The National Media Commission (NMC) has condemned the recent violence attacks on Journalists by supporters of Mavis Hawa Kooson, Member of Parliament (MP) for the Awutu Senya East constituency in the Central region.
Citi FM’s Northern regional correspondent Mohammed Aminu M. Alabira was also attacked by the Member of Parliament for Yendi Constituency Farouk Aliu Mahama while covering the NPP’s Parliamentary primaries on 27th January 2024.
However, the Chairman for the NMC, Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo has described the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) decision to give such people media blackouts as popular but dis-functioning.
Addressing the media at GJA’s Zone 3 workshop in Kumasi, Mr Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo said “the recent violence attack on Journalists for exercising their primary obligations of informing our people is unfortunate. This has resulted in the equally unilateral decision of the GJA to call for a boycott or blackout on such people. While the approach is very popular it is dis-functioning.’’
He emphasized that “many years ago I caughted the displeasure and contempt with the Ashanti regional Chapter of the GJA when they issued such an order against the Vice Chancellor of the KNUST Professor. As usual with some of our journalists my descent was taken as too known.
“I still hold the position that while it is disheartening for journalists to be attacked violently, the unilateral resolution to blackout or boycott is not the most productive reaction. We cannot fight impunity with impunity.’’
The former managing news editor of the state owned Daily Graphic encouraged the GJA leadership to rather follow the rule of law to make a productive case for their members under attack.
“I will support any effort to ensure that justice is done against all such deviant acts rather than blackout or boycott. We must follow the rule of law and the due process. Condemning such acts in others but not the blackout or boycott. While the call for boycott or blackout may be popular it may not be productive or functional to the public interest. Many journalists have lost their lives in the current Israelis –Hamas war while the international media have called for respect for international laws safeguarding journalists, none have called for a boycott or blackout over Israel or Hamas,” Mr. Boadu Ayeboafo narrated.
He urged the Ghana Journalist Association to encourage victims to seek legal redress “ it is important that we do not condemn only that bestialism but encourage victims to seek legal redress by reporting to the mechanism for the safety of journalists under the National Media Commission and the Ghana Police service. That is to ensure the media freedom aspect as well as criminal diamension are equally investigated and the needed penalties imposed on the criminals’’ he admonished GJA.
He disclosed “ at the first accountability forum under the mechanism it appeared embarrassing that as an enlightened group which believe in rule of law and due process many of the infractions were not reported to the appropriate public body with the mandate to deal with them.
“ My plea is that before the GJA issues a public condemnation of such deviant and dastardly acts the matter would formally be reported to the appropriate authorities with the intervention of the GJA as complementary or supplementary’’ he urged GJA.
The veteran journalists encourage his colleagues’ practitioners to be guarded by the ethics of the profession for their safety.
“Let me also make reference to the use of unorthodox means of gathering information, since all things cannot be equal at all times there will be the necessity to go undercover to access information but let not anybody be deceived that when one chooses to enter by the window and when the door is open one will be applauded but when one is compelled to uses an alternative acceptable to the acceptable means of news gathering one must act with ingenuity so that one is not exposed or find out’’ he cautioned.
However, the President of the Ghana Journalist Association Albert Kwabena Dwomfour who disagrees with the Position of the NMC Chairman in rebuttal said “
All the state institutions responsible for protecting the safety of the media including the national Media commission have all failed to meet our expectation regarding the Journalists security.
He explained the decision on media blackout on Mavis Hawa Koomson and Faruk Mahama Aliu was taken after consultation with all the relevant media stockholders.
He said “in extraordinary situations we take extraordinary decisions and abnormal situations we take abnormal decisions. We see this situation as abnormal. Therefore in abnormal situations you don’t need a functional or dysfunctional mind to treat abnormal situations you deal with abnormally and that’s the position GJA has taken’’ he said.
While expressing his displeasure about the statement from the NMC chairman the GJA president rather accused the National media Commission of doing politics instead of championing the media safety agenda.
“The NMC is saying that all these reports have not come to them. Meanwhile during the invasion of UTV studio the NMC were the first to issue a statement when nothing had been reported to them. When politicians and government officials attack journalists you sit down there waiting for a report to act upon as NMC who is supposed to protect journalists. If you can’t protect journalists by creating an enabling environment for the safety of Journalists, why will you disagree with GJA when we take abnormal decisions’’ he asked.
The GJA president insisted that the government system has failed the journalism community in Ghana “ the system has failed as the system is not working, the police that are supposed to protect us are not doing enough. We have pertion the IGP over the recent attack on journalists by Hawa Koomson but they have not even acknowledged receipt of our petition’’ he disclosed.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/ Isaac Justice Bediako
