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2005/2006 |
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STATEMENT
BY THE ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN MEDIA WORKERS ON THE
OCCASION OF
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2005
May 3, 2005 - The
Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) joins with the world
community
in
recognising World Press Freedom Day 2005.
Such an observance provides
us with the opportunity to reflect on the vast opportunities being made
available through the use of new information and communication
technology and the enlightened debates
that are
occurring globally on the great promise this brings to modern day
civilisation.
We also applaud governments
of the Caribbean Community that have stuck to their commitment to
implement the
free movement provisions of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy with
respect to
media
workers.
We pay
tribute to those who have over the years pursued such an objective with
passion and diligence and recognise the fact that an increasing number
of regional journalists have already taken advantage of the
opportunities this new situation brings.
But this
occasion also gives rise to considerable contemplation on the numerous
challenges being faced by journalists and their media institutions
everywhere.
The Caribbean
region has, for example, proven to be no exception in a disturbingly
pervasive environment within which free speech and a free press are
viewed as virtual impediments to the process of development
and social
cohesion.
In that regard, we bring to
the attention of the region, the remark by United Nations
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day
2005, that “the right to ‘seek, receive and
impart information and ideas
through any media’ is enshrined in article 19 of the Universal
Declaration
of Human
Rights.”
“Censorship,
the suppression of information, intimidation and interference are a
denial of democracy, an obstacle to development, and a threat to
the security of all,” the Secretary-General says.
While the Caribbean has, by
and large, escaped the worst effects of violence against journalists, we
have not evaded the onslaught of misguided official policies, the
blinkered commercial agendas of media
owners and managers and the
under-developed nature of our thrust to develop a cadre of well-equipped
and
trained media professionals.
Governments and their
agencies continue to willfully ignore constitutional guarantees of free
speech and a
free press
and hemispheric and international obligations to observe the value of
free expression as an
inalienable human right.
Additionally,
media owners and managers continue not to invest in the promotion of
professional development and, in some instances, impose conditions of
self-censorship to promote commercial and political agendas.
The ACM is
also gravely concerned that growth in the media industry in most
Caribbean territories is not being matched by the requisite level of
education and training among new journalists.
Our
organisation has devoted much of its attention to this particular
element of the challenges we confront and is not convinced that a high
level of commitment exists within the industry itself.
At this time,
we however pay tribute to the regional, hemispheric and international
agencies that have extended hands of friendship and cooperation to the
ACM and the media workers we represent.
We look forward to both
deepening and widening the scope of these relations in the building of a
greater degree of
collaboration.
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