Gating the fourth estate

This year, Maldives ranks at 106 out of 180 in the Reporters Without Borders' Press Freedom Index. This is a slide down of six spots since the previous year.

The looming new Media and Broadcasting Commission Bill currently threatens to send the country plummeting further down the list.

Article 28 of the Maldives Constitution states that everyone has the right to freedom of the press, and other means of communication, including the right to espouse, disseminate and publish news, information, views and ideas. It adds that no person shall be compelled to disclose the source of any information that is espoused, disseminated or published by that person.

The bill, proposed to parliament by independent Member of Parliament for Thulhaadhoo Constituency Abdul Hannan Aboobakuru, however, basically places nearly absolute power over media in the hands of the government.

It calls for the merging of the current Maldives Media Council and Maldives Broadcasting Commission to form the Media and Broadcasting Commission.

This commission would be made up of seven members: the majority of four appointed by the President himself, albeit with parliamentary approval, which does not mean much at present when it is the ruling party which holds a supermajority in parliament as well.

The remaining three members are to be representatives of media elected through a vote amongst registered media outlets.

The President and Vice President leading the commission, however, will once again be chosen by the President, with parliamentary approval.

It is this President and Vice President who hold the authority to arbitrarily assign members of the commission to look into complaints and cases.

A commission formed in this manner is susceptible to political influence and interference, and offers no more than a thin facade of independence.

The bill goes on to vest further powers in the commission. A code of conduct will be compiled, which will highly focus on herding media, in the content they publish or broadcast, to 'align with national security'.

What does this mean? Or more importantly, what does this mean to the commission?

This phrasing leaves room for interpretation and misinterpretation, ending up allowing the commission, or an incumbent government, to muzzle the media in many forms and ways.

The proposed penalties for repeated infractions against the code are far from lenient. Fines of MVR 50,000 can be levied against media outlets, with individual journalists facing fines between MVR 5000 to MVR 10,000.

This goes beyond the realms of holding media accountable, and verges on the edge of repressing more in-depth reporting, especially in cases of corruption or larger issues, especially if it involves powerful persons.

Now, if a complaint or case is lodged with the Commission, the Commission is granted the power to temporarily revoke the license of the media in question.

Maldives media is not yet old enough to have forgotten the days when it could not operate freely.

Passing of a bill such as this would see press freedom taken back decades. It is not the media alone that would be affected, but the country as a whole, with the fourth estate, bearing a large part of the weight of holding the State accountable, ending up practically immobilized.