To Gag Or Not To Gag

The profundity of the place of freedom of expression in civilized societies should not be compromised under any circumstance. In the Daily Guide, as a cornerstone of our philosophy, it provides us with the fillip to soldier on undaunted and ready to protect this freedom from suffering the contagion of the faint-hearted and bootlickers. As a gift of nature, it is a sacrosanct attribute of civility and democracy. For the strong-willed, death is a better preference to succumbing to the dictators� diktat to stop people from expressing dissenting views. It is the mother of all the freedoms and stands as a colossus in all genuine democracies deliberately insulated by various legal instruments to maintain its sanctity. Any attempt at curtailing it overtly or covertly such as barring some individuals from taking advantage of the media platform to express their opinions is not only discriminatory, but an obscene affront to this mother of all freedoms and the bedrock of democracy. The media can flourish in the performance of their statutory functions of reporting and keeping governments in check only when this freedom prevails without inhibition. Ironically, the Ghana Journalists� Association (GJA) is seeking to deny some individuals this inalienable right to express their opinion, unwittingly and dangerously stabbing the foundation of their very existence � freedom of expression � in the back. Seeking to prescribe qualifications for those who can comment on the ongoing petition at the Supreme Court is an inappropriate venture by the GJA deserving of condemnation by all who cherish true democracy. The duo of Messrs Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie and Asiedu Nketia, the two general secretaries of the largest opposition party and the ruling party respectively, have variously been cited for passing unpalatable remarks about aspects of the petition for which they have individually come under fire from opposing political groupings. Let them speak their minds about whatever transpires in the courts, provided these are not prejudicial to the proceedings. After all the comic relief these commentaries provide us with are invaluable under these choppy times. We are able to determine the truth only because lies exist, a reality we cannot avoid. Individual Ghanaians have the capacity to minnow the chaff from the grains at the end of the day. The truth shall by all means prevail when the chicken comes home to roost. The impression that the uninitiated should not comment on the court proceedings is to state that only lawyers should listen to the petition, and others gagged. This for us is balderdash and should not be entertained. The GJA�s order to have the NPP General Secretary denied the opportunity to talk to the media, the source of this commentary, is a subtle means of gagging an individual in a democratic setting, an action inconsistent with the values of the noble profession of journalism. We wonder how the GJA would react when government decides to follow their path and starts gagging some media establishments so they are unable to remark on some subjects. Have we suddenly become oblivious of the manner in which the equally critical subjects of the economy have been debased by the ill-informed commentaries of entrenched interest groups? Not all the learned men and women can render acceptable narration of what transpires in the Supreme Court, given the fact that there are areas of specialisation in such complex matters as the law. The GJA order is so disappointing and arbitrary that it comes close to the traits of political dictatorship.