Media attacks on the rise

Namibia’s image as a shining example of press freedom had disappeared if the latest report on attacks on the media in southern Africa was anything to go by, the ‘Namibian’ reported on Tuesday. The report said the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) had recorded 22 violations of media freedom and freedom of expression in Namibia last year. Namibia was upheld in previous years as a role model for media freedom in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the newspaper said. However, it was referred to in MISA’s annual report entitled ‘So This Is Democracy - State of the Media in Southern Africa 2000’ as a country where the head of state is “leading the pack” of regional politicians who are increasingly resorting to suing the media. The MISA report was quoted as saying that “verbal, economic, and even physical threats to the media” marked attacks on the press in Namibia last year. Among the 22 violations listed in the report were attacks on the media by government politicians, the demotion of Norah Appolus as Namibian Broadcasting Corporation news and current affairs boss, and the refusal of work permits to two journalists. MISA noted that the attacks on the media had been mainly instigated by government officials, while others emanated from non-governmental organisations and unknown sources. Attacks on the media in the SADC region had increased from 84 in 1994 to 182 last year - a clear trend of growing antagonism towards the media, the MISA report was quoted as saying. South Africa came out tops with the least reports of attacks on the media.