Future of journalism in Africa - nonviolent information revolution

Lessons from Eastern Europe on moving from dictatorship to democracy using the power of the pen

by Ted Lipien

FreeMediaOnline.org Free Media Online, San Francisco, CA, February 2, 2007 -- Several days ago, an independent journalist from Gambia had asked me to write about journalism and dictatorship in Africa. An Internet newspaper he edits while living in exile in the United States is celebrating its first anniversary. He wanted to start a discussion about strategies for bringing democracy to Gambia and other African nations still ruled by dictators.

I know something about journalism and dictatorship having spent 20 years during the Cold War opposing communist rule in Poland through the medium of radio. From 1973 until 1993, I was a journalist at the Voice of America (VOA) Polish Service. In the 1980s, the Solidarity trade union, the Catholic Church and various human rights organizations in Poland intensified their nonviolent struggle for democracy. In their efforts to bring information about their activities to the general public, they relied heavily on independent journalists and underground publishing and media in Poland and international broadcasters in the West. After unsuccessful attempts to crush Solidarity and subsequent negotiations with the pro-democratic opposition, the communist regime in Poland was replaced by a democratically-elected government in 1989. In 2006 I left VOA and I am now running a California-based nonprofit organization, FreeMediaOnline.org, which supports independent journalism worldwide.

The most important lesson I had learned through my work in international broadcasting is that journalism can play a critical role in supporting nonviolent political change toward democracy and respect for human rights. It can just as easily, however, be used to support dictatorships and promote violence. Many though not all journalists, writers and artists who had remained in Eastern Europe after World War II became supporters of communist regimes. These regimes in turn rewarded their services with good salaries and other privileges not available to the general population. Some journalists contributed to keeping dictatorships in power and used the power of the pen to justify and even encourage major violations of human rights.

I had also learned that given enough time even the most powerful and resource-rich dictatorships and their state-controlled media cannot fool the majority of people into believing that lies and distortions are the truth and that the lives of ordinary citizens are getting better rather than worse without democracy and some measure of free market economy. Journalists, both within a country under a dictatorship and those living in exile, can meet information needs of the population and have a professional obligation to do so. They can help to start a nonviolent transformation toward democracy using the power of the pen, the power of radio and television, and increasingly the power of the Internet and other technologies such as cell phones, SMS, and similar methods and devices.

Unfortunately, this process is neither easy nor quick. It took the East Europeans over 40 years to get rid of communist dictatorships. But it could have taken much longer, or may have not happened at all, if East European journalists living in exile and those who had remained behind did not work hard for decades to bring uncensored information to their compatriots. African journalists may be able to shorten this process by using some of the technologies associates with the Internet and the use of cell phones, but no one should expect easy, cost-free or immediate results.

During the Cold War, Western governments supported radio broadcasting to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Such governmental support for broadcasting to Africa is now unfortunately much weaker than before. But nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) seem now more willing and able to finance information-sharing and program delivery projects that can bring uncensored information to African audiences than they have been in the past. Independent journalists from Africa should use any support or opportunity for bringing information to their audiences that international broadcasters, NGOs and international organizations may be able to offer as long as they are offered without conditions that may be contrary to journalistic independence. At the same time, journalists should also seek independent communication strategies using the Internet and new technologies.

The most important decision that journalists need to make is how much independence they will preserve and how to avoid becoming tools for promoting violence and ethnic conflict. Some East European journalists during the Cold War, even those opposing communism, could not resist the temptation of becoming active political players and supporters of violent overthrow of communist regimes. These practices led to some tragic results when in 1956 the Hungarians, believing reports of imminent Western military assistance for their cause to be true, had decided to overthrow the regime only to be crushed by Soviet tanks and forces loyal to the local hard-line communists.

The model of journalism that has worked and has led to the successful replacement of communist dictatorships was based on a strong commitment to journalistic independence, nonviolence and dialogue with supporters and enemies alike. Journalists working in exile provided a platform for journalists, writers, artists, trade union leaders, church figures, politicians and human rights activists who struggled for democracy behind the Iron Curtain. This alliance of pro-democracy forces and home and abroad was critical in providing information and ideas that led to nonviolent strikes and demonstrations and the ultimate collapse of dictatorships in the Soviet block. One of the main reason for the succes of stations such as the BBC, VOA, and RFE/RL in attracting large audiences in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union was their ability to work with the best writers, intellectuals and artists both in the region and living in exile in the West.

Another important element in the struggle for democracy was the role of East European journalists in changing opinions and attitudes among the ruling communist elites themselves. When it became clear that communist officials were becoming less ideological and less repressive due to economic and other failures of their rule, independent journalists were willing to open a dialogue with some of them without sacrificing their democratic principles. Through the power of ideas, the radio and underground press, pro-democratic journalists were able to to force communist officials into making concessions which later led to democratic elections. Most independent journalists and pro-democracy movements in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union were also able to reconcile with former supporters of communism among some of the members of the intellectual elite who eventually became disillusioned with dictatorship and joined the ranks of the opposition. The ability to cooperate with former political and intellectual opponents in promoting democracy strengthened the entire movement although it also created some conflicts and divisions.

The support of public opinion in the Free World and the work of democratic governments and international organizations in support of human rights and democracy also played a critical role. Without independent journalism, the people in Eastern Europe and in the Soviet Union might not have known about this outside support or about pro-democracy activities at home. They might have concluded that opposing communist dictatorships would be a hopeless act. Fortunately, independent journalists reported extensively on any conference, demonstration or other activity associated with the struggle for bringing democracy to Eastern Europe thus providing ideas, hope and encouragement to human rights activists and ordinary people.

Some of the current dictatorships in Africa are not much different from communist dictatorships in the former Soviet block. This is what Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based nongovernmental organization, had to say about human rights and the state of journalism in Gambia in its 2007 report on freedom of the press worldwide: "Ten journalists arrested, one missing, many others in exile, countless unsolved murders for which supporters of the president are suspected of responsibility or complicity, the memory of a murdered journalist besmirched by the government and a permanent climate of fear: this is the terrible track record of President Yahya Jammeh’s as far as press freedom is concerned." Deyda Hydara, co-founder and editor of the independent daily The Point, correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reporters Without Borders in Banjul, was murdered in December 2004. President Jammeh's intelligence agents are widely suspected of this and other murders of Gambian journalists.

By continuing to report on such violations of human rights, discouraging violence and promoting dialogue, African journalists can make a major contribution toward the eventual triumph of democracy on the entire continent. This process is not going to be quick nor easy, but it will be successful if journalists, writers and human rights activists - whether they remain in their countries of origin or live in exile- will work together to bring true, balanced and objective news and information to their people. They should also work with as many supporters of democracy abroad as possible without sacrificing their journalistic independence. The history of Eastern Europe in the second half of the 20th century has taught us that the pen can indeed be mightier than the sword and that nonviolent transformation is possible except for the most brutal and genocidal dictatorships such as that of Hitler's Germany.

Without radio programs from the BBC, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Voice of America (VOA), Radio France Internationale (RFI) and others, communist dictatorships might still exist in Eastern Europe. Some of these international broadcasters can continue to play an effective role in spreading democracy in Africa if independent African journalists and human rights activists make good use of the information platform offered by these stations. Thanks to the Internet, however, there are now also many other independent venues for exchange of information and ideas and for communicating with individuals and large audiences. A comprehensive strategy utilizing all available program delivery methods can succeed in promoting a nonviolent transformation to democracy with the help of independent journalists.

FreeMediaOnline.org is ready to offer informational assistance to every independent journalist and media outlet working to support freedom of the press and democracy in Africa. For more information about this article send an email to contact@freemediaonline.org or call 1-415-793-1642.

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