By Amin Kef Sesay
In a move to put into perspective the safety of journalists in the country and chart the way forward, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), with funding support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana has on Thursday 22nd April, 2021 convened a National Forum on the Safety of Journalists in the country, an event which took place at the Sierra Palms Hotel on Lumley Beach Road in Freetown.
The one-day event was graced by 60 participants from media outlets (editors, managers and reporters);the Ministry of Information and Communications; the Independent Media Commission (IMC), Right to Access Information Commission (RAIC), Journalists Union and other media associations (such as SLAJ, SLRU, IRN, GoE, WIMSAL, SLBC, SWASAL, etc.), security agencies (Sierra Leone Police, Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and Office of National Security (OSN)), Civil Society Organizations (Citizens Advocacy Network etc) and representatives of journalism training institutions (Mass comm. Fourah Bay College, LIMKOKWING etc).
The National Forum on Safety of Journalists in Sierra Leone is part of MFWA and MRCG’s advocacy on Safety of Journalists in Sierra Leone, an event which was aimed at highlighting issues relating to the safety of journalists issues in the country; building capacity of stakeholders on safety of journalists’ standards; fostering collaboration of stakeholders (media, security agencies, regulatory bodies, civil society etc.), to fight impunity for crimes against journalists and promote the safety of journalists and enhancing understanding of the role of the media, security agencies and how they can work together to promote peace.
Dr. Francis Sowa, National Coordinator of MRCG, in his statement, thanked the MFWA for the collaboration and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana for funding the program, emphasizing that such a forum will help in identifying, discussing and addressing issues of journalists’ safety and security in Sierra Leone.
He furthered that though the 1965 Public Order Act that criminalized libel has been repealed yet the safety of journalists still hangs in the balance as during instances of riot and other occasions journalists undergo varying forms of harassment either in the hands of security forces or leaders in the country.
“In 2020, with support from the MFWA, the MRCG trained 40 journalists on Safety and Security issues and also carried out a study on the safety of journalists in Sierra Leone. The MRCG, MFWA and partners will continue the training of more journalists and make use of the data from the study,” Dr. Francis Sowa disclosed as he presented findings from the Study on the State of Safety of Journalists, Policies and Practices in Media Houses in Sierra Leone.
In his statement, the President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla expressed appreciation to MRCG and partners for what he termed as an important event describing it as very important for journalists in the country, adding that the safety of journalists is very key towards the development of the media landscape in the country.
He said SLAJ has been playing very pivotal roles in relation to the safety of journalists in the country, of which he said SLAJ in a press statement, at one point in time, reminded that a UN resolution urges the implementation of definitive measures to protect journalists and also called for the adoption of actions against perpetrators.
Ahmed Sahid Nasralla added that they also made mention of the 2020 Press Freedom Report that was put together by MRCG, with support from SLAJ, which highlighted about 26 cases of various attacks against journalists in their line of duty over a two year period furthering that with convening such an event, targeting journalists, it will surely help them towards upholding safety measures in the line of their duties.
The Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, in his keynote address, thanked the MRCG and partners for their quest and strides towards ensuring the safety and security of journalists are maintained as well as assuring journalists of Government’s commitment to press freedom and guaranteeing the safety and security of journalists.
The Minister emphasized that Government will not support any politician that attacks journalists before he launched a report put together by MRCG and MFWA titled: “Study on the State of Safety of Journalists, Policies and Practices in Media Houses in Sierra Leone”.
The MRCG and MFWA underscored the belief that an important step to protecting the safety of journalists is when journalists themselves become conscious of potentially dangerous situations and how they can protect themselves at all times in the line of duty.
The opening ceremony was followed by panel discussions one of which was on The Safety of Journalists which was facilitated by Ransford Wright, The Media and State Security Institutions facilitated by Dr. Williette James, Improving Safety of journalists in Sierra Leone facilitated by Commissioner Mustapha Sesay.
A question and answer session formed the highpoint of the program.
