WAN award highlights press freedom

29 May 2007

A Chinese journalist languishing in jail will be awarded the Golden Pen of Freedom Award at this year's World Association of Newspapers (WAN) Congress to be held in Cape Town next week, 3 – 6 June 2007 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. It is the first time that the WAN Congress will be held on the African continent and it is hoped that the award will draw attention to an issue which is so often disregarded by African governments.

Says local media rights activist Raymond Louw, recent winner of the Mondi Shanduka Lifetime Achievement Award [see Raymond Louw - Lifetime Achiever], “It is appropriate that Shi Tao be given the award. He is someone who has acted and fought for press freedom by disseminating such information in the public interest. And he is being made to suffer for acting in the public interest,” says Louw.

Louw says he hopes the conference will highlight the disregard for freedom of the press in Africa.

Situation may only get worse

Over 30 journalists are in prison around the continent and with countries such as Tanzania introducing new media restrictive laws, it is feared that the situation will only get worse. Eritrea and Ethiopia are among the worst offenders in the world when it comes to restricting the media and imprisoning journalists.

“I feel media freedom is under attack, especially here. There is constant restriction on media across our borders. In Zimbabwe independent media can't operate. In Swaziland journalists are subjected to threats and a lack of information. Every day a journalist is harassed or imprisoned,” says Louw.

Here at home, media and press freedom organisations are concerned that controversial amendments to the Film and Publications Bill are an attempt to tamper with the enshrined freedom of the press. [for updates, see Progress for press freedom and New press council for SA newspapers].

Louw says he will not be satisfied until the proposed amendments are totally withdrawn. He says if the bill is passed, local journalists could, like Shi Tao, find themselves behind bars.

“Divulging state secrets abroad”

In April 2004, the Chinese government sentenced journalist Shi Tao to 10 years' imprisonment for “divulging state secrets abroad”.

His crime? He had sent a US-based website a message from the Chinese government warning journalists against publicising events surrounding the 15th anniversary of the Tienanmen Square massacre. The Chinese government says the message to media organisations was top secret, and had Shi jailed for illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities.

Sadly, while Shi is being recognised for his fight for press freedom by his global peers; his local colleagues have abandoned him. The Chinese Newspaper Association has demanded that the Golden Pen of Freedom award be withdrawn.

For more information on the 60th WAN Congress, go to www.capetown2007.co.za.