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• Mr. Affail Monney (left) interacts with Dr. Nana Oppong (right), a lawyer. With them is Mr. Sammy Darko (middle), a Tiger Eye Pi lawyer. Photo: ESTHER ADJEI
Lawyer and scholar Dr Nana Oppong called for the enactment of a law that will recognize and protect journalism as an essential national service, in the same way that the judiciary is protected.
“We need to pass a law which will be described as the Public Interest Defenders Act (DOPIA) to provide special security, targeted training, compensation and financial support to professional journalists and their families and others. people involved in sensitive missions, surveys and projects. of national importance, ”he said.
Dr Oppong also called for the pre-criminal investigation capacity (PCIC) of the police and security services to be overhauled and significantly improved to ensure successful crime prevention against journalists.
He made the appeal at a public conference on journalism and the protection of journalists at the Ghana International Press Center in Accra yesterday.
Event
The forum, which also marked the second anniversary of the murder of investigative journalist Mr. Ahmed Hussein-Suale, brought together media professionals and institutions working for the benefit of journalists.
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) organized the program, which was also attended by representatives of Amnesty International, the International Federation of Journalists, International Committee for the Protection of Journalists and the International Press Institute.
Distinction
Dr Oppong further called for constitutional amendment, saying, “We need to distinguish between journalism as a human right of the citizen and journalism as a profession. Journalism must be recognized by law as a professional body, in the same way as lawyers, accountants, doctors and the like.
“This would mean that there must be minimum skills, minimum conditions and a minimum wage for all professional journalists,” he said.
He said this would help increase the technical, financial and political powers of journalists and reduce their vulnerabilities.
“Each profession or profession progresses and gains in strength and power when a substantial or significant number of its members are qualified and passionate about the profession and see their long-term interests linked to an organized society, an association or a chamber for it. change, ”he added. .
Dr Oppong, however, urged journalists to be honest and fair in carrying out their duty to report on society’s events.
Find killers
GJA President Affail Monney urged police to speed up investigations into the murder of Mr. Hussein-Suale and prosecute the perpetrators.
He said it was unacceptable for the perpetrators of such a crime to walk freely, two years after the incident, despite assurances from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to have the assassins arrested.
“He’s not within the bounds of bringing Hussein-Suale back to life, but he’s within the bounds of the police’s ability to get perpetrators to book. This is our conviction and we ask the authorities to act with lightning speed to purge the stain on the country’s image, the dimness of our sparkling democracy and the cold on media freedom inflicted by the unprecedented savagery of the death of Suale, ”Monney said.
According to him, there was an increase in threats against journalists following the December 7 elections and called on the law and order community to “take a close look and put an end to the insidious threats and the dizzying increase in the number of attacks on journalists ”.
For his part, MFWA Executive Secretary Muheed Saeed said it was journalists’ responsibility to defend the call for justice to have their murdered colleague serve as a deterrent to those who use violence against them. journalists as a way to silence them. .
He further implored journalists to be extremely careful in carrying out their duties, as the institutions responsible for protecting them were failing.
In a message of solidarity, the committee to protect journalists before his assassination said, Hussein-Suale told the committee that he was aware of the threats against him.
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