NGOs call for Media Commission Bill to be withdrawn

A number of NGOs have called for the Media and Broadcasting Commission Bill, which seeks to merge the existing Media Council and Broadcasting Commission, to be withdrawn, citing its threat to press freedom.

Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), Maldives Media Council (MMC) and Transparency Maldives have launched a campaign titled 'Hatharehge Haggugai' [For the Rights of Four] centered on concerns around the bill proposed by independent Member of Parliament for Thulhaadhoo Abdul Hannan AbooBakuru.

In a press conference held by the campaign, MJA Secretary General Ahmed Naif said that the bill is designed to empower those of a particular political leaning and threatens to bring an end to independent journalism, driving press freedom decades back.

Naif called on the government and the ruling party People's National Congress to reject the bill.

Naif said that he does not believe that it is advisable to work on amending the bill at this time. He stated that it would be best to withdraw the bill at this time, and draft a new bill through discussions with journalists and editors.

MMC Member Moosa Rasheed said that the bill has raised a number of concerns.

Rasheed believes that taking away the self regulatory system, and replacing it with fines and other punitive actions could raise the opportunity of exerting undue influence over media.

He said that in previous meetings, he had supported the idea of merging Media Council and Broadcasting Commission. However, this should only be done in a way that resolves the issues in the Acts governing both bodies, he said.

Rasheed revealed out that the majority out of the 95 complaints submitted to the Media Council this year concern unregistered media. However, the new bill does not address this issue either, he pointed out.

"What we wish to see is positive change, and what we advocate for now is to reject the bill without allowing it to go to committee stage," he said.

Governance Manager at Transparency Maldives Azza Mohamed said that information is the basis of all rights. However, once these rights are narrowed, it obstructs the work of journalists, she said. Azza voiced worries that this would lead to self-censorship and a reluctance to report on issues such as corruption.

The Mirror journalist Shifzan Ahmed maintains that the bill has been drafted against the standards of media regulation.

"The reason we demand that this bill not be accepted is, based on the experiences had in Maldives, a bill submitted to parliament comes out with even more issues after it is sent to a committee for review and revision," he said.

While the first hearing of the bill has been completed, ruling People's National Congress has not yet announced its decision on the bill.