Covid and growing threats to ‘Freedom of Speech’ - EDITORIAL

The Covid-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down. Everything and everyone has been impacted, how we live and interact with each other, how we work and communicate, how we move around and travel. 
Every aspect of our lives has been affected. The world is more or less in lockdown, schools are closed, many businesses are shuttered, travel has been curbed, millions have lost their livelihoods and many have lost a loved one, friend or a neighbour.

The Covid-19 pandemic is ravaging all parts of the globe. No country has been spared by the deadly fallout of the disease. Not only is the disease fast-spreading it is also mutating –changing into more deadly forms, outstripping modern medical knowledge attempting to provide vaccines which could bring the virus under control.
The present-day ‘Indian variant’ is a case in point.

India, which had until a month ago, kept the virus somewhat under control, has today become the epicentre of the pandemic, with around three thousand or more deaths a day and the discovery of between 250,000 to 300,000 new cases daily. In these circumstances, the free flow of news and information regarding its spread, measures needed to be taken to contain the pandemic, availability of health care and ensuring open dialogue and the exchange of vital information is more essential than ever before. 

Insufficient knowledge of the disease and lack of availability of facilities only leads to the spread of fear and is grist to the rumour mills, leading to the spread of disinformation. The public needs news that it can trust. It is therefore critical at this stage that government support the work of the media, which is in fact a crucial ally in the fight against the Covid-19.

Unfortunately, though the media has a crucial role to play in keeping people and those in authority aware of developing situations, the International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, have revealed that during the period of the pandemic, the media have come under attack more than ever before.

The IPI has revealed, that as the Covid-19 death toll mounts, economic hardship spreads and the public grow restive over food shortages, rising cost of the living and restrictions of rights, the temptation to control media scrutiny by governments in some cases, has been overwhelming. This is especially the case in authoritarian counties. 

Figures with the IPI reveal 49 journalists were killed and 635 press freedom violations were linked to reportage of Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, over 200 violations linked to the pandemic were reported in the Asia-Pacific region, of which about half were from four South Asian countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. 71 journalists faced arrests and charges for their coverage of the pandemic and its consequences in those countries, while 32 cases of physical attacks and verbal threats were also reported.

For example, Two Pakistani journalists were tortured by paramilitary forces for Covid-19 coverage. Saeed Ali Achakzai, a reporter for the Urdu-language Samaa News TV, and Abdul Mateen Achakzai, a reporter for the Pashtun-language Khyber News TV, said they were beaten while under detention for three days in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. They were reporting about the lack of food, water, and other basic facilities at a coronavirus quarantine centre near the border city of Chaman.

In Sri Lanka, a disciplinary inquiry is being conducted against Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, a Deputy Director at the Health Ministry for the views that were shared during a talk show on YouTube. Following the show, the Health Ministry issued a circular prohibiting experts from speaking to the media.In India, a country which claims to be the world’s largest democracy, police raided the offices of ‘Twitter’, demanding sources of its feed, and attempting to control the manner the crisis is being reported. Twitter has expressed fears for the freedom of expression in India.  
On May 26, it was reported in social media platform ‘WhatsApp’ filed a legal proceedings against the Indian government challenging social media guidelines requiring the platform to identify original sources of information. The CPJ reported authorities in Tamil Nadu arrested the founder of SimpliCity news portal. The website had alleged government corruption in food distribution efforts related to the pandemic. China where Covid-19 was initially discovered has also taken punitive action against media personal.

In all these cases, the media persons at great risk to their own health were attempting to bring real-life problems to the notice of the authorities in an effort to combat the spread of the pandemic.
They are, and never were working toward overthrowing regimes.