"Press Law" still on table for Curaçao and St. Maarten

March 22, 2010 7:40 AM

ARUBA -- Antillean Prime Minister Emily de Jongh-Elhage has announced that the controversial Antillean media regulatory law is still very much on the table for St. Maarten and Curaçao.

The draft law seeks to bring more responsible and objective reporting to the Antillean media, according to Government.

She made this announcement during the mid-year meeting of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) in Aruba on Saturday. The meeting put media freedom in the Americas under the microscope.

"Our government believes that it is very important to maintain a high standard for the media. And we believe that it is important to regulate it through a media law," the prime minister said. After consultations and debates with all interested parties, the Antillean Government now has a draft in its final stages that it hopes will be approved by the Parliament in the "very near future."

Due to pending constitutional change, the Parliaments of Curaçao and St. Maarten will have to pass the media law. The BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, as Dutch public entities, will have a media law similar to that of the Netherlands.

The prime minister told the some 250 publishers and editors from around the Americas, "It is unquestionable that in some cases, the media have to walk a tightrope. And here is where the role of Government kicks in. As you may know, there is no absolute freedom. There are always limitations to be observed.

"The freedom of expression that is the birthright of a free press has its boundaries. It is the responsibility and the obligation of the government to guard these boundaries.

"Please do not misunderstand me. I am not advocating censorship, neither in advance or afterwards. In essence, what I am saying is that Government must protect the right of its citizens to privacy and, at the same time, guarantee the freedom of expression of the media.

"The question then is not whether freedom and responsibility can be united, but how they can be united and reconciled to the benefit of all," said De Jongh-Elhage, who takes up a second term as Prime Minister on Friday.

Government can accomplish these seemingly opposing objectives with a media policy with clear principles, objectives, norms and standards – in other words, a code of ethics, she pointed out. Mechanisms of dialogue between Government, civil society and the media must be established, and sanctions for violations of the media code of ethics must be articulated and made public.

The media are extremely important stakeholders in a community. They have a role to play in demanding accountability and transparency from the leadership of the communities she said.

"At the same time, we have a right to demand ethical, professional and objective media. When speaking of ethics, we automatically touch on the subject of the right to privacy," she said.

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights establishes the right to respect "one's private and family life, his home and correspondence."

The prime minister said there had been instances where reporting on traffic accidents, with all the horrific details and graphic pictures of the victims, had gone against our sense of respectability.

"And what to think of homicide cases where the suspect has been 'tried and sentenced' by the media even before he has been in court? It is obvious that when these cases occur, the media must try to attain a balance between freedom of expression and respect for the privacy of the individuals concerned," she continued.

De Jongh-Elhage said that, as a politician, she had learnt through experience that the higher you were on the political ladder, the more you had to learn to absorb, if you wanted to remain in politics. "The following Dutch proverb states it perfectly: Hoge bomen vangen veel wind ... Tall trees catch more wind."

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands had stated in her 2006 Christmas message, which the prime minister quoted: "The right to insult does not exist. There are general limitations that the laws prescribe, but there are also norms of values and civilisation. These are the foundations of a community that respects itself and its citizens. And that is why the right to insult does not exist."

The media in Curaçao comprise 32 radio stations, four TV stations, 11 daily newspapers and a weekly Spanish newspaper that cover a population of 150,000. Bonaire has 10 radio stations, one TV station and one daily newspaper for a population of 13,000.

St. Maarten also has 10 radio stations, one TV station and two newspapers for a population of 40,000.

St. Eustatius has one radio station for its population of 3,000. Saba also has one radio station for its 1,600 inhabitants. The Daily Herald, with extensive coverage on these two islands, serves as their daily newspaper.

(Source: The Daily Herald)

22 March 2010