Media in the Maldives is “now viewed as the fourth organ of the state” and “has an increasingly important role to play in protecting and preserving human rights in society,” President of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, Ahmed Saleem, told assembled journalists at a media development workshop, a four day event organised by the Commonwealth.
“In fact, the media, as an independent observer with a social responsibility, should value and have knowledge of human rights, more than anyone else. It is therefore vital for the media, as a watchdog and voice of the public, to act in the name of human rights to establish a genuine democracy,” he emphasised.
However, “with rights also come responsibilities. Like any other freedom or right, we often see the freedom of press being abused and misused. For instance,false claims and accusations in complete disregard of the right to privacy, and reporting against the notion of innocent until proven guilty are matters for particular concern. Those operating media work are under a special duty of care and carry a unique social responsibility.”
Saleem was among several high-level speakers who spoke to the Maldives press pack, who included broadcast, radio, online and print reporters. Minister of Tourism Ahmed Ali Sawad also spoke to the journalists, as well as former Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed, and Attorney General Husnu Suood.
Communications Advisor to the Commonwealth Secretariat and organiser of the event, Geraldine Goh – herself a former practicing journalist – observed that many of the conversations were “pretty vibrant. When we first arrived many of the participants were quite timid and shy, and not very confident – many of them were very young with less than two years experience,” she noted.
“But I saw eagerless to learn, inquisitiveness and drive, which has to come from within.”
The course, led by veteran journalists Bhagman Singh and Jayandra Menon from Singapore, was intended “not just to teach, but also to learn and share mutual experiences,” Goh said.
Media in the Maldives was “very partisan”, she observed, and the workshop emphasised the importance of relying on the facts, reporting without bias, “and showing a conviction in the moral values of the media and a duty towards truth.”
“Media ownership” was one issued Goh said journalists needed to be aware of, with political leanings “filtering through to the newsroom.”
“Credibility is so important – if you lose credibility, you lose yourself,” she said.
Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, President of the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) which helped to organise the training event, acknowledged the political culture was something the media had to learn to understand and adapt to.
“The Maldives faces a difficult challenge in developing an independent media,” he said.
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Veteran journalists of Singapore would surely have taught the participtants not to criticize the leadership from their experience of Singapore.
HRCM Chairman Saleem and MP Nasheed, knowing that the Maldives Constitution only permitted behavior or action to the extent permitted by law and sharia would have told the participants that Islam is not just a religion but an entire way of life and that sharia applies to every piece of food you eat and every sentence you utter or write also. They would have even explained that the authority to interprete sharia lies in the hand is the "learned scholars", in Maldives they being the Adalat Party front row.
Congratulations to the Commonwealth for bringing in such an appropriate bunch of instructors and guest speakers to the media workshop!