http://www.minivannews.com/comments_analysis_detail.php?id=6976
Comment & Analysis: A free media? 28 July 2009 Ibrahim MohamedYesterday, I watched an interesting item on Television Maldives (TVM). I am not sure whether it was a hard news story, a report or an opinion. It may be a new creation of TVM which doesn’t fit any of the above. I would classify it under commentary. Although the programme discussed press freedom since the change of government, it noticeably failed to address the challenges faced by the media. In recent weeks, many violent attacks have taken place against local journalists. These attacks were duly condemned by international media organisations, such as the South Asian Free Media Association. The incidents include the assault of Ahmed “Hiriga” Zahir, editor of Haveeru daily, a protest against Minivan News and the assault of Ibrahim Rasheed, a TVM reporter. Unfortunately, these incidents did not appear to have caught the eyes of the government, even though the head of state was a former journalist who was frequently persecuted by the previous government. It might be that journalism is not that important to the government. But I believe if the government is genuinely concerned about media rights, these issues must be addressed. The least we expected was for the government to make a statement condemning the attacks. It came as no surprise to me that the journalist who prepared the commentary on TVM was its new assistant editor, Ahmed Muhsin, a journalist who has close ties with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Rather than describing him as a journalist, I would characterise him as a politician and an extreme critic of the former government, especially against former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He also contested and lost in a constituency for Haa Alifu atoll during the parliamentary elections. The TVM news team consists of the most capable and expert journalists in the country. But today, the appointed board of Maldives National Broadcasting Corporation is making changes to the editorial policy of TVM, shifting the competent journalists to irrelevant beats. These experienced journalists are being replaced by sincere activists of MDP. I think the government has a hidden agenda to propagate state media as a political tool by planting activists in the news rooms. The new government has a policy of revealing information of ministries every day at the Dharubaaruge conference hall, thereby fostering a perception that the government is keen on providing information. But in reality, these press conferences are used as an excuse to withhold information. When called by journalists, the ministries often say the information was revealed at the press conference. Moreover, we should not forget the notorious decision of government to ban websites and the Airtel dish antenna, which it later reconsidered after tremendous public pressure. Another surprise for print media was the response from the president’s office to a letter from the Maldives Journalist Association expressing concern over the government’s decision to stop publishing notices and announcements in newspapers. Although more than 50 percent of the expenses of newspapers are covered by income generated from government notices, the president’s answer was very simple. He said he did not believe this was the case. Instead, the government threw as a smokescreen the fantasy notion of a media village to be established in the near future. In reality, almost all print media are funded by people affiliated with the opposition. This may be the true reason behind the government's decision, especially since the leading daily newspaper, Haveeru, is owned by Gayoom's former special advisor. After coming to power, the government openly challenged Haveeru by threatening to evict the newspaper from its premises within seven days, as the land belonged to the state. These things cannot be tolerated if we are serious about establishing a free media in the Maldives. I urge the relevant authorities to open their eyes to the enormous challenges facing the Maldivian media. All comment and opinion pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial news policy. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected] ------------------------------------ -- INFORMATION OVERLOAD? Get all ZESTMedia mails sent out in a span of 24 hours in a single mail. Subscribe to the daily digest version by sending a blank mail to [email protected], OR, if you have a Yahoo! 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