PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Association of Caribbean Media Workers (ACM) says it will continue to oppose any effort to restrict the free flow of information as it prepares to celebrate World Press Freedom Day on Saturday.

 

In a message to mark the occasion, ACM president Wesley Gibbings said that the observance of the day establishes the critical link between the ability of people to express themselves and freely access official information, and their empowerment as citizens.

"Some of us correspondingly contend that a principal measure of the power of the people is the extent to which the flow of information, news, opinion and analysis is facilitated by an environment that enables free expression and access to information.

"The Caribbean region is, through this injunction, challenged by socio-political antecedents to contemplate a process which would have the impact of effectively transferring responsibility for the future from the grasp of a few to the hands of the people."

 

Gibbings said that the region is also faced with various problems including crime and violence, economic instability, natural disasters, political conflict and changing global circumstances and that "the urgency to find solutions and to mitigate impacts is apparent, often in unbridled fashion".


"The ACM also concurs with the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, that press freedom and freedom of information, are the founding principles for good governance, development and peace.”


While he acknowledged that professional imperfections work against achievement of the broader social goals "a penalty of silence is unacceptable as a form of redress against perceived harm”.

"For reasons such as this, the ACM stands alert to interventions that have the impact of restricting, rather than facilitating free expression. Acts of official censorship, prior restraint and self-censorship in the media are condemned as inimical to the broader cause of progress and growth,” he added.

Gibbings said the ACM was committed to raising awareness among media professionals on the value of press freedom as a function of freedom of expression with all its attendant benefits to humanity.

"We believe professional standards should rise to meet the requirements of such freedom and that a concerted effort to network Caribbean media professionals, improve standards, instil high ethical standards and to insist on adherence to the principle of press freedom is the responsibility of an organisation such as ours.

"On World Press Freedom Day 2008, we re-dedicate ourselves to the task of shaping our profession in a manner that best serves the interests of a region in social and economic transition, challenged by changing global circumstances, impaired by a colonial legacy but committed to building a better future," Gibbings added.

 

CMC/08