Zambian President Frederick Chiluba.

Zambian President Frederick Chiluba and Gambian President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh, speaking separately at back-to-back meetings co-sponsored by the African Correspondents Association, both said their citizens have freedom of speech.

But Jammeh said his government would censor the media when it was a matter of national security. When newspapers and broadcasts insult the government, the public becomes suspicious and distrustful of its leaders, he said.

“I believe in freedom,” Jammeh said. “I can assure the press is free, as long as the press is responsible.”

Jammeh's security force tried to stop several people, thought to be opposed to Jammeh, from attending the meeting by blocking the doors. Freedom Forum representatives allowed those people to enter the room.

Fatou Jaw Manneh, a reporter for the Gambian Daily Observer, said that the National Intelligence Agency, Gambia's national security organization, tried to prevent her from entering the forum because they told her she was a "security risk."

Manneh also said, "Freedom of the press is not as absolute in Gambia as Jammeh stated.

"It is a fake democracy. There is no freedom for the press," Manneh said. "The government is devious, the country is not stable, and anyone who writes something about the president can be arrested without an explanation."

	Gambian President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh.

Jammeh's 1996 newspaper decrees #70 and #71 stipulated fines for independent news organizations that do not register with the government. The regulations also doubled the price of registration, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists’ publication, Attacks on the Press in 1998. These regulations put a hefty financial burden on all independent news publications in the Gambia.

Like Gambia, Zambia censors and harasses journalists for reporting negatively on government actions, according to the CPJ Web site.

Chiluba denied there were any restrictions on the media.

"There is freedom of speech, freedom of association, and there are lots of newspapers running in Zambia," Chiluba said. "But there are laws that apply to all Zambians, and if those freedoms interfere with a neighbor's rights, it is an assault."

With a growing democracy comes more freedom, and more freedom requires a greater sense of responsibility, Chiluba said. Although Chiluba insisted the press had freedom, reporters are restricted by laws that apply to all Zambian citizens. Thus, Zambian reporters are not free to report the news as they deem fit.

To Chiluba, it is a matter of respect for fellow Zambians. Chiluba said the press had a responsibility to research its facts, report accurately and not to infringe on the rights of others.

Both presidents expressed concern that their continent is portrayed in the news as poor, diseased and corrupt. While admitting their continent and countries suffer economic hardship, Chiluba and Jammeh said they were committed to the ideas of free speech, free press and freedom of assembly in their developing democracies.

After the forum, Manneh and six other Gambian citizens protested outside of The Freedom Forum against Jammeh's censorship policies. They termed the Gambian government corrupt, and said the president was not as open to free speech as he says he is.

The Gambia is a West African country situated in the middle of Senegal. Jammeh came to power in 1994 after spending nine years in the Gambia National Army, which overthrew Sir Dawda Jawara in a bloodless coup, according to the official Web Site of Gambia.

Zambia is in southern Africa, north of Zimbabwe. Chiluba became president of Zambia in 1991. In 1997, he successfully ended a coup attempt against his political party, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, according to CPJ.