Jammeh Withholds Assent On Media Bill, Press Union Still Defiant

The Independent (Banjul)
NEWS
July 15, 2002
Posted to the web July 15, 2002

By Pk Jarju
Banjul

In a move unprecedented in the history of the working relations between the
presidency and the legislature, President Jammeh has sent the National
Media Commission Bill to the National Assembly, apparently refraining from
appending his signature on it due to a host of 'inappropriate' provisions.

The Bill, which was passed by the National Assembly in May, was sent back
to its members, who are being told to reconsider certain 'inappropriate'
provisions, which according to confirmed reports was seen by the president
as incompatible with some clauses in the constitution.

Although the exact reasons behind Jammeh's decision are far from clear The
Independent has reliably learnt that the president had recommended that
some clauses on the Bill deemed to run contrary to the spirit of the
constitution be deleted. Prior to his decision, there were spurious reports that
Jammeh had assented to the Bill, only to give the momentary order for its
reconsideration.

The Media Bill was condemned by journalists from within and outside The
Gambia for what they called its draconian disregard of the freedom of the
press to operate uninhibited in a democratic country like The Gambia.
Human rights concerns had also added their voice to the chorus of
disapproval of the Bill, arguing that it opens the chance for arbitrary trial and
punishment of journalists irrespective of the truth or otherwise of their crime.

Meanwhile President Jammeh's move has been interpreted as helping to
facilitate a cordial relation the government and the Gambian Media, which
since the change of the guards in 1994 has left a lot to be desired.

Earlier reports had suggested that President Jammeh had initially assented
to the Bill, which was later sent to the National Printing and Stationery
Department to be published after it became an Act of the National Assembly.
However sources said that the printing process was halted on the orders of
some government officials, who had echoed the President's wish for it to be
sent to the National Assembly for reconsideration. This is the first time in
Gambian history that a Bill enacted by the National Assembly is being
returned to it by a president who has apparently refrained from giving his
ultimate assent to it.

The clerk of the National Assembly Momodou Sailu Bah confirmed that the
Bill has been received from the President. It would soon be placed before
members of the National Assembly during its next sitting on July 24. 'We are
doing everything possible to finish working on it on time' Bah said.

However, in spite of this latest development The Gambia Press Union has
maintained its defiance against the whole idea of setting up a Media
Commission, which could be characterised by arbitrariness to deal with
journalists thought to have defaulted. Demba Jawo its president posited that
although it was refreshing that the president had refrained from assenting to
the Bill, the GPU is far from satisfied with what he called the cosmetic
changes that are about to be made to the Bill. Mr. Jawo said the Union would
not baulk from its demand that a complete overhaul of the Bill was the only
acceptable alternative. He said that the GPU would still challenge the Bill in
the courts if it makes it in the National Assembly for a second time

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