Newspapers hounded as press freedom conference ends

Independent newspapers in Botswana and Swaziland were under threat on Monday as a UNESCO-sponsored international conference called on African governments to widen the scope of press freedom. Swaziland ordered 'The Guardian' newspaper and another independent publication, critical of the government and the monarchy, to stop publishing, saying it was operating illegally under a 38-year-old law, the paper's management said on Friday. An administration officer for the newspaper, Thulani Mthethwa, said police ordered the weekly tabloid - established in February - to stop all operations because it did not meet publishing requirements under the law. The order to stop operations came three days after the paper refused to disclose its sources on a series of reports of troubles within the royal family. ' The Guardian' has come under sharp official criticism recently over its coverage of the state of health of the Swazi monarch, King Mswati III, and of reports that some of his eight wives were under suspicion of poisoning him. The Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) said it was convinced that the government action was meant to stifle the independent press. "We call upon the international community to assist in putting more pressure on the Swazi government to desist from actions which undermine freedom of the press," SNAJ secretary-general Sibusiso Mngadi told IRIN. 'The Guardian' was established by a group of media workers who lost their jobs when government closed the state-run 'Swazi Observer' in February 2000 for refusing to disclose its sources to the police. Also on Friday, the Botswana government effectively pulled the plug on two independent newspapers by withdrawing its advertising. A day after World Press Freedom Day, Botswana woke up to newspaper headlines saying that President Festus Mogae's office had instructed all ministries, state departments, parastatals and private businesses associated with the government to stop advertising in 'The Guardian', the country's oldest independent newspaper, and a sister publication,' The Midweek Sun'. This could mean the end of the two publications - in common with other countries in the region - government advertising is the lifeblood of Botswana's private media. "This means we can no longer run at a profit, but we'll carry on publishing," editor of 'The Guardian', Outsa Mukome, told IRIN. Mukome said the ban would also serve to scare away private advertisers from the paper. "It's part of a growing trend in Botswana to suppress any criticism of government," he added. Last week, the head of Botswana television's news and current affairs, Chris Bishop, resigned over what he called "government interference" in programming. These latest attacks on media in the region came as a three-day seminar on African press freedom, attended by hundreds of journalists, wound up in the Namibian capital, Windhoek at the weekend. More than 300 journalists and media professionals from Africa as well as representatives of international organisations and NGOs, met with the aim of updating the landmark Windhoek Declaration on Press Freedom, adopted in the Namibian capital in 1991. Delegates looked at mechanisms for the promotion of community radio, private and public sector broadcasting, legislative frameworks, protection of journalists, information and communication technologies, gender and more positive portrayal of women in media. On governments, the conference pledged to ask states to "ensure that their constitutions guarantee the right to freedom of expression, information and communication, in accordance with international law". The gathering also called upon African governments to review laws that affect freedom of expression and adopt policies that encourage diversity in the media as well as provide judges and other experts for the administration of justice with training on human rights. The conference approved a "Windhoek Charter on Broadcasting 2001" which among other things, called on states to transfer regulatory powers of the airwaves and telecommunication structures to publicly constituted, accountable bodies. The conference also urged UNESCO and the international community to develop a plan of action for the rehabilitation of media, training of journalists and establishment of independent media organisations in African countries that have suffered civil war such as Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. "We call on the international community and donors to support regional initiatives and organisation which support freedom of expression," the conference said, adding that such support should only be given where the independence of media houses is guaranteed.