World Press Freedom Day was observed yesterday under the theme: ‘21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers’ and the United Nations noted quite correctly that it is time to celebrate, reflect and mourn as, in many parts of the world, press freedom is alive and well but at the same time in many countries it is non-existent or under severe threat, and journalists are being harassed, imprisoned and even killed making the profession extremely dangerous.
More than 17 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly declared that on May 3 of each year, we should honour the principles of a free press, remind governments of their duty to uphold the right to freedom of expression, and pay tribute to those journalists who have made sacrifices and even died in the line of duty.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 145 journalists are currently in prison and 861 have been killed since 1992. And beyond that, press freedoms are still restricted in many countries.
It is indeed unfortunate that while the world has made fantastic scientific,  technological and economic advancement, the issue of press freedom is still a major problem in many countries.
A joint message by UN Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNESCO Director-General said: “World Press Freedom Day was born 20 years ago in the vision of a group of journalists gathered in Windhoek, Namibia. The Windhoek Declaration was a call to arms to protect the fundamental principles of the freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was also a bell, ringing in change across the world.”
“Twenty years on, the media landscape has changed beyond recognition, but our objective remains the same: to promote freedom of expression as the foundation for human dignity and the cornerstone of democracy.
“Our times feature great paradox. We enjoy unprecedented opportunities for expression thanks to new technologies and media. More and more people are able to share information and exchange views, within and across national borders. This is a blessing for creativity, for healthy societies, for including everyone in new forms of dialogue.”
Democracy and press freedom are integrally and dialectically interconnected as either  cannot exist without the other.  In fact,  they are indivisible. Therefore, when democracy comes under threat, automatically press freedom comes under threat and vice-versa. In fact, the state of press freedom in a given society could be used as a measurement to determine its level of democracy.
However, one of the troubling problems is that many media entities and journalists do not appreciate that freedom of  expression carries tremendous responsibilities with it and therefore is not an absolute freedom.
The Rwanda genocide should be a constant reminder of this crucial responsibility of the media and its operatives.
It is one thing to have a ‘right’ such as Freedom of Expression but that does not mean that it can be exercised irresponsibly.
Here in Guyanam, since the rebirth of democracy following the 1992 polls, freedom of expression was restored and full rights for the media to practise were restored.
This freedom, however,  has been abused and is still being abused by some sections of the media.
It is as if some are unaware of the responsibilities attached to freedom of expression. This is most unfortunate.