非洲高速未来记者项目的诺贝.西贝斯表示,“非洲人民缺乏自由地表达和促使政府负责的权力。”
罗德大学和南非广播公司合作促成的非洲高速未来记者(Highway Africa’s Future Journalists )项目负责人诺贝.西贝斯(Nqobile Sibisi)表示,非洲缺乏互联网连接,这意味着非洲大陆的媒体会落后于世界的其他地区。非洲媒体面对的另一个障碍是政府在线上和线下的管制。 西贝斯又说:“我们生活在二十一世纪的民主时代,不应该妨碍记者完成他们为大众提供信息的自由使命。” 最后一个挑战是缺乏言论自由:“非洲人民缺乏自由地表达和促使政府负责的权力。”
reply report Report comment
“hold governments accountable”–interesting: how do we do this even in our so-called free democracies? Vote them out, that’s all we can do. What is more important is, How do we hold individual ministers of state accountable for their misdeeds, such as engaging in unjustified wars that kill thousands of decent young men and women? Here in Canada we have a government that is despotic. The prime minister has an office of personal staff of over 100 people, thanks to which he succeeds in silencing all his party MPs and preventing all expressions of dissent. He even has a veto over the selection of candidates for an election. The press are critical but ineffectual. Litigation is impossibly costly for the individual; and even vocal and wealthy organizations such as the National Citizens’ Council and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation never initiate litigation against the government or ministers.