IFJ CONDEMNS MEDIA CRACKDOWN

Press release

International Federation of Journalists (Brussels)

SOURCE

12 April 2011

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned in the strongest possible terms the brutal crackdown on journalists and trade union leaders by the Swazi security forces.

Two South African journalists of Eyewitness News were arrested today in Swaziland while covering the planned protest demonstrations.

The journalists, Nastasya Tay and Tshepo Lesole were detained for some hours before being escorted by the Swazi police out of the commercial capital, Manzini while Dutch journalist Rob Hartgers who is also in Swaziland to cover the planned demonstrations was detained at the Manzini Regional headquarters and his colleague and countryman identified only as Peter was stopped and thoroughly searched at a road block in Manzini.

Security forces also arrested at least four trade union leaders including Phumelele Zulu Dlamini of the Swaziland Federation of Labour and Nomkhosi Dlamini - Gumedze, secretary of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions' Women's Wing.

According to media reports from Swaziland, political parties, trade unions and civil society organizations have planned a protest action for today, Tuesday 12 April to demand the lift of the ban on political parties and an end to the monarchy. Police Commissioner, Issac Magagula said that any demonstration in Swaziland would be met with brutal force. He warned unions and journalists not to attend the planned demonstrations as police would ensure that they do not take place.

"The sheer force used by security forces in preventing journalists from reporting the events is a serious repression of fundamental rights and a deliberate attempt to suppress the truth," said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa Office. "Journalists' right to access information and to report in the interest of the public must be respected at all cost as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on Civil and Political Rights".

The IFJ calls on the Swazi regime to release with immediate effect all journalists and trade union leaders in its custody and to allow them to exercise their role and rights.

"Freedom of expression and the right to association and peaceful assembly are fundamental human rights recognised the world over and thus it is of ultimate importance that the Swazi regime respects these rights," added Baglo.

See also

SWAZI FORCES TARGET JOURNALISTS

http://swazilandcommentary.blogspot.com/2011/04/swazi-forces-target-journalists.html

TELEVISION MISUSES CHILDREN

I wrote on Monday about how newspapers regularly misuse children in their reports and how reporters deny children their rights.

Newspapers are not the only culprits as this news report from Channel S (Channel Swazi) news shows.

I have some problems telling you about the story (which denied a child victim of rape her human rights) without committing the same gross errors as Channel S, but the basic details are these.

The main item on the news last Wednesday night (14 November 2007) was about some children who had been raped at a school. During the bulletin the reporter identified who the rapist was and interviewed one of the child victims. To protect her identity, the child had her face obscured by a black strip for most of the interview but she would have been clearly identifiable to anyone in her community (which was named) by her voice and the clothes she wore. But worse than this, because of a technical mistake the black strip on her face was removed before the end of the interview and her face was clearly visible on screen for several seconds.

Then it became clear that the police had not arrested or charged the man the news report had said was the rapist and it seemed had no intention of doing so.

To recap: Channel S falsely named a man as a rapist when he had not been convicted of the crime and identified and interviewed a child victim of rape.

The report violated the Swazi National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) Code of Conduct. By accusing the man of being a rapist Channel S broke Article 5 of the code, which states, ‘A journalist should guard against defamation, libel, slander and obscenity.’

Channel S may also have broken the same article which goes on the state, ‘A journalist shall seek consent of the survivor before taking pictures or conducting interviews with survivors of sexual offences. In cases of minors, the consent of their guardians shall be sufficient.’ We can’t be sure that the parents or guardian of the child who was interviewed gave consent. Certainly, no adult related to the child was featured in the news item.

Channel S broke Article 15 of the code which states, ‘Journalists shall avoid identifying survivors of sexual assault or give any information that may lead to the identification of the survivor.’ Channel S is guilty by interviewing the child on camera and showing her full face at the end of the interview. Even if the dreadful mistake of showing her face had not happened, the girl would still have been identifiable by her voice and clothing. Also, the item was recorded (not broadcast live) so there was an opportunity to correct the mistake before the news bulletin was aired.

So how should Channel S have reported the story? The station was perfectly within its rights to bring such an important crime as rape to the public’s attention, but it needed to do so without violating the rights of the child involved.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has developed guidelines to support media workers who have to deal with children and young people. The IFJ advocates media training to recognise that children’s rights are important and to reflect upon the social responsibilities they carry when they research, write and produce children’s stories. Media houses need to develop practical strategies for dealing with complex issues and keeping an appropriate balance between the protection of children’s rights and journalistic independence and freedom of expression.

The IFJ advocates media training, but the evidence so far in Swaziland suggests such an approach will have a limited impact. For example, a three-day workshop on responsible reporting of children was held in Swaziland for media practitioners and others. It received extensive coverage in the Swazi media and codes of practice were published, but the message has not travelled from the classroom to the newsroom.

See also
POOR PICTURE OF CHILDREN

SWAZILAND ‘SHAMES AFRICA’

Swaziland shames the rest of Africa when it comes to violating the rights of journalists.

That was the first public declaration made by a new African journalist’ organisation formed this month (November 2007).

The Federation of African Journalists was launched at a congress in Abuja, Nigeria, on the theme of Building a Strong and United Voice for African Journalists. Participants from 20 countries in Africa attended the congress.

The Federation’s first public statement was to issue a strong protest over African governments that jail journalists and encourage a culture of impunity by failing to investigate violent attacks on media staff. 'These governments shame Africa and make a mockery of commitments to pluralism and democracy,’ said the Federation, in a media statement issued on 15 November 2007.

The Federation called on the African Union and the United Nations Human Rights Commissioners to investigate, expose, and take appropriate action against states violating the fundamental rights of the people of Africa.

In particular, the Federation called on the African Union to investigate the actions of Swaziland and other governments including Somalia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Niger, Gambia, Tunisia and Egypt where there have been credible reports of serious violations of journalists’ rights.

The Federation of African Journalists is part of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which represents more than 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide.

Jim Boumelha, IFJ President, who was present at the conference hosted by the Nigeria National Union of Journalists, the continent’s largest journalists’ group, said, ‘Journalists are angry at the way governments and authorities abuse media. They are determined to fight for their rights and they want a single, unified Federation that will speak for all African journalists and that will ensure actions to support African journalism are led and driven by African journalists themselves.’