CPJ calls for guarantee of press freedom

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is concerned that the constitution of the new African Union (AU) does not protect the right to press freedom. In a letter sent on Monday to Amara Essy, the AU secretary-general, CPJ said the language of the AU's new constitution "marks a significant setback for press freedom and freedom of expression in Africa", both of which were enshrined in the constitution of the Organisation of African Unity, the precursor to the AU. The CPJ noted that protection of journalists in Africa was "essential", because they worked "under particularly hostile circumstances". "In several AU member states, journalists are arrested, harassed, and intimidated solely for their reporting, and many countries resort to harsh, outdated laws to prosecute journalists for their work", Ann Cooper, the CPJ's executive director, said in the letter. Quoting Eritrea as an example, the letter said the government there had shut down the entire independent media and detained 14 journalists, while several others had fled the country. A government spokesperson had acknowledged to CPJ that "independent journalists are currently imprisoned and held incommunicado, but would not guarantee that all of the detained journalists were alive", noted Cooper in her letter. Cooper went on to say that the government had accused the private press of purchasing publication licences with funds from "foreign governments hostile to Eritrea". The Eritrean government had in the past also accused the private press of "irresponsible journalism" and of violating the country's press laws. Meanwhile, neighbouring Ethiopia also had "a dismal press record", said the letter. The government there "is planning alarming changes to the country's 10-year press laws that would severely restrict the rights of Ethiopia's already beleaguered private press corps," it pointed out. Information Minister Simon Bereket had told a CPJ delegation that the new law would promote "constructive and responsible journalism", but journalists had said the law "would lead to a crackdown", driving many of them out of business or putting them in prison. Three journalists were currently in prison in Ethiopia, said the CPJ letter. The CPJ letter called on Essy to ensure that the media in the AU member states could function freely, without intimidation, harassment, or restrictions. "To do so, we urge you to work towards amending the African Union's constitution in order to provide guarantees of press freedom and freedom of expression."