Tag: press freedom

Maldives to be the “best country” for press freedom, says President Nasheed

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that the Maldives intends to be “the best country in the world in terms of press freedom.”

In a message to the Commonwealth media development workshop, a four day training event that started this morning at Holiday Inn in Male’, Nasheed said the government wanted the Maldives to have  “the most free and most professional media in the world.”

”We strongly believe that press freedom is important for consolidating democracy,” said Nasheed. ”We also believe that development can only be achieved through a transparent and free discussion of ideas.”

Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad, and President of Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir also addressed participants in the workshop.

Secretary General of Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma, in his message to the participants, highlighted the role of journalism in the society and explained how  important a balanced news article was.

”Journalism is an honourable profession,” Sharma said. ”You can hold accountable both the government and the private sector.”

He said that members of the press played a pivotal role in revealing the truth and upholding the values and principles that would lead to a just society.

In his address, Dr Sawad said journalists in the Maldives “are not responsible”, and urged them to be more professional, sophisticated and accountable.

Dr Sawad said that in the past the free pens of the Maldivian journalists were held hostage.

”But today we are seeing what we dreamed we would see in the 80s,” Sawad said. ”Now we have a new constitution and new legislation.”

He urged journalists at the workshop to convey the truth with their pens, adding that ”the government will not let you down.”

The Commonwealth media workshop is a four day event being conducted by the Commonwealth in collaboration with Maldives Journalists Association (MJA). Around 25 local journalists are taking part, including Minivan News.

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Comment: Maldives Media at the Crossroads

Press freedom. Media Freedom. Right to Information.

Several years ago these were taboo words in the Maldives. Now they have become the mantra of the local media. Ironically it is coming from those people who resisted the introduction of these democratic instruments into Maldives.

The chant now is ‘self regulation’. And that coming especially from the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) is worrying.

The MJA has become the grand mufti of the nation’s media. They have become the sole experts to assess the media. But in a country like the Maldives where everyone is familiar with each other, the views of MJA are like that of a serial killer calling for human rights.

If MJA claims to be a voice for free media they are a bit late for this. Such freedoms have undoubtedly been established. The noble deed was done by some others who started the process almost twenty years ago. They risked their lives like those doing a massive clean-up while the storm was blowing. By now, they have stashed their tools and dumped the garbage and are busy with more clean-ups.

Rumor has it that MJA is synonymous to Haveeru – the oldest daily of over 30 years and supposedly with the largest audience. The President of MJA – Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir has been the editor of Haveeru for most of its life.

For me, MJA’s credibility has always been questionable; among many other contexts is its representation of local media. I asked the President of MJA for a list of its membership. But sadly, he ignored my request. That was from the very person who calls for freedom of information.

I logged onto the MJA website. The executive committee members were disclosed there. To my disappointment, they turn out to be the silent forces that resisted the movement to establish the very freedoms that the Maldivians enjoy today.

Now these forces are busy producing the media junk that Maldivians are exposed to, every time they turn a radio or a TV on.

I cannot say such trash is entirely due to the lack of professional training of the local journalists. In the current scenario, the security of your job as a journalist in private media depends on your willingness to attack the government. The editors discount the ethics of their profession when it comes to imposing their views on the general public and violate the average person’s right to information.

I have always had deep suspicions about those who change their tune overnight and take multiple forms. Haveeru was definitely not advocating freedom of expression and press freedom in 2007.

My experience with them dates back to March 20, 2007, when one of my articles was published in a local paper.

In relation to that, I remember Haveeru was way ahead of others in portraying me as an ignorant apostate of Islam. I saw no wrong on my part as I was merely expressing my opinion. However, Haveeru was quick to twist my opinion as the view point of my employer. Further, they spiced up their story with quotes of those who shared their views.

On May 3, 2007, on World Press Freedom Day, the police chased me on the road and finally carried me to the police station. At the station, on live TV, I saw the official functions to mark the day. Soon I was delivered to the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, to have the views I expressed in the article “corrected”. Still Haveeru never mentioned that I was exercising my right to expression.

The election of the Maldives Media Council (MMC) held on 28th March 2010 is a case in point for assessing the credibility of the MJA.

I ran for a seat in the MMC. I was one of the two women shortlisted along with 13 men competing for seven seats to represent the public there. Two other women competed with nine men to represent the registered media in the council. The voters consisted of 20 registered media outlets.

MMC was formed with a blatant gender gap – a consequence of MJA’s attempt to ensure that the MMC is their subsidiary branch. MJA’s preferences unfortunately represent my loss.

A press release from the MJA on 18th March 2010 reads:

“While there is no room for us to deem the procedure was not politically motivated, our Association has noticed that the announced candidates include former frontline members of political parties.”

Six months ago, I worked as a purely administrative, senior secretary of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). I am certainly proud that I contributed to the social and political reform of my country through my work there. Especially when MDP represents the leaders who brought us not only the freedom of expression but all the freedoms that Maldivians entertain today.

I found it surprising MJA failed to look beyond my one identity.

I have several identities. I was a school teacher who taught primary school kids, college kids, adults. I was a coordinator for UN funded projects on areas such as Population Education, Empowerment of Women, Reproductive health and Life skills. I have received government’s pension for 20 years of public service. I was a reporter and an editor for a local daily with an adequate level of professional training. I wrote many articles on social issues for the media including Haveeru and their English magazine ‘The Evening Weekly.’ I am a graduate of social science – one of the very few who ran in the MMC elections who had a university degree. Most importantly I am a mother of three grown up children.

Despite the dragging complaints by MJA on the MMC elections, they did not see anything wrong with Haveeru casting three votes as separate sources – Haveerudaily, Haveeru online (they have the same news stories and articles) and Haveeru FM (a music channel). Yet they failed to field a single female candidate from their establishment. MJA’s President and Editor of Haveeru, Ahmed Zahir, told me the MJA does not work for gender equality.

So far, MJA has been busy lambasting the government. But they have never taken a look inwards at how their media is performing. The aggressive promotion of gender stereotypes, gender discriminations and extremist viewpoints are probably not something they comprehend.

The MJA has undoubtedly achieved their main objective, which is attracting the attention of the international organisations. MJA knows that international organisations, to complete their tasks, depend heavily on local groups. This means that one can work for the benefit of the other. The building blocks for the MJA’s powerbase have started streaming in, in the form of training opportunities, local and international platforms and scholarships. MJA knows that the work plan of international organisations does not always include close scrutiny of people to whom they hand over funds.

The World Press Freedom Day was celebrated in Maldives last week. A two day consultation on Freedom of Information was held. The event was organised jointly by the Maldivian government and UNESCO. The local media personnel and representatives of the regional media participated at this workshop.

I watched the inauguration of the event live on TV. I also made some notes as distinguished people gave their speeches. One of them urged to deliver democracy with responsibility. Another pointed out that right to information is not the journalist’s right to information, but the right to information of the ordinary person on the street. The UNESCO Director General stressed the importance of quality of information and its dependence on the availability of accurate and up-to-date information for the journalists. The keynote speaker touched on a core value of the profession. He indicated that right to information is less satisfied by law than the desire, ability and choice of the journalist to choose the right information for the job.

The point leap of Maldives in the Press freedom Index was mentioned before the event was over. I did not find anyone there who helped bring that leap. No faces and no mention of names of those who over the past twenty years, at their own behest, struggled and made sacrifices to bring the media freedom we witness in the country today. Paradoxically, the hall was full of those locals who vehemently obstructed media freedom and freedom of expression in the country.

I ask myself why I wrote what I’ve written here. Is it worth? Or is it a waste of time?

At its worst, my readers will view me as a disgruntled person, taking it out personally on the MJA.

At its best, my readers will view my comments in a broader context.

As the Maldives transforms from a society of consensus – a condition forced by political repression – into a society of conflict, caused by the newly acquired freedoms, the role of media now, could never be more critical for the future of this nation.


All comment pieces are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write an opinion piece, please send proposals to [email protected]

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MJA lambasts government through IFJ ‘Battle for Democracy’ report

A report on Press Freedom in South Asia published by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), entitled the ‘Battle for Democracy’, contains heavy criticsm of the Maldives’ commitment to free and independent media.

The glossy publication by the highly-regarded association, which also issues international press cards, cites President of the Maldives Journalists Association (MJA) and editor of newspaper Haveeru, Ahmed ‘Hiriga’ Zahir, as saying that President Mohamed Nasheed’s words in support of press freedom “were not being matched by deeds.”

“There have been overt and other more subtle efforts by his government to suppress the free functioning of the media,” the report claimed, referencing Hiriga’s comments.

The report also highlights “the potentially grave threat to independent media [in the] government’s decision to publish all press releases, announcements, tender notices and job advertisements in a specialised Government Gazette”.

Describing the recent attacks on media organisations, in which DhiTV was stormed by a gang of six men who threatened staff, and the stabbing of a Haveeru printery worker, the IFJ report notes the attacks “led to bitter exchanges between the MDP and DRP.”

“The following day a DRP official accused the MDP of instigating the attacks and questioned the ruling party’s oft-stated commitment to media freedom. Others spoke of strategies the government had introduced to kill the media.”

The report goes on to note that “government officials were known to be all too quick to use defamation laws to sue journalists and independent media outlets.”

However, no official of the new government has sued a journalist for defamation to date.

“The DRP and its allies as of 2009 had three criminal defamation suits pending against journalists, one by a former Chief Justice against Manas weekly, another by People’s Alliance President and MP Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom against Haama daily, and another by the President of the Poverty Alleviating Party MP Ahmed Saleem against Jazeera daily.”

The report also contained detailed criticisms of the country’s new media council, which it claimed would generate “an adversarial relationship between the media and the public.”

“[The media council] may be at variance with the general practice in media accountability legislation worldwide, which is to encourage self-regulation and promote a dialogue between the media and the public,” the report noted.

As a positive development, the IFJ mentions that “towards the end of his tenure as President, Abdul Gayoom signed in a set of regulations providing public access to information.”

The online version of the report is missing the section on the Maldives, although it acknowledges a contribution by the MJA.

Awards and Workshops

Following his address on Tuesday to mark UNESCO World Press Freedom Day, President Mohamed Nasheed launched the Maldives Journalist of the Year award, to recognise and promote quality journalism in the country.

Beginning in 2011, Nasheed explained that the recipient would be determined on a peer review basis, and not by the government.

“We want to have a free press and we want to do this because we strongly believe that freedom of press is important for consolidating democracy, and we also strongly believe that development can only be achieved through a free press,” he said.

In a further bid to improve the standard of journalism in the Maldives, the Commonweath Secretariat is holding a media development workshop June 14-17 in collaboration with the MJA.

Two senior editors from Singapore, including Bhagman Singh from MediaCorp News and Channel NewsAsia and Deputy Foreign Editor of English-language daily The Straits Times, will be leading the free seminar. Minivan News will also presenting a session on some of the challenges of reporting in the Maldives.

Topics will cover reporting and editing, as well as media law, ethics, media freedom, democracy and international relations.

Commonwealth Secretariat Deputy Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu said the workshop united two commonweath neighbours, Singapore and the Maldives, “in the sharing of expertise and experiences in media development.”

“This cross-cultural exchanges will help to broaden and deepen understanding on journalism and the influence of politics and governance, culture, tradition, environment, education and technology,” he said, adding that he hoped the workshop would lead to “greater consistency in the accuracy, fairness and balance of news reports.”

Maldivian nationals working in the news media are invited to submit an application form through the MJA’s website before June 1.

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Maldives among few countries to improve press freedom

UNESCO World Press Freedom Day began with the news that the Maldives index has improved slightly following its 53 point leap last year, an achievement attributed to the new Constitution.

The Maldives is now ranked 102, equal place with Tanzina and Albania and marginally ahead of Turkey and Indonesia. The Maldives is still categorised as ‘partly free’, the reasons for which should be revealed when the country report is released in the coming days.

The rise came despite recent gang violence directed at media organisations and an attempt by police to block radio news coverage following emphatic protests outside MNDF headquarters and the President’s residence in January, drawing concern from the Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) and a number of media outlets.

Worldwide the index declined across almost every region in the world, for the eighth consecutive year, with one in six people now living in an environment without a free press. The only region to improve was Asia-Pacific, with significant strides in Bangladesh and Bhutan.

According to Freedom House, the international body that runs the index, countries are assessed on the developments of each calendar year, including the legal environment in which media operate, political influences and economic pressures.

Meanwhile, the two-day South Asia Regional Consultation on Freedom of Information: The Right to Know was launched in Holiday Inn this morning, by Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture Dr Ali Sawad.

Delegates from the media, government and civil society organisations in countries including Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka met discuss the development and implementation of freedom of information laws as a means of combating corruption and enshrining free press as a fourth estate.

In a video address, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova noted that “every time we turn on the TV, turn on radio or go on the internet, the quality of what we hear depends on media having acess to accurate and up to date information.”

“The obstacles in the way of our right to know take many forms,” she said, “from lack of resources, to lack of infrastructure to deliberate obstruction. Far too many journalists suffer harassment, intimidation, and physical assault – all in a day’s work.”

Bokova called on government and civil society “to promote freedom of information all over the world.”

Many of the sessions on the first day of the conference focused around promoting freedom of information laws at a state level, however media representatives from countries including Bangladesh and Bhutan noted that even where freedom of information laws were available, they were not always used effectively by journalists.

Dehli Bureau Chief of The Hindu and keynote speaker Siddharth Varadarajan implied that freedom of information laws were less critical to freedom of the press “than our inability as journalists to transcend market forces and commercial considerations… and tendency to report trivia.”

Newspapers in India regularly sold “campaign coverage packages” to politicians come election season, he noted, a practice which “seriously compromises citizens’ trust in media content.”

A further consequence of such practices, he added, was a sense of dissatisfaction among journalists “at our inability to use the power at our disposal.”

“We have a responsiblity to be tougher, harder, and to call a spade a spade,” he said.

In his address, Dr Sawad similarly emphasised the responsibilities that came with the freedom of the press.

“With every right comes responsibilities,” Dr Sawad said. “In a free nation with free expression, the media must not forget its obligations to citizens to report fairly and accurately.”

The Maldives, he said, “has a very young free media, coming out of a culture where it was state owned and regulated. We have the challenge of dispelling the myth that the state represents media.”

Dr Sawad explained since its election, the current government “has committed to a step-by-step dismantling of the Department of Information, formerly the ministry of Information, to replace it with a stronger private media.”

State broadcasters Television Maldives (TVM) and radio station Voice of Maldives (VoM) had been placed under the new Maldivies National Broadcasting Corporation (MNBC), “a separate corporate entity with its own board and budget.”

A key challenge for the fledgling private media however was capacity building and training of its journalists, he explained.

“Private media has a very hard task. A lot of you are just past high school, with a keen professional interest in the field. But as we settle down and lay the foundations of democracy, we have to have to have the capacity to deliver democracy. You cannot give that objective to someone without the capacity to deliver it – the government has delivered democracy, but it has yet to be delivered to the people. ”

“Before the government lies the task of training, educating and strengthening the free press. As we celebrate UNESCO World Press Freedom Day, I call on the media to take up the challenge to deliver democracy with a sense of responsibility.”

The sessions continue tomorrow when President Mohamed Nasheed will launch the Journalist of the Year Award and Sukumar Muralidharan from the South Asian Chapter of the International Federation of Journalists will launch the South Asia Press Freedom Report.

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