EDITORIAL

Freedom of Information now

Tuesday,  May 24, 2005

The recent news from the Dominican Republic that President Leonel Fernandez was forced to rescind a decree that banned television and radio stations from reporting on natural disasters without approval from authorities raises two issues.

First, the decree had prohibited newscasters from reporting "alarming news like fires, cyclones, earthquakes, tidal waves and floods unless the news has been approved and duly authorized by a competent authority.”

This reminds us of the widely perceived failure of the Cayman Islands Government to handle the media aspects of the Hurricane Ivan disaster appropriately. There is little doubt that distasteful attempts were made to suppress the freedom of both the local and international press in the immediate wake of the storm.

Second, the president's decision followed an outcry from journalists who accused the Dominican Republic government of paving the way for censorship. This illustrates that the media, working together with the public, can and should make a difference to official attempts to restrict the freedom of the press.

Given the many and varied attempts by the last government to impose its own ideas of what the media in the Cayman Islands should be reporting, one could say that the public in the shape of our electorate has indeed made a difference to how the freedom of the local press is viewed in official circles.

In the past, our observations with regard to the issues of freedom of information and freedom of the press have fallen on reluctant ears in the Government and we always said that the impetus for such legislation will never come from the politicians and civil servants. It would only come from the people.

With the voters having made their point in no uncertain terms, we now look forward to the new Government taking steps in the not too distant future to bring forward well thought out freedom of information legislation.
Perhaps the report of the Law Reform Commission in the British Virgin Islands, a sister British Dependent Territory, on the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation there might be a useful starting point.

The FOI legislation as proposed in the BVI will provide members of the public with the right of access to official Government documents, but there will be exemptions to safeguard such matters as security, defence, international relations, the economy, personal privacy and law enforcement.

However, there is also a provision, intended to enhance the culture of openness within the public service, which allows the disclosure of even exempt documents in special circumstances.

A statutory right to information and a properly implemented FOI regime is expected to enhance democracy and development in the BVI; lay the foundation for accountability, transparency and good governance; and foster greater public trust in elected representatives.

These benefits seem eminently desirable to us and, if a British territory with just half the population of the Cayman Islands can achieve this, then surely we should be able to adopt similar legislation.

The importance to a democracy of freedom of information and freedom of the press and of speech should never be underestimated.

The right to speak out, to know what our leaders are doing behind closed government doors and to report on that, are some of the most fundamental of Human rights.

We have in recent years had far too much secrecy and far too much intimidation when it comes to speaking out.

We are confident however that the newly elected Government will ensure that the issue will be addressed at the earliest opportunity enshrining the protection of these fundamental rights, not just for today, but for the future of the country and its well fought for democracy.

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