The International Press Institute is the organization that is operating as the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists. The focus of organization work is the enhancement of professionalism and journalist standards and the media freedom. IPI has two types of reports that are annual and that cover almost all countries of the world. The first report is the Death Watch that gives data on the number of killed journalist and media professionals in individual countries and gives brief description of the way those killings happened. Their other report is the press freedom report. This report is updated annually and covers 176 countries. The report is comprised of general summary, regional overviews that are summarizing main trends for each of six regions of the world, and the country reports that are the bulk of the report. It is not very clear how the reports are made and who provides the information. From the report it can be concluded that IPI staff in Geneva makes the reports. Reports for the last five years are available on the IPI web site. Reports are descriptive and from them it is not possible to find out what was the source of information used.
Since the focus of organization is not only the media freedom, but also journalistic standards and professionalism, the reports are not only about media freedom. But the differences in the approach between the countries are visible. The reports that are dealing with countries that do not have at all, or at least do not have significant problems with media freedom, are focusing on the standard and quality of journalistic work, accessibility of information and legal framework that regulates these issues. They also tend to be critical about media behavior when they believe that professional errors have been committed. But they also deal with any problem, whether in the legal framework or in the practice that can restrict access to information or limit the space of action of journalist.
The reports that are dealing with the countries that are dealing with the countries that have problems with media freedom are oriented mainly on the issues of media freedom, and the issues of standards and professionalism are not very pronounced. The reports covering these countries are dealing with the legal framework and the restrictions that are present in it, with special focus on anti defamation laws, laws limiting access to information and laws restricting publication of information of certain type. They also record occurrence of different forms of violence and harassment against journalists, especially deaths. Sometimes they go into quite detail in presenting individual cases. Special attention is paid to violence or pressures exercised by government, like detentions, arrests and trials of journalists. Other data include information on less violent but still highly restrictive pressures on journalists and media by different institutions of the state that in large number of cases take form of financial pressures and limitations of access to printing and broadcasting resources, restrictions on the access to information and legal actions to prevent publishing of certain information. The information of governmental attempts to reduce editorial freedom of the media are also reported in this report.
Country reports give information that shows the background of the problems with the press freedom, and they give information on the magnitude of the problem. Reports also identify responsibility for restrictions and pressures, whether they come from the government or not and whether restrictions and pressures have something to do with systematic government effort to curtail the media freedom or is it the consequence of government failure to prevent it.
The reports are not made according to some standardized methodology. They do not have standard list of issues that they try to cheek, and they do not compare countries or rank them. In that regard they do look similar to AI, HRW and ICFTU reports.
The sample of countries is divided into six regions and is quite large. The following countries and regions are included: In the Americas: Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela.
In Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.
In Australia and Oceania: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna.
In Europe: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, Yugoslavia.
In the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
In Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros Islands, D. R. of Congo, Rep. of Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tomé and Principé, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Reporters sans frontiers are another source of information on the state of press freedom. The report of RSF that is conducted annually is in terms of content and topic covered very similar to the reports of the CPJ and IPI. The area covered, like in the previously mentioned sources are legislative framework in which media operate, legal restrictions in terms of access to information, restrictions on publishing of materials related to some “sensitive” topics, presence and broadness of anti defamation laws. They also record issues like governmental interference in the editorial and personnel policy of media and pressures from the government institutions like financial and judicial pressures, restrictions on broadcasting and publishing resources and other types of harassment that can be interpreted as pressures and obstruction of media. The report includes problems like arrests and detentions of journalists, trials of journalists for different reasons, attacks and harassment of journalists and finally the death of journalists.
The number of countries included in the report is 149, and they are divided into 5 regions. The report does not give any information on who provides information for each country, nor how reports are made. Pretty much all that has been said for CPJ and IPI can be also said for this source. The reports are descriptive and they focus only on identifying problems. The reports depend on the type of problem that is present in the different countries. There is no common pattern with regard to the level of details of information presented for different countries in the report. Some reports tend to contain quite significant level of detail in describing individual cases, while others do not. The reports do not have common structure and are not made according to any observable standards. They do not have indicators and do not compare countries, nor do they give rankings. The reports include chapters that deal with killings of journalists, attacks on journalists, arrest and detention of journalists and pressure and obstruction of their activity from the side of government.
However, the RSF report has five groups of countries regarding the level of press freedom. Countries are assigned to each category according to the perceived state of the press freedom, but criteria for assignment are not given.
The categories are:
1. Good situation;
2. Satisfactory situation;
3. Noticeable problems;
4. Difficult situation; and
5. Very serious situation.
Like IPI and CPJ, the RSF are good source of raw material, they have quite extensive descriptive reports, all three cover a large number of cases and between themselves they cover about 180 countries, and data from all three sources are available for around 140 countries. All reports are available on the Internet, for IPI from 1996 to 2001, for CPJ for 2000 and 2001 and for RSF for 2001. The countries grouped by region that were included into RSF report in 2001 were:
In the Americas: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela.
In Asia: Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Buthan, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.
In Europe: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia.
In the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Mauritania Morocco Palestinian Authority Qatar Saudi Arabia Sudan Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen.
In Africa: Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Comoros Islands D. R. of Congo Rep. of Congo Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gambia Gabon Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Liberia Malawi Mali Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Swaziland Tanzania Togo Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe.
The data from all three sources are descriptive, and they only register the events, or to be more precise problems, that took place in the countries included. They do not have checklist of topic and they do not estimate the situation for particular area. The reports only register problems and therefore not all reports contain information about same topics. Because of that the creation of the measurement scale that could be more sensitive other then recording the present or absence of some event is not very likely to succeed. Therefore the similar approach that was used for AI, HRW and ICFTU could be used here.
The set of indicators for measuring the press freedom from the data from these three sources could include following indicators:
1. Death of journalists (while performing their work)
2. Arrests and detentions of journalists (including trials for different charges)
3. Attacks on journalists and harassment of journalists (all types of violence on journalists regardless of source and character)
4. Existence of legal limitation on press freedom (anti defamation laws, laws restricting access to information and restricting the publishing of certain information)
5. Censorship and banning of media
6. Pressures on media, interference in, and obstruction of media activities (financial pressures, restriction on publishing and broadcast resources, liability and damages charges, interference in editorial policy).
The measurement scale could, like for AI and HRW and for ICFTU, could have three points. 0 to indicate the absence of some types of restrictions. 0,5 to indicate the presence that was not widespread and was not the result of deliberate policy or deliberate failure to prevent such events. Score 1 to indicated widespread occurrence, systematic occurrence by government institutions and government unwillingness to prevent it.
The Committee to Protect Journalists is a non-profit organization established with the aim to protect the press freedom around the world. There is not much information available on who the members of organization are and whether it has regional affiliates apart from its central office in New York. The organization publishes annual reports that are dealing with the issues of media freedom mainly, and on margins with issues of media standards and professionalism. Like the International Press Institute reports, the reports of CPJ are not prepared according to standardized methodology, there is no topic list according to which reports are made, and the reports are not meant to compare countries with their past or with other countries. The reports are descriptive and concentrate mainly on the problems that are identified in the relevant country. A total of 141 countries are covered by the report. The criteria according to which these countries are included are not mentioned in the report, but from the list it is visible that most developed countries are not present. The report does not indicate the source of information on which the report is based, and as far as it can be seen from the report itself, both country and regional reports are compiled by teams that are dealing with one region only. The reports for 2000 and 2001 are available on the CPJ’s web site.
In terms of content, the reports are focusing on media freedom with reference to a large number of issues. They focus on the legal framework of media activities describe legal restrictions with which media are faced, especially in the area of anti defamation laws, laws that are limiting the publishing of information from certain areas, and laws that are limiting the access to information. They also provide information about governmental interference into the editorial policy of media and in selection of top editorial personnel. Report registers other types of pressures by governmental institutions as well. Other types of pressures include financial pressures and various legal actions directed to limiting the capacity of independent media to publish some types of information. The information on violence and harassment against journalists committed by governmental agencies are also reported, as well as the data about the detentions and trials of journalists. Other types of violence and harassment not committed by state institutions are also reported.
The reports give very precise data about censorship and banning of media and detentions and trials against journalist and some cases are presented with very detailed accounts. The structure of reports varies between countries depending on the type, frequency and magnitude of the problem, but there is no large difference in the level of details presented from case to case.
The CPJ web site has regular and frequents updates of records of events that are linked with the restriction of media freedom for countries included in report, these updates are about individual events from individual countries.
The countries included into report are grouped into five regional groups and the country report for each country in the groups are compiled by the same team.
The countries and regions are:
In the Americas: Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela.
In Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.
In Europe and Central Asia: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UK, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Yugoslavia.
In Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Yemen.
In Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, D. R. of Congo, Rep. of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The US is undoubtedly the biggest arms exporter to Africa contributing to about 50% of all arms to the continent. It is under statement to say that arms exports to Africa, political instabilities, wars, economic underachievement and poverty are intractably linked and that African countries will be unable to achieve any economic development unless they achieve political stability. The continent is littered with hundreds of millions of small arms and light weapons even though South Africa and Egypt are the only countries on the continent with infrastructures that could support huge arms production. Tens of millions of Africans have died from the export of arms to the continent and several millions have been injured as a result of the wars fuelled by the arms exports. About 90% of all civilian casualties in the wars come from the use of small arms and light weapons. Besides, billions of dollars meant for economic and social development have been squandered over the years from diamond, gold, timber, coltan, cassiterite and oil profits to procure arms and fund the instabilities in the continent.
For decades we have witnessed the tragic and the devastating effects of wars on the continent fuelled by arms imports from US, UK, France, Russia, North Korea, China, former Soviet and Eastern European nations. Most of the arms exports to Africa are used for internal repression and external aggression. Some of these arms have found their way into rebel hands, organised criminals and bandits. The arms have been used by totalitarian regimes to hold back critical thinking in their countries. It is estimated that the continent has lost up to 500 billion dollars to arms imports alone while children have no access to education, water and health facilities.
In the face of mounting poverty, malnourishments, diseases, lack of genuine democracy and civil wars what Africa need at this critical moment are not guns and weapons but the seed of genuine democracy and economic development.
The failed state of Somalia where armed groups have been battling one another for 19 years should inform the president of the dangers of small arms and light weapons sales to the continent and the importance of banning arms exports to the continent.
The continued instabilities in the Great Lake Region and the constant arm struggles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, and northern Uganda should also inform the President about the dangers arms shipments from America and Europe are posing to the continent.
The genocide in Darfur cannot stop unless there are concrete efforts to obtain international arms ban against the Sudanese government and the rebel groups who are abducting, raping, terrorising, torturing and massacring the innocent people. In Nigeria where there is no civil war going on the state has used arms to kill about 20,000 of her mostly unarmed civilians.
In Ethiopia millions of people face starvation every year while hundreds of millions of dollars are used to import arms. This explains why you should work with your allies to ban arms exports to the continent as you take office.
The widely forgotten wars in the Casamance Province of Senegal, Western Sahara, Ivory Coast, Niger and Burundi will negate any economic aid to those countries and territories unless arms shipments to both the governments and the rebels are ceased.
The wars in Chad will not stop unless the flow of arms to the government and the rebels are cut.
President Obama, please know that the ever present wars and the instabilities in the continent will make any economic aid less effective and less beneficial to the people.
I want to urge the President Obama to use his good office to help ban the sale of small arms that have been used to terrorise the people for quite so long. President Obama should encourage the other western countries notably the UK and France to also ban the sale of small arms to the continent. The UK and France together account for 10% of the total arms market in Africa. Their companies are heavily involved in the sale of arms that continue to destabilise the continent.
The US should let her influence be bear on China who is increasingly ignoring all calls to halt arms sales to the continent. China in particular is the greatest obstacle to peace and stability as it is not democratic and does not respect international laws when it comes to her interests. China has continued to export arms to Sudan despite mounting evidence that the arms are being used to commit genocide in Darfur. In 2008 when the people of Zimbabwe were starving and was clear that Mugabe had lost the elections all that China could do to support the people and democracy was to ship arms to Mugabe’s repressive regime. Such actions by China, North Korea, Russia and other undemocratic nations must stop. They should be made to sign up to international laws banning and criminalising the sale of small arms to the continent.
President Obama should know that the waves of civil wars that hit and devastated Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, Angola, Niger and Guinea were made possible through the sale of small arms and light weapons to governments and rebels alike by western defence contractors and arms companies including US companies. These wars apart from its human cost have contributed to the destruction of roads, harbours, airports, railway lines, telecommunications, hospitals, schools and the livelihoods of the people. The wars have decimated regions, countries, communities and families. It has brought poverty, hunger and misery to the people on the continent.
Mr. President, the beneficiaries of the wars are not the people but the corrupt politicians, rebel commanders, army generals, western companies, a shadow economy, governments and their allies who enrich themselves while the people face famine, poverty, homelessness, unemployment, diseases, have no access to health, education and have become refugees within and outside their countries. Besides, billions of dollars meant for economic and social development have been squandered over the years from diamond, gold, timber, coltan, cassiterite and oil profits to procure arms and fund the instabilities on the continent.
As you asked Americans to choose hope over fear in your speech so do I ask you to ask African leaders to choose democracy and economic development over dictatorship, arms, conflicts and political repression. It is time for US, Europe, Russia and China to act together and call their defence contractors and arm companies to order and give Africa peace.
Mr. President, please know that so far as people in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sudan, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Tunisia, Cameroon and Uganda cannot democratically change their leaders there will be the constant threat of wars and instabilities in these countries and the desire by the people to overthrow these undemocratic leaders.
Mr. President please reach out to these tyrants and encourage them to peacefully give up their hold on power. Tell them to unban opposition parties, unban civil and political activists, free political prisoners and organise free and fair elections. President Obama, please do more to encourage them to embark on democratic reforms long needed on the continent.
Let the leaders understand that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Let them understand that politics is about winning and loosing and that it should be possible for opposition parties to win elections and hell does not need to break loose. The presence of such dictators is not only harmful to the image and the development of the continent but a major factor why impoverishment and underdevelopment is prevalent on the continent.
How on earth should a person continue to rule for 30 years when he is not a monarch? Even monarchs sometimes abdicate in favour of change. Isn’t it? Are these kleptocrats monarchs? Why has Gaddafi of Libya been in power for 39 years now? And Omar Bongo of Gabon has ruled for 31 years, Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea 28 years, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe 28 years, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt 27 years, Paul Biya of Cameroon 26 years, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda 22 years, Omar Al Bashir of Sudan 19 years, Iddriss Derby of Chad 17 years, Yahya Jammeh of Gambia 14 years. Tunisian president has just announced that he is going to rule for life. Are these tyrants monarchs? I do not understand. Mr. President I do not understand.
Tens of millions of Africans have died from the export of small arms and light weapons to the continent. Please Mr. President, at this critical moment in world history what Africa need is democracy and economic development not arms. Help mobilise international support to ban small arms and light weapons exports to Africa. Encourage African leaders to adopt democracy and to embark on social and economic development that will benefit the people in the continent.
We know USA can help. So please help.
Gambia is a sliver in the side of Africa, one of its tiniest countries, but its attractions are just as bright as any in the region. Its capital city, Banjul, is a uniquely African experience, with a street side culture that chases away the holiday daze of glitzier cities.
The Gambia was also known, until 1994, as Africas longest running democracy. A small group of army lieutenants staged a coup that year, and the ensuing uncertainty following the uprising led to a decline in tourism, adding further stress to an already fragile economy. With the elections of 2001 and 2006, The Gambia has regained its status as a democracy, but it is a tenuous title as poverty continues to rise, freedom of the press is occasionally threatened and basic infrastructure including road conditions and electricity slides backward rather than forward.
Fajara is the oldest of a string of Atlantic coast resorts that includes Kololi, Kotu and Bakau. Along this six mile strip of beach is a line of about twenty hotels. Back from the beach are more hotels, with restaurants, bars, nightclubs, souvenir stalls and all the other paraphernalia of tourism.
This area of coastline is quite dramatic with red rock cliffs interspersed with small beaches. Care should be taken if swimming in this area.
A green tourist taxi from Banjul International Airport to any Atlantic coast resort costs about a third more than yellow taxis in either direction. There isnt any public transport to the airport, but minibuses between Brikama and Serekunda can drop you at the turn off 3km from the airport. From Fajara, you usually have to walk to the junction of Garba Jahumpa Rd and Kairaba Ave to pick up a shared taxi coming from Bakau.
It is important to always carry some form of ID, either your passport or a photocopy, on long journeys, as there are several checkpoints along the way, and the officials can be difficult if they want to be.
There are very, very few independent travellers in Gambia, like virtually none. This maybe due to very bad roads and almost no public transport.
The coolest period is from December to mid February, however, rainfall is a more significant factor than temperature in the climate here. Generally, the wet season lasts from June to October, and the dry season from November to May. The most uncomfortable time is the period of highest humidity, usually just before the wet season begins in June. However, in recent years the weather in the region has become harder to predict. Generally, rainfall levels have declined due to a combination of local deforestation and global warming. Wet seasons seem to start later and end sooner, although sometimes there are unexpected rainfalls during the normally dry.
Attritions includes the Botanical Gardens which were established during colonial times and are looking a little dilapidated now. However, its still a peaceful shady place. KololiBijilo Forest Park is a small wildlife reserve on the coast.
BakauKachikaly Crocodile Pool is a sacred site for locals, some of whom come here to pray, as the crocodiles.
When you travel to the Gambia a lot of people will ask you the same questions like Where are you from. When you answer these questions theres a little conversation and then a guy will usually walk with you. Its very hard to get rid of these guys. He presumes you need a guide even if you dont. Nevertheless he will demand money for his guiding. He may threatened to get this. The only thing to prevent this happening is to make clear, not only that you dont need a guide, but also that you dont pay anything.