The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) decried the Judicial Service’s threats against the media as unwarranted and an assault on the freedom of expression and freedom of the media guaranteed by the 1992 Constitution of the country.
Mr Roland Affail Monney, the GJA President, at a press conference on Monday, said “If not reversed immediately, the ill-advised, ill-crafted and ill-issued, ill-served and ill-consumed statement by the Judiciary will trigger a tsunamic backlash, lower the prestige of the court in the eyes of freedom lovers and critical people, pollute the media climate, weaken our impressive media ranking globally and dim the beacon of our democracy”.
The hurriedly convened press conference was triggered by a statement from the Judicial Service in which they ordered the media to immediately pull down statements and speeches which express, and/or insinuate hateful, spiteful, vengeful, incendiary communication against justices of the Supreme Court, particularly those hearing 2020 Presidential Election Petition.
The Judicial Service also advised the media to stop publishing political statements and speeches.
It released a threat to limit media freedom to ensure the media would not violate its rights to free expression.
Mr Monney said, “The GJA is, to put it mildly, dumbstruck in reading this obnoxious directive which is pregnant with insidious threats to media freedom in Ghana that is touted as a land of freedom and justice.” Of all deference, this is anathema.
“Unsurprisingly, our telephones have been overwhelmed with calls, both local and foreign, from journalists, media watch organisations, supporters of press freedom and free speech, demanding to know what exactly was happening after that controversial statement by the Judicial Service was issued,” he said.
It was agreed across the board that ‘media rights’ are not absolute, but must be qualified by the dictates of the law, due process, and must be exercised in such ways as to achieve legitimate goals and objectives.
He said in “crafting the scurrilous” comment, the GJA was principally of the view that the Judicial Service ought to have avoided any perception or circumstance that had the potential to instill fear and foster a culture of silence in which Ghana had been enveloped during the time of autocratic misrule.
“Criticism is a blessing,” they claim, “which all governments require.” It would be unreasonable to refuse the Judiciary the gift,” said Mr. Monnery.
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He claimed that Ann Landers once said: “The ‘well-dressed lie’ is better than the ‘naked truth.’”
Mr. Monney claimed that the reality was that the Judicial wasn’t immune from criticism.
“However, the critique needs to be presented in a way that does not bring justice into disrepute.”
He said to that end, the GJA urged the media community to be cool in their disposition and decorous in their pronouncements so that they would not be led into temptation to scandalize the court with unhinged statements or verbal stones, no matter how inflammatory the statement of the Judicial Service may be.
The President said: “The PJA will like to remind its members that far from acting on the basis of any threat or intimidation to “immediately pull down” from their platforms as requested, the media should rather act in the spirit of the GJA Code of Ethics that says “A journalist corrects inaccuracies and mistakes at the earliest opportunity and offers a chance for a rejoinder and/or an apology as appropriate.””
“The Judiciary has the power to commit any erring journalist or media house for contempt, using of course, suitable procedures and effective mechanisms.”
“What they should not recognize at all in this sense is any tactic which smacks of censorship, coercion or resuscitation of the culture of silence which can spell unforeseen socio-political consequences.”.
Mr Kwesi Pratt Jr of the Insight Newspaper, in his contribution, takes the side of the GJA and supports their stance against attacks against the media from the Judiciary Service.
SOURCE: ATLFMONLINE
