Closing Soroti radio is wrong
Editorial
June 24, 2003
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The closure of a private FM radio station that defied a minister’s directive not to broadcast news about rebel Lord’s Resistance Army attacks in eastern Uganda is most unfortunate. The Police raid on Radio Kyoga Veritas FM in Soroti was in itself unwarranted, because there are legal instruments for the supervision and control of the press in Uganda without recourse to extremism. However, it is the thinking behind the news blackout that is even more worrying. It is therefore wrong to keep them in the dark about rebel attacks in their communities. The government may have some legitimate concerns about the rebels using the media, especially radio, to sow seeds of terror. But a people with information are better enabled to make logical decisions, such as whether to leave a rebel-infested area. On the other hand, keeping people in the dark about life-threatening events is bound to provide fertile ground for imagination, hysteria and misinformation. The right thing to do is to urge self-regulation by the media; after all, there is the Anti-Terrorism Act that would punish them if they did otherwise. News, on the other hand, should not be subjected to such undue restrictions. If the rebels attack an area, the people have a right to know, and the media have a responsibility to inform them. In the event that the news being broadcast on the radio station is not accurate, the Media Council should have the responsibility of sanctioning the errant media house, rather than have security operatives raiding it. Rather than wrap a news blackout over the war, government should provide accurate and regular information to Ugandans through the media. In the recent war on Iraq, the United States government “embedded” journalists with their troops as they went into battle. While critics questioned the accuracy and objectivity of the reports from the embedded journalists, the people were informed about the war all the way. Ugandans in the north and east have suffered a lot under the LRA. Keeping them in the dark about the next rebel attack is to punish them twice. |
© 2003 The Monitor Publications
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