World Press Freedom Day, a day for self introspection

Every day, as they tirelessly investigate and report sensitive and sometimes disturbing truths, journalists find themselves in undesirable positions. Faced with conflicting loyalties, they can’t help but get caught up in the fury of those that they directly or indirectly expose. As a result, some of them always lead a life on the run as they protect their lives from threatening situations. This constant open exposure to danger and uncertainties called for a day that brings to remembrance the fact that journalists deserve the freedom to bring to the public independent news and information without worries of harassment. The World Press Freedom Day, was declared on May 3rd by the United Nations General Assembly. This day was to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression as stated under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the case of Rwanda, press freedom is present according to Article 34 of the 2003 Rwandan Constitution which states that, “Freedom of the press and freedom of information are recognised and guaranteed by the State.” The article further states, “Freedom of speech and freedom of information shall not prejudice public order and good morals, the right of every citizen to honour, good reputation and the privacy of personal and family life. It is also guaranteed so long as it does not prejudice the protection of the youth and minors.” However, in Rwanda’s case the conditions for exercising these freedoms are determined by law. As a result the Media High Council, an independent media regulatory body was established. According to Patrice Mulama, the Executive Secretary of the Media High Council, given the context of Rwanda and its history as well as the good legislation and constitution, the media is free. “Rwandan media today is becoming free day by day,” Mulama said, “… every country and society has its own set of laws that determine press freedom. This all depends on the context of a given country and in our own context, the press is free.” However as the media develops step by step towards one that practices ethically and professionally, statistics show that close to 20 percent of journalists in Rwanda have a degree or diploma in Journalism and communication studies. This according to Mulama, is too small a number to have a completely professional press. “Due to this, what has resulted are challenges of journalists; who are self-censored, who lack values that guide and protect them from endangering themselves by going overboard both in ethics and the law as well as who do not have respect for the standards of professional and ethical practice,” he said. Twenty-six year old journalist Maurice Munyentwali, who has worked for Radio Salus for 3 years and is also a correspondent for ‘Grand Lac Hebdo’- a newspaper written in French is in agreement with the above. “Rwandan journalists do not know how to fully utilize the freedom that they have,’ Munyentwali said. This he explained is probably due to the closed culture that Rwandans have and also attributed it to the country’s history of genocide. As compared to the western media that took 400 years to achieve its freedom, Munyentwali says the context of the two is currently different. “Our level of dealing with issues is different from the western media because of our history,” he said. This he mainly attributed to the fact that unlike African states that constantly face wars and conflicts, the West does not. “That’s why the state has a duty to protect the public and its citizens through the Press Law from hate media that promotes and creates conflict and divisionism, just like it was prior to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,” Munyentwali emphasized. Twenty- five year old Gilbert Ndikubwayezu, is a print journalist who is addicted to media and journalism practices. He worked in a newsroom in Toronto Canada and has a taste of the kind of media freedom they experience. He describes his experience in Canada and compares it to that of Rwanda. “Rwanda and Canada are two different contexts where the views that people have of the media is different. My three-month while here showed me that journalists are not the only people who need to know and exercise press freedom, but also the citizens in general must have an understanding of what a free society is and what freedom of expression means,” Ndikubwayezu said. He further said that the State must present to guarantee that both sides enjoy their full freedom of expression and that both countries have their own levels of press freedom. In his own view he expressed that every country is on a continuous struggle to achieve the highest level of free media exercise standard. “To the best of my knowledge, no single country has ever achieved total press freedom. I take it as a continuous struggle, and I believe my country is on the same track,” he said. He further underscored the fact that the Media as a whole plays a crucial role in the country’s development. “Press freedom must put journalists in an environment that allows them to report what they discover as good for the benefit of the society. Reporters must use this press freedom to unveil factually what they find as mistakes and errors in the functioning of the system, so as to play their role as watchdogs, who help in the country’s development,” he said. Contact: anyglorian@yahoo.com