 |
|
We
value your opinions. Please fill out the form below for comments and suggestions. |
||
February 15, 2007
Sedition charges
vs Tribune: A chill wind for media
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines condemns the filing of sedition charges against Daily Tribune publisher Ninez Cacho-Olivarez and columnists Herman Tiu Laurel and Ike Seneres.
The Department of Justice's move sends a chill wind across the Philippine media landscape. But as the Arroyo administration learned during its ill-fated and short-lived efforts to impose tyranny over this nation, Filipino journalists will not be cowed by efforts to silence the press.
The DOJ said it filed the charges because the three journalists' articles tried to "lead or stir up the people against the lawful authorities, namely, the President of the Philippines, and disturb the peace of the community."
The kind of reasoning betrays the government's intent to silence a broad spectrum of legal dissent and sweep allegations of corruption, rights violations and other misdeeds under a thick cloud of fear.
The charge that critical write-ups undermine government officials and institutions is likewise typical of the administration's penchant to blame media for scandals and controversies borne of official misconduct.
The NUJP rejects the government's claim that "overriding demands and requirements of the greater number" justifies a clampdown on press freedom and freedom of expression.
It is in defending the people's right to know that the press and citizens lay down the foundations of a genuine democracy, one that highlights the accountability of public servants. Without this accountability, democracy becomes a farce.
The charges against our colleagues at Tribune shows that the demons of February 2006 that this administration sought to set loose on this land have not been exorcised.
That the charges against Tribune were filed during the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial killings only displays the administration's brazen stance towards civil liberties.
The filing of the charges less than a year since the administration declared a state of emergency highlights the need for perpetual vigilance. If there is only thing we can expect from this government, it is that it will try and try again to narrow a democratic space already bloodied by the mounting murders of journalists, activists and judges.
The NUJP will not even call on the government to withdraw the charges. Instead, it calls on all media organizations and entities to support our Tribune colleagues in their fight against a tyrannical administration.
There is also one other way to defeat this administration's goal of muzzling
the Press – that is for all Filipino journalists to meet this latest
outrage with sustained, independent and courageous reportage on official
misconduct.
The NUJP also calls on the public to support media's struggle to defend
press freedom.
References:
Jose Torres Jr., chairperson
Rowena Carranza-Paraan, secretary-general