By Muhammad Aftab Alam

The long awaited and much propagated the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, hereinafter referred to as “the Bill”, has finally come out of from committee rooms of the National Assembly of Pakistan. The Bill was presented by the then Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ms. Sherry Rehman in 2008 to remove restrictions and curbs placed by General Musharraf on Media on 3rd of November 2007. The Bill remained with the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting for more than two years. Nonetheless, on 28th of June 2010, the Committee submitted its report to the National Assembly approving the Bill with a few minor changes. The Bill, once passed by the National Assembly and the Senate, will be accented by the President of Pakistan for enactment. Although the original Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Ordinance, 2002 cannot, by any mean, be considered as a good law, this amendment Bill can have serious implications for the media in Pakistan. The Bill was apparently proposed to remove curbs on media put by the Musharraf regime in 2007. However, the committee’s deliberations have brought some new provisions in the Bill.

Here is an account of the changes that this Bill has suggested in the PEMRA Ordinance 2002. The Bill proposes amendments/additions in section 20, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, and 34 of the PEMRA Ordinance, 2002, as amended through Act No II of 2007. It proposes to omit almost all major changes introduced by the General Musharraf on 3rd of November 2007 through Ordinance No LXV of 2007. Nevertheless, it keeps a few of the provisions from this post-emergency Ordinance of November 2007. Section 20 of the PEMRA Ordinance provides terms and conditions for licensees of the PEMRA. In its original shape, as it was prior to 3rd of November 2007, the section had vaguely defined conditions for the PEMRA Licensees such as ‘preservation of the sovereignty, security and integrity of the country as well as the national, cultural, social and religious values.’ It also required the licensees to ensure that the programmes and advertisements “do not contain or encourage violence, terrorism, racial, ethnic or religious discrimination, sectarianism, extremism, militancy, hatred, pornography, obscenity, vulgarity or other material offensive to commonly accepted standards of decency.” On 3rd of November 2007, General Musharraf imposed more stringent conditions for the media in addition to the above. These include: prohibition of broadcasting of “video footage of suicide bombers and terrorists, bodies of victims, statements and pronouncements of militants and extremist elements and any other act which may, in any way, promote, aid or abet terrorists or terrorism;” prohibition to broadcast “anything, which defames or brings into ridicule the Head of the State, or members of the armed forces, or executive legislative of judicial organs of the state;” and prohibition of broadcasting programmes or discussion on sub-judice matters. It is, however, pertinent to mention here that the proposed Bill retains almost all the provisions, which were introduced by General Musharraf on 3rd of November 2007 in Section 20 of the PEMRA Ordinance, 2002. The Ordinance No LXV of 2007 introduced Section 27A to prohibit foreign broadcasts in the country. The Section 27A stopped the licensees to enter “into agreement with any foreign broadcaster – such as BBC, VOA etc – to sell or provide airtime to another foreign broadcaster without prior permission” of the PEMRA. The Bill proposes to omit Section 27A from the PEMRA Law.

The Council of Complaints (CoC) is a forum, under the PEMRA Ordinance, 2002, to entertain the complaints of viewers and citizens against the media. The CoC consists of five members being eminent citizens -two of them must be women- and a chairperson to be selected among the general public. The Federal government can establish as many CoCs as required. At the moment, the government has notified only five CoCs in the country: one each for each of four provinces and one for the federal capital. Interestingly, under the Bill, the role of CoC has been proposed to be enhanced. Section 30 of the PEMRA 2002 deals with the power of the PEMRA to revoke or suspend the license of broadcast media or distribution service. The Bill proposes to seek a mandatory opinion of the CoC in case of revocation of license of a licensee under Section 30. To some extent, this mandatory consultation would help bringing participatory decision making process in the affairs of the PEMRA. The Bill proposes to keep the amount of fine, as introduced by the Ordinance No LXV of 2007, intact. Through this Ordinance, General Musharraf allowed the authorities to impose a fine of ten (10) million rupees (approximately $ 117000) on “any broadcast media and distribution service provider –legally licence-holder- or ANY PERSON who violates or abets the violation of any provision of” the PEMRA Ordinance.

The Bill also proposes to punish the repeater of violation or abetment of violation of the PEMRA Ordinance, 2002 “with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with [above mention] fine, or with both.” One of the most draconian provisions of the Ordinance No LXV of 2007 was inclusion of Section 34A. The Section made all offences under the Ordinance as cognizable. By making all the contraventions of the PEMRA Law as a cognizable offence, the Section authorised the Station House Officer (SHO) of a concerned police station to take actions ranging from the verbal threats to the harassment and arrests of the staff of the television station, radio station, or cable operator. However, the Bill has proposed to make only those contraventions of the PEMRA Law as cognizable which fall under the provisions of sub-section (3) and (4) of Section 33 of the PEMRA Ordinance, 2002. This change in the law has stopped local police authorities from unwarranted interference in the sensitive business of licensed media at local level. Now, those who violate, or abet the violation of any provision of the PEMRA Ordinance, 2002 without having any licence for broadcast media or distribution service can be arrested by local police, either on a complaint or on their own. Moreover, any person who damages, removes, tampers with or commits theft of any equipment of a broadcast media or distribution service station licensed by the PEMRA shall be guilty of a cognizable offence.

This year there will be a significant focus on media regulation and strategic communication in crisis environments from Sudan to Somalia, to Iraq. There will be sessions on freedom of information, public diplomacy, media and economic and social development and the history of information transitions. At the same time, the successful curriculum that has been the foundation of the institute over the years will continue, with sessions ranging from global issues of internet regulation to satellite delivery of information.

Part of the course will be devoted to new developments in comparative approaches to regulation, looking at Ofcom in the UK and other agencies, including examples from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The seminar brings a wide range of participants from around the globe together and provides them with an environment in which significant policy issues are seriously discussed. The richness of the experience comes from exposure to a variety of speakers and from the discussions among participants themselves.

Applications for the 2010 program will be accepted on a rolling basis and must be received via email (to cgcs@asc.upenn.edu) by March 31, 2010. Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who you think might be interested.

You can find our website, including the application form, at http://global.asc.upenn.edu/cgi-bin/projects.cgi?id=44. If you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact cgcs@asc.upenn.edu.

With more than a dozen private newspapers, Rwanda currently has more press outlets than at any time in its history.  The most independent of these, the Kinyarwandan-language, tabloid-style newspapers such as Umusese and Umuco, are often critical of the government and its policies. As Secretary Joseph Mutaboba of the Ministry of Security told me in February 2007, the existence of these papers is evidence of an open media environment in the country (he even pointed to a stack of them on a table in his office while doing so; the top copy featured a photo of his unsmiling gaze on the cover beneath a headline that met with his disapproval).  The prosecutorial arm of the government has also decided to refrain from detaining journalists without charge.  Historically, however, journalists of the Kinyarwandan-language papers—because of both the papers’ aggressive editorial line and their writers’ newsgathering methods—operate in a difficult and often hostile climate.

For example, in January 2007 Agnes Nkusi-Uwimana, the director of the Kinyarwandan-language newspaper Umuryabo, was charged with divisionism, sectarianism and libel for publishing an anonymous reader’s open letter comparing ethnic killings under President Kagame’s leadership to those of the previous Hutu regime and sentenced to a year in prison. In February of the same year, Jean-Bosco Gasasira, the publisher of another Kinyarwandan-language paper, was attacked in his home by ex-soldiers after publishing an article alleging corruption of an army general.  And in October 2009, a government prosecutor brought criminal defamation charges against the same newspaper under the 2002 Press Law for claiming the prosecutor and a private citizen were involved in a romantic relationship.  The High Council of the Press, nominally the independent, press-protective government agency, demanded that the paper run a correction and apology. In addition, the government openly refuses to advertise in the Kinyarwandan-language papers because of their often critical coverage, or to let them use the government’s printing press—one of less than a handful in the country.

Still, 2009 saw modest reform of Rwanda’s media space.  Spurred in large part by its pursuit of UN Millennium Development goals, the government has commenced several good governance initiatives, including revising its press laws. As part of this effort, in August 2009, President Kagame signed a new media law.  While in many ways the new law retains several of the content-based restrictions that the government views as a necessary legacy of Kangura and RTLM, it no longer criminalizes defamation over and above that which the Penal Code sets out.  (Gasasira’s defense attorney in the abovementioned case has asked that his client be retried under the new law.)  It also expressly recognizes Rwanda’s freedom of expression-related obligations as a signatory to Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The most debated provisions in the new media law involve the accreditation requirements for journalists that the law imposes.  From President Kagame on down(and including the High Council of the Press), the government maintained throughout the drafting process that many members of the media lacked the baseline ethical and professional standards required for the practice of their craft.  It was therefore insistent that the new law include a minimum education requirement for journalists.  An earlier draft required a journalism or communications degree to work as a reporter or editor—a high bar to the profession in a country with one journalism school in far-off Butare and where less than 20 percent of currently practicing journalists hold bachelor’s degrees in any subject.  After lobbying from media advocates, the training requirements were relaxed somewhat in the final bill, allowing for a certificate from the independent Great Lakes Media Center in place of a diploma to attain accreditation.  Moreover, several independent journalists I spoke to expressed cautious optimism at the prospect of professional development, even if such development was compelled by a government mandate.

In addition, with UNESCO’s support, the High Council of the Press and Parliament’s Governance Advisory Council has drafted an access to information law, one of the first of its kind in Africa.  A few aspects of the bill are problematic; for example, it lacks an open meetings section, and like much access-to-information legislation in the developing world, it allows for implied rejections of information requests in the event of an agency’s nonresponse. And journalists have decried the potential breadth of the bill’s national security exemption, which calls for the Minister and Information, the minister responsible for national security matters, and an “Information Ombudsman” to develop blanket guidelines to determine when such information should not be released. But regardless of the merits of the bill, the issue seems to be one not of legislation, but of environment.  A strong access to information regime is a dead letter without a strong and independent press using it to cast light on government activity and potential misconduct.  And access to official information cannot depend on official favor or disfavor.

Some interpret the tensions between the Rwandan government and the independent media as part of a larger struggle over the narrative of the genocide and its aftermath.  Howard French arguesthat the Tutsi-dominated Kagame government and the RFP cast the genocide as “a fairly simple morality play: the Hutus were extremist killers, while the Tutsis of the RPF are portrayed as avenging angels, who swooped in … to stop the genocide.”  As applied to the freedom-of-expression context, this means that in the eyes of the government, a journalist or political candidate who speaks in terms of Tutsis and Hutus, or compares the past to the present in any way, is a divisionist or libelist.  But with media reform, the Rwandan government has the opportunity to craft a new narrative, one of a country that took necessary steps to ensure it does not repeat its recent history, but recognizes the role of a free and open press in its democratic legitimacy.

Iran newspaper editor sentenced for role in post-election protests.

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/12/iran-newspaper-editor-sentenced-for.php

Social networking site updates privacy policy, deletes regional networks.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/social-networking-site-updates-privacy-policy-deletes-regional-networks-1833108.html

South Africa: Campaign to get more time for broadcast bill.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200912020081.html

Nigeria: First Lady bars journalists from covering her activities.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200911301498.html

Middle East press sees double standards in Swiss ban.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8389243.stm

Tunisia jails two critical journalists and harasses others.

http://cpj.org/2009/12/tunisia-jails-two-critical-journalists-and-harasse.php

Huang Qi sentenced to three years in jail in China.

http://cpj.org/2009/11/huang-qi-sentenced-to-three-years-in-jail-in-china.php

IFJ Philippines appeal.

http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/urgent-ifj-philippines-appeal#10d8a8e56a834b96ce03207c8e55efc0

Russia: Broadcast journalist killed.

http://www.ifex.org/russia/2009/12/02/broadcast_killed/

Singapore: Heavy-handed use of libel suits chills free expression.

http://www.ifex.org/singapore/2009/12/02/libel_silences_press/

Bahrain: Smear campaign against free expression.

http://www.ifex.org/bahrain/2009/12/02/fake_rights_groups/

WAN Conference: “Don’t let Google dictate terms to us”.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=44740&c=1

]]> http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1109 0 http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?p=1099 http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?p=1099#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:50:33 +0000 Newsletter http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?p=1099 News

Philippines massacre: journalistic death tolls differ as identification process continues.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade+asia

Baghdad shooting of journalist sparks anger over Iraqi failure to combat impunity.

http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/baghdad-shooting-of-journalist-sparks-anger-over-iraqi-failure-to-combat-impunity-2#522606045be5e3682de403aa9178d776

Argentina: Senate approves bill decriminalising defamation.

http://www.ifex.org/argentina/2009/11/24/defamation_decriminalised/

Sunday World editor,  Jim McDowell, attacked in Belfast.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/sunday-world-editor-jim-mcdowell-attacked-in-belfast-1827929.html

Wikileaks releases pager intercepts from 9/11.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/wikileaks-releases-pager-intercepts-from-911-1827950.html

Iraqi government launches YouTube channel.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/iraqi-government-launches-youtube-channel-1827426.html

Google says sorry for offensive Michelle Obama image.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/google-says-sorry-for-offensive-michelle-obama-image-1827199.html

Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria declares that the country is sliding back to the dark ages and an era of government control of the media with the proposed Press Council Bill.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200911230027.html

Kidnapped foreign journalists freed in Somalia.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/26/kidnapped-journalists-freed-somalia

Tony Blair backs Guardian Iraq appeal and calls for press freedom.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/25/tony-blair-iraq-press-freedom

Filesharing petition rises up rankings.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2009/nov/25/digital-media-stephenfry

Call for papers

CENSORSHIP AND DISCOURSE IN ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES (16th-21st centuries) University of Rennes 2 (Rennes, France), 27-28 May 2010.

Deadline for submissions: 15 December 2009.

Call for Papers

With the development of the modern state, there has been an ongoing tension between the will to control and at the same time allow free speech to develop. In English-speaking countries, the theme of Censorship and Discourse has been a recurrent concern from the 16th century to the present day, as the numerous censored publications and writings against censorship testify.

This conference will focus on three different aspects of censorship and discourse:

1)    The nature of censorship and the way in which it reflects the norms and values of the day;

2)    The discourse of censors as institutions of censorship;

3)    The perception of censorship and the reactions it entails.

The aim is to bring together specialists from different disciplines: from the literary and linguistic disciplines to the human and social sciences. The conference will be organised on a panel basis and will be in English.

Submissions

We welcome submissions from a broad range of disciplines: Literature, Philosophy, Linguistics, History, Law, Political science, Sociology, Anthropology, the Visual Arts, and Economics. Postgraduates are welcome. Please send an abstract of up to 250 words, together with your particulars (names, institutional address, occupational status, postal and e-mail addresses) to the following e-mail addresses: clairecharlot@wanadoo.fr and delphine.texier@uhb.fr . Submissions will be examined by the scientific committee and answers given by the end of December. The deadline is 15 December 2009. There will be a registration fee of 50 euros as a contribution towards meals and conference expenses.

United Kingdom: defamation decriminalised.

http://www.article19.org/pdfs/press/united-kingdom-defamation-decriminalised.pdf

New restrictions on media enforced as Obama speaks out.

http://www.ifex.org/china/2009/11/18/restrictions_during_obama_visit/

Chamber of Deputies approves motion to have committee on violence against the press reinstated.

http://www.ifex.org/mexico/2009/11/18/commission_reinstated/

IAPA surveys corrosion of free speech.

http://www.ifex.org/international/2009/11/18/repression_free_speech_americas/

Ofcom recommends relaxing media ownership rules.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/ofcom-recommends-relaxing-media-ownership-rules/5008221.article

Two Somali journalists injured in separate shootings.

http://cpj.org/2009/11/two-somali-journalists-injured-in-separate-shootin.php

Indonesia deports two foreign journalists.

http://cpj.org/2009/11/indonesia-deports-foreign-journalists-on-immigrati.php

CPJ condemns suspension of six newspapers in Gabon.

http://cpj.org/2009/11/cpj-condemns-suspension-of-six-newspapers-in-gabon.php

WAN-IFRA seeks Deputy Director of Press Freedom and Media Development.

http://www.ifex.org/international/2009/11/18/deputy_director_job_posting/

BBC College of Journalism site to go public next month.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=44661&c=1

]]> http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=1090 0 http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?p=1081 http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?p=1081#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:53:03 +0000 Newsletter http://www.globalmedialaw.com/blog/?p=1081 News

Iraqi court fines Guardian for defaming Al-Maliki.

http://cpj.org/2009/11/iraqi-court-fines-guardian-for-defaming-al-maliki.php

Network set up to support lawyers defending journalists.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/09/media-legal-defence-initiative

Defiant journalists back ethical campaign for Palestinian media.

http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/defiant-journalists-back-ethical-campaign-for-palestinian-media#61c6805e781528abfcf83317b397bbbb

IFJ endorses joint Russian/Georgian demand to end media restrictions.

http://www.ifj.org/en/articles/ifj-endorses-joint-russian-georgian-demand-to-end-media-restrictions#d5d35eac0cf54f152779e270d892d094

Azerbaijani bloggers receive jail sentences.

http://cpj.org/2009/11/azerbaijani-bloggers-receive-jail-sentences.php

Journalists targeted by insurgents and draconian state censorship.

http://www.ifex.org/pakistan/2009/11/11/censorship_violence/

Media groups protest repressive law.

http://www.ifex.org/togo/2009/11/11/repressive_law/

North Korean journalist wins human rights award.

http://www.ifex.org/north_korea/2009/11/11/north_korean_award/

Cabinet approves right to information bill.

http://www.ifex.org/ghana/2009/11/11/cabinet_approves_rti_bill/

Events

Free Speech v Privacy Conference 2009

http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=ce6499a5-f276-4c0a-829d-4c2d6d4a9907

Masterclass in Broadcast Regulation for Elections, 2010

http://www.albanyassociates.com/conference.php

Call for papers

Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 1/2010

‘AMBIGUITIES of CENSORSHIP’

Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban. (George Orwell)

Censorship can be defined as the suppression of information exerted through any technique that prevents the public from being informed about what happens in the world. More than fifty years ago, in his lucid critique of media practices in Britain, George Orwell was already warning about the impact of less obvious forms of censorship on the flows of information. However, many academic studies have been focused on deliberate forms of censorships exerted by official means, for example by the state in totalitarian or anti-democratic regimes.

Nevertheless, censorship has always been present in democratic countries as well, more subtle in nature and very often self-imposed.

This new issue of Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture is specifically dedicated to an international perspective from a range of disciplinary backgrounds on various practices of censorship that go beyond official forms of censorship.

Topics may include, but are not restricted to, the following:

-         Self-censorship

-         Bias

-         Omission

-         Under-reporting

-         Corporate pressures

-         Professional pressures

-         Cultural and religious pressures

-         Embedded journalism

-         Security-related pressures

Together, these practices have a bearing on the failure of the media to cover crucial and sometimes controversial issues, therefore abridging freedom of expression.

Manuscripts should be prepared in English in Microsoft Word, should adhere to the Manuscript Submission Guidelines (http://www.westminster.ac.uk/schools/media/camri/publications/manuscript-submission-guideliens) and should not exceed 8,000 words including notes and references. Manuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of 100-150 words and up to six keywords. The manuscript must contain a separate title page that should include: the title of the manuscript; the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s); full contact details of the author(s); the author’s brief biographical information. All submissions are subject to peer review. Please send the manuscript as an email attachment to Benedetta Brevini (B.Brevini1@westminster.ac.uk) and Katharina Noetzold k.noetzold@westminster.ac.uk no later than 15 January 2010.

Russian competition against corruption calls for entries.

http://www.ijnet.org/ijnet/training_opportunities/russian_competition_against_corruption_calls_for_entries_1

This report is based on the outcome of discussions at a December 2008 workshop organized in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the University of Oxford, the Center for Global Communications Studies at the Annenberg School, University of Pennsylvania and the Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research.

The workshop provided the opportunity to explore the election experiences of Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya,
Somaliland, Tanzania and Sudan in a comparative framework. The focus was on understanding why
election violence occurred after some elections, what the role of the media was in either exacerbating or
resolving disputes, and what this suggests about the broader political project and the state of the media
in the countries under examination.

Monroe E. Price International Media Law Moot Court Competition

The Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy at the University of Oxford is very pleased to announce the publication of the 2010 case for the Monroe E. Price International Media Law Moot Court Competition. The finals will be held here in Oxford in March 2010.  More information can be found at: http://pricemootcourt.socleg.ox.ac.uk

PCMLP has also created a short video to give prospective teams an insight into the moot court competition: mms://media.asc.upenn.edu/clips/promo/price_mootcourt09.wmv

For more information or to contact PCMLP, please visit: http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk

AFP reporter detained in Iran.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2009/nov/05/press-freedom-iran

Mapping project displays threatened bloggers.

http://www.ijnet.org/gfmd/media_development_news/mapping_project_displays_threatened_bloggers

Bill aims to tighten broadcast restrictions in Pakistan.

http://www.ijnet.org/gfmd/media_development_news/bill_aims_to_tighten_broadcast_restrictions_in_pakistan

Internet censorship liable to WTO challenge.

http://www.benton.org/node/29437

Broadcasters to FCC: Digital age increasing competition, ownership rules harmful.

http://www.benton.org/node/29436

Albanian editor attacked following critical reports.

http://cpj.org/2009/11/albanian-editor-attacked-following-critical-report.php

In Tunisia, government harassment of journalists on the rise.

http://cpj.org/2009/11/in-tunisia-government-harassment-of-journalists-on.php

CPJ offers database of killed journalists.

http://www.ifex.org/international/2009/11/04/journalist_killed_database/

Media regulatory authority orders FM radio stations to stop broadcasting BBC news bulletins.

http://www.ifex.org/pakistan/2009/11/04/bbc_ban/

Berlin Wall Twitter website blocked just days after its launch.

http://www.ifex.org/china/2009/11/04/berlin_twitter_wall_blocked/

Events

Covering the crisis: An EJC Interface Conference on the role of the media in the financial crisis.  Brussels 9 – 10 November.

http://coveringthecrisis.eu/index.php