CPJ urges President Jammeh to reject media bill

The global media watchdog, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Thursday appealed to The Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to reject the National Media Commission Bill 2002, which was passed by parliament on 24 July. The bill would "impose unacceptable restrictions on the press's ability to cover the news in The Gambia," CPJ said. "This pernicious piece of legislation would give a state-appointed committee the right to license and register journalists (and would subject heavy fines and suspension for failure to do so), force reporters to reveal confidential sources, issue arrest warrants to journalists and formulate a journalistic code of ethics," CPJ added. By making registration mandatory, said CPJ, the bill would give government authorities the power to decide who is and is not a journalist, to deny the right to confidentiality of sources and deprive journalists of one of the most essential elements for gathering information. "We believe that this legislation violates journalists' right to press freedom as guaranteed under the Gambian constitution and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which grants journalists the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media," Ann Cooper, CPJ executive director said in the letter to Jammeh. The parliament unanimously passed the bill two months after Jammeh refused to sign an earlier version and returned it for amendment on the proposed mode of selection of members of the commission. The previous version gave the president the power to appoint the commission chairman but Jammeh wanted the chief justice to appoint a high court judge instead. The Gambia Press Union is opposed to the bill, which provides for the establishment of a media commission with authority equivalent to that of a high court. The union said if Jammeh signed the bill into law, it would challenge its consitutionality.