Fearing Egypt-style revolt, Cameroon bars Twitter service

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Fearing Egypt-style revolt, Cameroon bars Twitter service

Cameroon - int. desk - source CPJ - By Mohamed Keita/CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator -

"For security reasons, the government of Cameroon requests the suspension of the Twitter sms integration on the network," announced a March 8 tweet by Bouba Kaélé, marketing manager of the Cameroon unit of South Africa-based telecommunications provider MTN.

The announcement has since disappeared from Kaélé's Twitter feed, but was memorialized by a handful of Twitter users who retweeted the comment and the Cameroonian daily Le Jour, which printed a story.

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What it means:

PRESS FREEDOM:
Why is press freedom important? Without a free press, few other human rights are attainable. A strong press freedom environment encourages the growth of a robust civil society, which leads to stable, sustainable democracies and healthy social, political, and economic development. For a better Cameroon for all Cameroonians.

VANGUARD:
• a group of people leading the way in new developments or ideas
• a position at the forefront of new developments or ideas
• the foremost part of an advancing army or naval force.

THE ELEMENTS OF JOURNALISM ARE:
1
journalism’s first obligation is to the truth
2
its first loyalty is to citizens
3
its essence is a discipline of verification
4
its practitioners, journalist, and publishers, must maintain an independence from those they cover
5
it must serve as an independent monitor of power
6
it must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
7
it must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
8
it must keep the news comprehensive and in proportion
9
its practitioners have an obligation to exercise their personal consience
10
citizens, too, have rights and responsibilities when it comes to the news

IFJ Declaration of Principles
on the Conduct of Journalists

This international Declaration is proclaimed as a standard of professional conduct for journalists engaged in gathering, transmitting, disseminating and commenting on news and information in describing events.

1.
Respect for truth and for the right of the public to truth is the first duty of the journalist.
2.
In pursuance of this duty, the journalist shall at all times defend the principles of freedom in the honest collection and publication of news, and of the right of fair comment and criticism.
3.
The journalist shall report only in accordance with facts of which he/she knows the origin. The journalist shall not suppress essential information or falsify documents.
4.
The journalist shall use only fair methods to obtain news, photographs and documents.
5.
The journalist shall do the utmost to rectify any published information which is found to be harmfully inaccurate.
6.
The journalist shall observe professional secrecy regarding the source of information obtained in confidence.
7.
The journalist shall be aware of the danger of discrimination being furthered by the media, and shall do the utmost to avoid facilitating such discrimination based on, among other things, race, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinions, and national or social origins.
8.
The journalist shall regard as grave professional offences the following:
* plagiarism
* malicious misrepresentation
* calumny, slander, libel, unfounded accusations;
* acceptance of a bribe in any form in consideration of either publication or suppression.
9.
Journalists worthy of the name shall deem it their duty to observe faithfully the principles stated above. Within the general law of each country the journalist shall recognise in professional matters the jurisdiction of colleagues only, to the exclusion of every kind of interference by governments or others.

Adopted by 1954 World Congress of the IFJ. Amended by the 1986 World Congress.