By Aroun R. Deen
The progress of the young but promising democracy of Sierra Leone will undergo a major test in just a few days time on Saturday November – when the electorate go to the polls to determine their leaders foranother term. They will vote for president, parliament and municipal and local councils.
In the run-up to the upcoming elections the local media, as usual, have been fully engaged in providing the electorate with valuable analyses and evaluations of the performance of those who have been in office and are seeking reelection.
Additionally, they have also been educating the public on new candidates. However, local journalists are facing tough challenge as never before.
At election times, it is common practice, the world over, for politicians and their supporters to shift the blame on journalists for some of their own failures and shortcomings. The tenuous political climate that precedes the elections of November 17 grows increasingly tense. There are concerns and even worries that the safety of journalists would be at risk. It is therefore, important, that leaders of all the stakeholder groups involved, including political parties, and journalists themselves, play their part in ensuring the safety of every single journalist in the country, before, during and after the elections.
Notwithstanding that some journalists have reported being threatened or harassed by unknown persons. There is so far no clear evidence to indicate that any political party is planning to harm any journalist. Without doubt, the media in Sierra Leone is enjoying the leverage of press freedom in the country at the moment. However, some journalists – or those who pretend to be journalists – are abusing that window of freedom by very clearly aligning themselves with political parties who, it is believed, are financing their operations and/or determining their editorial decisions.
Worse still, some of the so-called journalists have made it a routine to attack, in the most disrespectful and outrageous of manners – through their radio programs and newspapers – particularly independent and serious-minded journalists who refuse to be a party to their dirty partisan games. They carry out such attacks by vilifying these journalists and leveling unfounded allegations against them. Such actions are likely to engender a mindset of hatred by some irrational-thinking bigots, ill-minded politicians and their
supporters, as well as endanger the safety and security of these independent journalists who are targeted in this manner.
In a democracy, every media outlet has the right to express, freely, its views on issues, whether or not they have or are believed to have ties with one political establishment or the other. However, journalistic responsibilities must serve as the cornerstone on which
that right is exercised so that the rights of others are not being abused to the point that their well-being and or that of their families, are put at risk.
The politically-biased journalists in Sierra Leone obviously are not practicing ethical journalism or genuinely expressing points of view; rather, they are merely engaging in deliberate distortions and outright lies while at the same time assassinating the character of others and exposing them to evil-minded party thugs.
The safety of all journalists, local or foreign, must not be compromised in anyway. For those coming from abroad to cover the elections, national media organizations, particularly the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) must work in collaboration with the immigrations department and the Sierra Leone Police, as well as put in place mechanism that not only would keep them informed of every visiting journalist, but will also ensure play host to them and, if possible, work alongside them during the course of their assignment. The unlawful detention in Freetown of a French-speaking journalist about a month ago by some supporters of the SLPP is troubling. I am sure the executive and general membership of SLAJ will do all in their power to avoid such occurrence in the future. In a fragile democracy such as Sierra Leone – one recovering from a decade-long brutal war that led to its classification by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in the United States as the most dangerous country for journalists in 1998 – the treacherous political climate that defines the path to the imminent elections raises concerns for the safety of all journalists, impartial or partisan – local or foreign.
During that dark period of the rebel war of the 1990s no less than ten journalists lost their lives performing their duties in Sierra Leone. With the fear of a repeat of that sad milestone in mind, I respectfully urge all candidates seeking public office to lend their
influential voice to this crucial and time-sensitive issue. Journalists too, must desist from attacking each other’s person. After all, they are a very essential part of society, and their role cannot be more needed than at now. I am confident that this will help curb what is clearly a legitimate threat to their lives.
Aroun R. Deen is a Sierra Leonean journalist based in New York
