Media Commission Bill Under Strong Attack The Independent February 16, 2001 Posted to the web February 16, 2001 Alhagie Mbye Banjul Muhammed Lamin Sillah, a local human rights activist and secretary general of Amnesty International-Gambia branch, has condemned moves by the government to enact into law the proposed National Media Commission, which he said tantamount to press censorship. Speaking to The Independent, Mr. Sillah said the bill was meant to "suppress the private press and to censor journalists." He said it should not have been even contemplated, warning that if it is passed into law by the National Assembly, it could be challenged in the courts on the grounds that it would encourage press censorship in the country. He said he was surprised when he read the contents of a copy of the bill, which he said vested the Commission with the powers to even send journalists to jail for up to six months. "That is ridiculous as it seems to usurp the powers of the ordinary courts," he remarked, adding that in such an event, no appeal is also allowed from the decisions of the Commission, which he described as "not only inhuman, but uncivilised in a modern society." He stressed that the issue is not only a problem for journalists but for every Gambian as it means denying the general public the right to information, which he said is a fundamental human right. "The proposed National Media Commission is tantamount to institutionalising press censorship in our statute books and I do not expect Gambians to accept that. I do not think even the APRC National Assembly members would support such a draconian bill," he remarked. The rights activist also condemned the "abuse of human rights with impunity" and called on every Gambian to "help salvage the country before it is too late". He also condemned the government's rejection of the findings of the Commission of inquiry into the April student demonstrations. "It has dissipated even the little hope that human rights defenders and people of goodwill had to solve the issue of the students once and for all" he indicated. The government he believed has deliberately disregarded the Commission's recommendations to deal with what he called "the very callous and cruel killings of the students." Mr. Sillah also stressed that the proposed constitutional amendments should not be accepted, as they will only give the President unlimited powers to do anything regardless of its consequences to ordinary Gambians. He therefore called on the people to join hands and reject "such dictatorial tendencies" which he said were only designed to manipulate the constitution. "The public service is now polluted with mediocrity and sycophancy, with square pegs in round holes. The biggest sycophant can easily become a secretary of state today," he charged. For him things were not going the right way. "The country is heading towards the brink of total collapse" he warned, adding that all human rights violators will one day face justice, "whether they like it or not". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2001 The Independent. Distributed by allAfrica.com. For information about the content or for permission to redistribute, publish or use for broadcast, contact the publisher. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------