GPU Commemorates World Press Freedom Day

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By Sheriff Saidykhan


The Gambia Press Union (GPU) in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in Senegal  has on Wednesday 3, May 2023 joins the rest of the world to commemorate World Press Freedom Day (WPFD).


The event held at Metzy hotel in Kololi, brought together Journalists' and media Chief's to device strategies to reflect on issues of press freedom and professional ethics. The day is set aside to support the media that are oftentimes targets of violation and abuse. 

 

This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights” signifies the enabling element of freedom of expression to enjoy and protect all other human rights.


Muhammed S Bah, the President of the Gambia Press Union underscored the significance of freedom of expression saying “Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right from which all other human rights can be realised. In fact, a new UNESCO analysis of V-Dem data in 180 countries indicates a strong correlation between Freedom of Expression and the health of other human rights,” he remarked.


He urged the government of President Barrow to prioritize the realisation of freedom of expression and the press.


“Therefore, the GPU is urging The Gambia Government to make the realisation of freedom of expression and a free and independent press a top priority for Gambians to fully enjoy all other rights, including civil, political, economic and social rights,” he said.


The State of Press Freedom


He further added that, the media has for the past years registered significance strides in the global press freedom index.


He added: “In The Gambia, there have been significant improvements in press freedom and freedom of expression in recent years, after the country saw a 35-point improvement to rank 50th position out of 180 countries in 2022, according to Reporters without Borders Press Freedom Index. The 2023 Index research today ranks Gambia 46 out of 180 countries. 

There has also been a proliferation of media houses, which means more people now have access to the media to express their opinions. The number of private radio stations have increased by almost 75% with 39 FM stations in operations, according to data from the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), which is responsible for registration of broadcast media. Gambians now enjoy the luxury of watching multiple local television channels with five private television stations in operation, in addition to the national television. There are seven newspapers, nine community radio stations, and at least twenty online news media platforms.

Despite this progress, there are still a significant number of press freedom and freedom of expression concerns, including the pending media law reforms, the physical attacks on journalists by mainly the police and political party activists, and the verbal attacks on journalists by politicians including the president of the republic.

The Gambia Press Union therefore reiterates its call on the Gambia government, especially the executive and the legislature, to expedite the process of media law reforms. Proposed media law reforms promised six years ago have yet to be realised,” he said.


On The Upcoming Local Elections


As the Mayoral and Chairperson elections nears, Mr. Bah also urged politicians and the police to refrain from physically assaulting Journalists’ during elections.


“As the mayoral and council chairpersons’ elections enters the nominations and campaign periods, we urged all political parties, their leaders and followers, to refrain from both physical and verbal attacks on journalists, and from any act of intimidation towards journalists. Political party leaders have a responsibility to ensure that journalists covering their events (press conferences and political rallies) are safe and free to do their work without fear or favour, affection or ill will.   

We are also urging the police to refrain from assaulting journalists before, during and after the elections, and political party leaders and government officials to refrain from making statements against journalists or the media that are likely to fan violence against journalists,” he concluded.

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