Say No To Hate Speech To Promote Good Governance

The 10th anniversary of the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law was celebrated at the plush Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra Tuesday, with some prominent Ghanaians urging media owners to institute guidelines to ensure strict adherence to the code of ethics of journalism.

They specifically suggested to owners of radio and television stations to encourage their employees, particularly talk show hosts to moderate their programmes in a way to avoid the use of hate speech.

They asked the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the National Media Commission (NMC) to institute measures to shame and sanction journalists who use or encourage the use of insulting and intemperate language on their programmes.

The Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, the former President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, the Chairman of the NMC, Mr Kabral Blay Amihere, the President of the GJA, Mr Ransford Tetteh, a Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Mr Kofi Abotsi, and the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Prof Kwame Karikari, who made the call, again asked journalists to engage in self regulation and abide by the ethics of their profession, which require them to respect the truth, be responsible in their utterances and avoid defaming other people.

Organised by the MFWA on the theme: “A Celebration of Freedom of Expression: Marking the 10th anniversary of the Repeal of the Criminal Libel Lawin Ghana”, the forum was to deliberate on the progress made on the media landscape after the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law and offer suggestions on how to improve upon it.

Other personalities at the forum were the 2012 Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, the Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress, Mr Kofi Asamoah, the acting Director of Communication of ECOWAS, Mr Sunny Ugoh, and the President of the Coalition of Muslim Organisations, Ghana (COMOG), Major (Retd.) Mohammed Easah.

Mr Kufuor, who was the guest of honour, said the whole world was moving towards the freedom of humanity, and indicated that News of the World in Britain was shut down recently because it abused the rights of people.

He said if the media felt that they had the power of the pen to attack the image of people, events in the world, especially in North Africa, indicated that the freedom of man would rise up against them.

The former President said although the NMC was the regulatory body of the media, there was the need for every media house to have a regulatory regime to ensure accountability and transparency.

“You have to self-regulate. You can’t run loosely without exercising responsibility”, he stressed.

Mr Kufuor said his government supported the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law because of the culture of silence that the country had gone through, adding that it was an attempt to encourage free press and freedom of speech.

He said the repeal was a landmark in the democratisation of the country as it had put the nation in the next pedestal of freedom and development.

Mr Mahama, who chaired the lecture, expressed worry that some journalists defamed people but refused to publish rejoinders, pointing out that even if they did, the rejoinders were not given the prominence given to the defamatory story.

He said some of the journalist dared those who were defamed to go court, because they (the journalists) knew that many people did not want to go through the rigorous court proceedings of seeking justice.

He said the new trend was about absolute concoction of stories perpetrated, especially in the worldwide web or the Internet by faceless individuals who could not be taken on since they did not have corporate identities.

The Vice-President said despite the excesses on the part of some journalists, “a vibrant media is the cornerstone of every democracy”.

Therefore, he said, the way to go was not to criminalise media content or strangulate the media. Rather, he said, self-regulation and enforcement of journalism ethics were the key.

Adding his voice to the call for responsible journalism in the country, Mr Blay-Amihere, said although the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law and the 1992 Constitution guranteed freedom of expression, it was not an incentive for irrespnsible journalism.

“Let us not create conditions that can lead to any crack down on media freedom,” he said.

He, therefore, urged owners of media houses and journalists to commit themselves to self regulatory mechanisms and high standards.

Mr Blay-Amihere stated that although the NMC was the least resouced state institutions and regarded as as a toothless bulldog, it would continue to hold media houses and journalists to high standards.

Mr Tetteh said the present media freedom could not be solely attributed to the repeal of the laws but also especially to the liberal nature of the 1992 Constitution that guranteed the independence and freedom of the media.

The media landscape, the GJA President observed had become so vibrant today that there was virtually no secret or no go area for journalist putting public office holders on their toes,thereby, promoting transparenct and accountability in the conduct of public affairs.

He said while the excess of a section of the media had provoked some stakeholders to call for other forms of legislation as their prescription for the cure for the shortcomings of the media, the call was dangerous and row back gains of media freesom and deny democratic governance the critical oxygen for its development and growth.

Prof Karikari said the growing use of unedifying expressions by pilitical fuctionaries, assisted by low professional standads of major sections of the media, had wide ramifications for natioanl unity, peace and the very growth of the democratic culture.

“Indeed, it has serious implications for promoting an enlightened citizenry. Worst of all, it undermines the citizens confidence in the values of the right to free speech and media rights,” he added.

Mr Abotsi in a presentation on the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law; the balance sheet for Ghana’s democracy, said although decriminalisation gave the public the right to take civil actions against journalists, it could also lead to a situation where media practioners could end up practicing journalism of caution for fear of being hauled to the law courts.