Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Democracy depends on freedom of the press
Leaders and citizens have to safeguard this fundamental right, writes Sue Valentine
THE WORDS “Je Suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) have reverberated around the world as journalists, governments and citizens have rallied in sympathy and solidarity with victims of the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in which 12 people were murdered, eight of them journalists.
The vigils in cold northern cities to protest against the murders – the worst massacre of journalists since 2009 when 32 journalists and media workers were gunned down in Maguindanao province in the Philippines – may seem remote from mid-summer on the southern tip of Africa, but the scale of the violence and its intention to sow fear and silence should concern us all.
“No amount of disagreement with media content should justify the annihilation of life itself,” the South African National Editors’ Forum said in a statement in response to the attack.
Charlie Hebdo’s roots reflect a long-prized tradition of French journalism reaching back to the “scandal sheets that denounced Marie Antoinette in the run- up to the French Revolution”, according to the BBC’s Hugh Schofield.
Despite their biting headlines and bawdy humour, the murdered cartoonists were French icons, wrote the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Europe representative JeanPaul Marthoz. “Even if many French did not buy the paper, they often flipped through its pages at newsstands to see how far it would go in its caricatures of heads of state, businessmen, or religious leaders including the pope and mullahs.”
In its condemnation of the murders, the South African government described it as a “calculated and barbaric terrorist attack”. International Relations spokesman Clayson Monyela went on to say in a statement: “Deliberate attacks against journalists and members of the public contravene international law and constitute a crime against humanity.”
South Africans should know better than most the value of international solidarity in the face of a crime against humanity. It was global support across Africa and on the streets of Western capitals like Paris, London and Washington that helped galvanise governments to curtail trade and impose a variety of sanctions as part of the struggle to end apartheid.
In the decades leading up to 1994, when the apartheid government banned newspapers, jailed journalists and controlled the country’s radio and television stations, many in the media, including cartoonists, played a significant role in finding ways to challenge the National Party’s worldview and expose the truths of our society.
Freedom of speech, with the implicit right to offend, is entrenched in our young democracy, creating a vital space for satire and criticism, but it is not always embraced across our society.
Amid the outpouring of grief and outrage that flooded social media this week in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, one comment from a South African editor sounded a sober note. “Reading about #CharlieHebdo and a chilling realisation: it wouldn’t be able to publish here,” editor of City Press Ferial Haffajee tweeted. It was a moment of sad reflection from someone who takes comfort and pride in South Africa’s constitutional guarantee of freedom of expression, and yet has experienced first hand the intimidation of those who deny that right.
In 2006, Haffajee received threats from Muslim people against her staff, her family and herself when she re-published cartoons from a Danish newspaper on the Prophet Muhammad in the Mail & Guardian. In 2012, she saw copies of City Press burned when an arts review included a picture of The Spear, a satirical painting of President Jacob Zuma.
This year, press freedom in South Africa is threatened directly by provisions in the Protection of State Information Bill which awaits President Jacob Zuma’s signature into law. Tthe “Secrecy Bill” denies journalists a public interest defence – anyone who discloses classified information could be charged with espionage and given a jail sentence of up to 25 years.
But beyond legal threats to media freedom, leaders need to promote a culture of tolerance for the expression of views with which they might disagree. Just this week, Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande accused the media of being “a continuation of the apartheid regime,” according to news reports. On previous occasions, Nzimande said government should withhold advertising from certain newspapers because they were driving an opposition agenda, and in 2010 he told an SACP rally that the media were a threat to the country’s democracy.
When those in power invoke “dignity,” or “national development,” or a need for “positive news”, as reasons to threaten or silence journalists, the space for freedom of expression shrinks. “The media are a mirror through which we can see ourselves as others perceive us, warts, blemishes and all,” Nelson Mandela told the International Press Institute congress in 1994. “Freedom of expression, of which press freedom is a crucial aspect, is among the core values of democracy we have striven for… A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy.”
At least 60 journalists were killed worldwide last year because of their work, according to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Of those, 40 percent were targeted for murder.
The Charlie Hebdo premises in Paris were already under police protection when gunmen burst into their offices on Wednesday. Ultimately, it is not improved security that will keep journalists safe but rather the commitment of leaders and citizens to safeguard the fundamental right of press freedom. Democracy depends on it.
● Valentine is the Africa programme co-ordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent non-profit organisation that works to safeguard media freedom worldwide.