Press council plans condemned

Plans by the Botswana government to set up a press council with extensive powers to impose fines and jail terms on journalists and publishers were "dangerous, unworkable and could limit freedom of expression", the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has warned.

"The Bill threatens to undermine efforts by media professionals to establish genuine self-regulation," said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White in a statement released earlier. "The affairs of journalism and the ethics of our profession are best left to those with professional responsibilities. We urge the government of Botswana to withdraw this Bill in favour of a dialogue with journalists and media organisations. The way forward should be based upon international principles of self-regulation."

The IFJ criticised the Bill for providing heavy penalties that are themselves ill-defined. "There is no sense of balance in penalties which range from fines of up to 5,000 Pula (around US $1,000) and prison terms of up to 3 years. Such provisions amount to undue and unacceptable pressure on journalists and will be strongly opposed by the IFJ," said Aidan White in a letter to Botswana President Festus Mogae.

The Bill provides for restrictive measures to license journalists. The IFJ said the Bill was seriously flawed and called on the government to withdraw the draft and to meet media professionals who have been preparing a proposal for self-regulation in recent months.

"Instead of launching draconian laws, the government should undertake efforts to ensure that Botswana continues to respect international standards of press freedom," said the IFJ.

In a separate letter to Mogae, the Namibia-based Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said the organisation expressed its full support "for the concerns raised by our colleagues in Botswana about the implications of the Bill for media freedom in your country, and respectfully implore you to uphold the principles of free speech and media freedom in any legislation affecting the media".

The letter added: "MISA has worked with the media in Botswana to establish a self-regulatory mechanism for the media over the last eight months and has so far established a code of ethics for the media which has the full support of the media. The media fraternity has also reached an advanced stage to establish a Media Complaints Commission as agreed to by members. It is our understanding that your government was kept informed of these developments through the Media Advisory Council.

"We respectfully urge your excellency to consider our appeal and further urge you to continue your dialogue with members of the Botswana media as well as other interested parties and to consider their concerns before tabling the Bill in parliament," MISA said.