The Gambia joins World Press Freedom Day Celebration

PHOTO: Saikou Jammeh. (PHOTO Credit Online)

Editorial

The Gambia will today May 3 join the rest of the world to celebrate world Freedom Day.

Various activities will be carried out to mark the day and also assess the progress of press freedom in the country. More than 2,000 journalists, politicians, representatives of civil society organizations, academia, and the judiciary, have today gathered the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to grace this year’s World Freedom Day celebration. The event will provide the platform to discuss the challenges faced by the media in the election. It would also examine the safety of journalists, how to effectively tackle face news and the critical role the media could play, to help heal wounds, promote reconciliation and peace, said Dr. Vera Sogwe, Executive Secretary IFJ.

Word Freedom Day is held every year to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation.”

However NEWS BITE demand explanation from the Gambia Press Union (GPU) to ask if they (GPU) cannot create their own National theme in events like World Press Freedom Day’s than to be copying IFJ’s theme year in-year-out? NEWS BITE knew very well that themes for FoE Days are universal and therefore every Press Union worth their own salt to choose whatsoever theme they wish. It could have been more ideal for the GPU to come up with their own National theme than to maintain that of IFJ. On the issue of defending the media from attacks and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their duty, NEWS BITE still think the GPU owed doyen journalists like Deyda Hydara, Chief Ebrima Manneh, Musa Saidykhan, etc. To create a National theme on their behalf than to maintain the IFJ theme. NEWS BITE will further challenge the GPU to caution the Adama Barrow administration to lift the ban on The Daily Observer Newspaper and changed some of the ill-fitting draconian media laws.