MONROVIA: With six months to the conduct of the legislative elections in the country, the Editor-In-Chief of the Heritage Newspaper, Augustus D.R Bortue, has disclosed that both media and security forces have major roles to play during the electoral process.
Mr. Bortue added that the relationship between security forces and the media, at times, become antagonistic.
Speaking recently in Monrovia at a Media and security dialogue forum organized by the Press Union of Liberia, Mr. Bortue noted that, a new report underlines the need for mutual understanding and respect between security forces and the media during elections.
Speaking on the Topic: Relations Between Police and Media in West Africa- Key to Peaceful and Democratic Elections,” Bortue noted that, the often strained relationship between the media and national security institutions such as the police is as old as the foundations of the modern state, and African countries are no exception.
“Reason typically cited is that, like most bureaucracies, the security services prefer to operate behind closed doors—a preference heightened by the need to prevent potential enemies from learning harmful information,” he said.
According to him, the press, on the other hand, responds to citizens’ demand for information and accountability, especially in the case of institutions as powerful and potentially dangerous as the security services.
He pointed out that, the publication Strengthening Police and Media Relations for the Safety of Journalists and Peaceful, Free and Fair Elections in West Africa, is based on a joint regional initiative by International Media Support (IMS) and Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), in cooperation with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and has since been released.
He maintains that, both media and security forces play important roles during elections, but their relationship, at times, become somewhat strained.
He emphasized that, both have crucial tasks towards creating preconditions for elections to be peaceful, transparent and successful, there is a need for the two parties to have a deeper understanding of their respective roles and responsibilities.
“Promoting a healthy and mutually respectful working relationship between media and security forces and ensuring the safety of journalists are critical to enable media to fulfill their role of providing important information to citizens during electoral periods,” Mr. Bortue intoned.
“To address this and create an atmosphere of mutual understanding and dialogue, IMS and MFWA, with the support of ECOWAS have engaged with partners in Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone to implement several complementary activities in each country that had as their focus dialogue between police and media and enhancing the safety of media workers,” he said.
As one Liberian said, “Half the job of controlling security is providing reliable information to the community and that means working with the media.”
This publication seeks to provide inspiration and guidance in the form of best practices with a particular focus on promoting a constructive working relationship between the security and media sectors, thereby create an environment conducive for peaceful, free and fair elections in maturing democracies such as those of West Africa.
“I hope that the comprehensive approach highlighted and described in this new report will contribute to a broader understanding in our region of the importance of journalists being able to access and disseminate information while doing so responsibly and ethically. With better mutual understanding, security forces can carry out their mission of maintaining public order while respecting freedom of expression and the safety of journalists,” the Heritage EIC asserted.
By T.R Dixon