World Press Freedom Day

The Association of European Journalists held a meeting in Brussels to mark World Press Freedom Day, where the topic was Media Freedom in Europe. Ambassador Torbjon Froysnes, the Council of Europe’s ambassador to the European Institutions concentrated on the effects of anti-terrorism legislation on journalism.

“In times of crisis we need freedom of the media. In times like these, information vital to understanding the nature of the crisis’s or conflicts may be sought to be held back”. On the wave of laws introduced he outlined the importance of human rights and lashed out at the Bush administration, “Our authorities are responding to terrorist threats, and rightly so. but media freedom must not fall victim to anti-terrorist laws. In order to protect societies we need more, not less freedom of expression.

The new American administration has helped reset the right agenda for the world. it is with satisfaction that we can not that their views are in conformity with the Council of Europe standards and the values that we have steadfastly promoted in Europe and the world”.

The AEJ’s Representative on Media Freedom, William Horsley, supported the Council “The COE’s work is vital to defend human rights of all kinds. For me, the key thing about the COE is that it is the only organisation of its kind in the world, with its court based system for people to take their grievances in front of an independent court.”

However these lofty ideals are far from the reality experienced by many reporters according to Horsley, “I feel that we are going backwards very quickly in the area of defence of freedom of expression and state abuse.” He explained the difference between himself and the ambassador “He talks about what the situation should be and I’m talking about how it is and that is close to desperate and getting worse”.

He said that the structures to protect freedoms are inadequate, particularly for the media and that many feel that governments were succeeding in controlling the international media, citing the example of NATO TV. Others feel that the infamous Europarl TV is another attempt, albeit even less successful. With newspapers closing and a concentration of ownership the future of independent journalism is under threat on a global scale.

The recent Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Media and New Communication Services, in Reykjavik addressed these issues, noting that “The effects of anti-terrorism laws on freedom of expression are not limited to professional journalists who work for established media organisations. Every citizen who gathers, processes, distributes, and/or discusses information dealing with shared matters of public concern is affected by anti-terrorism laws.”

In response, the conference criticised language used in legislation. “Key terms, such as ‘incitement,’ are so poorly defined that they may not always meet the legal requirements. Uncertainty has been made worse by the use of related additional terms such as ‘apology,’ ‘glorification,’ and ‘extremism’.” Proportionality was also demanded and, “All limitations on government powers must be articulated in as much detail as are the powers themselves.”

Finally they called for an  independent, ongoing monitoring process to be established to evaluate reliable data about the effects of anti-terrorism laws on freedom of expression and access to information in order to assess whether those measures meet the tests of necessity in a democratic society and proportionality.

Despite this endorsement of the importance of the media, some are not optimistic, one Official, speaking off the record, said “Europe’s paralysed with Lisbon and the elections, the Czechs were pretty bad and Slovenia may be even worse, so who’s going to implement these aspirations? Will the worst offenders take any notice of the CoE or EU? I don’t think so.”

And there is the crux. Journalists may be providers of fine words, but they need much more than fine words from the institutions that are failing to protect them. That won’t affect just journalists, but everyone who wants to know what’s going on in the world, and that includes you, dear reader.