrong signals to the perpetrators. More than merely not prosecute the offenders, the government has, time and again, actually spoken out against the media, accusing it of bad faith, political agenda, and harming the country's image. There is little doubt that those who want to silence the press have been emboldened by the government's words. Furthermore, the government remains extremely secretive and it is often hard for the press to get hold of information needed to serve the public. This must end. Information must be made available. The government must stop bashing the press and it must take action against those who commit violence against newsmen and women. The government's current stance of treating the press as the enemy is misguided on a number of counts. In the first place, it seems to misunderstand the function of the press and its duty to keep politicians accountable. In the second, it betrays the government's own anti-democratic inclinations. Third and most importantly, it attempts to shift the blame for the ills of the country away from the government and onto the media. Undoubtedly, the media has work to do to improve itself. We need to be more professional and more objective. We need to make sure that we report responsibly and fairly, and most importantly, honestly and accurately. But the government does both the country and itself a disservice when it fails to appreciate the value of a free media and uses the media as a convenient scapegoat for its own failings.
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