The government of Tanzania
reiterated that it will continue to cooperate with the United Nations
Educational, scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as well as other
organisations in fighting against, and find solutions to all negative
challenges that threaten the safety of journalists and other media people including those operating online.
Minister of Information, Culture and Sports, Harrison
Mwakyembe, reaffirmed so when opening a five day conference of media
stakeholders to mark International Day to End Impunity Against
Journalists in Arusha City.
Restrictions on media freedom have intensified
under the 2016 Media Services Act which enhances censorship, violates the right
to information and limits scrutiny of government policies and programmes.
Since 2016 the Tanzania government has used the
Media Service Act to close, fine and suspend at least six media outlets for
publishing reports on allegations of corruption and human rights violations and
the state of Tanzania’s economy. The
authorities have also used the 2015 Cybercrimes Act to prosecute journalists
and activists for social media posts.
Without elaborating
on how the government is prepared to upkeep media practitioners’ safety, he said the media has a great
responsibility to ensure the life of a journalist is safe and stressed that the
safety of these professionals begins in the newsroom.
“We as government recognise the importance of
the media, as the media enables the world to know what we say and what we want.
The media must also recognize they are accountable in instilling respect in the
media sector and to protect the journalist.” He said.
Responding to one of the resolutions of the 2018
meeting that called on the government to establish the coverage professionally
and by law on freedom of expression and to accede to the authority of the
African Court of Justice on human rights as well as rights of journalists, Mwakyembe
explained that Tanzania is among seven African countries which have already
ratified the protocol.
UNESCO representative Tirso Dos Santos, reading a
message from UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres said press freedom is
important as it informs and educates people, prop up democracy which is important
in realizing sustainable development.
Quoting the UN boss, Dos Santos said when
journalists are targeted, the society in general suffers. “Without the ability
to protect journalists our ability to receive information and our ability to
give decisions are greatly impeded.”
The upcoming November 2019 local elections and
October 2020 general elections in Tanzania will take place in a climate of
mounting fear with growing restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression,
association and peaceful assembly.
Minister of Information, Culture and Sports, Harrison Mwakyembe |
Since President John Magufuli took office in
November 2015, the state has applied a raft of repressive laws restricting the
rights of opposition politicians, human rights defenders, activists,
researchers, journalists, bloggers and other online users.
Cumulatively, the application of these laws has
had a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly, with people’s censoring actions perceived as critical of
government for fear of prosecution or other reprisals.
In July 2016, the civic space in the country
closed rapidly after President John Magufuli announced a blanket ban on
political activities until 2020, with many lawyers saying that the ban has no
basis in Tanzanian law. The ban has also been selectively applied against
opposition parties.
Since it was instituted, several opposition
politicians have been arrested and prosecuted on trumped-up charges in
politically motivated trials. In January 2019, Tanzania’s National Assembly
amended the Political Parties Act ushering in wide-ranging restrictions on the
rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.
Since 2018, Tanzania’s government has also
brought in sweeping powers to police the internet. The Electronic Postal
Communications (Online Content) Regulations enacted in March 2018 broadly
restricts online content, requires bloggers to register and permit surveillance
of cybercafés without judicial oversight. Together with the 2015 Cybercrimes
Act, which criminalizes publication of “false” information, these laws
undermine privacy of internet users and stifle freedom of expression.
The country’s government has also sought to
control independent research and public access to independent statistical
information through the 2015 Statistics Act, creating a dangerous regime of
denying citizens anything but a “state-sanctioned truth” While amendments to
this law introduced in 2019 remove criminal liability for publishing
non-official statistics, the authorities
still maintain control on who can gather and disseminate statistical
information and determine what is factual and false.
Heavy court fines, bail and bond terms for
individuals arrested under many of these laws disproportionately affect poor
and marginalized people. The Media Services Act, for example, criminalizes
“false news” and “rumours” under sections 50 and 54 by creating the offence of
“publication likely to cause fear and alarm” punishable with a fine of
10,000,000 to 20,000,000 Tanzania shillings (between 4,350 to 8,700 USD). The
minimum fine is over four times Tanzania’s 2018 per capita income.
Tanzanian government has also repeatedly
refused to comply with national and regional courts decisions, including three
East African Court of Justice (EACJ) judgments on violations of the rights to
freedom of expression and information.
The government’s failure to respect and
obey such judgments leaves people without recourse for the authorities’
repressive actions.
Beyond arbitrary suspension and threats,
journalists in Tanzania have also faced arbitrary arrests, prosecutions and in
one extreme case, enforced disappearance.
Disappeared investigative journalist, Azory Gwanda |
Systematic interference with the rights to
freedom of expression, information, association and peaceful assembly continue
to have a chilling effect on the political opposition, media outlets,
journalists and bloggers.
People are now denied their rights to seek,
receive and impart information.
Poor and marginalized people stand to pay the
greatest price for dissent through heavy court fines, bail and bond terms for
people arrested under many of these new repressive laws.
No comments:
Post a Comment