Ghana Journalists Association worry over attacks on journalists

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) says it’s deeply concerned about the rising incidents of attacks on media professionals, especially, journalists in their line of duty in recent times.

These developments, according to the GJA have the potential to undermine the role of the media in upholding the people’s right to know – which contributes to empowering people to make informed decisions.

Citing some of the attacks on the media in recent times, the association in a statement March 9, 2012 mentioned that a Daily Graphic correspondent in the Western Region, Moses Aklorbotu, was attacked by a group of people demonstrating over the bad state of a road in the New Takoradi area.

A Member of Parliament, Hon. Maxwell Kofi Jumah also recently rained insults on Richard Sky, Citi FM’s Parliamentary Correspondent while he was in the line of duty, according to the GJA.

“There is also the case of a group of supporters of the New Patriotic Party who threatened to attack Asempa FM in Accra as a way of expressing their displeasure, about what a panel member on a programme at the station was saying about their flag bearer,” the group added.

The GJA mentioned the raging feud between the Vice Chancellor and Registrar of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) on one side and journalists in Kumasi about alleged derogatory remarks made by the two officers about journalists in Kumasi, which the association says “is a matter of concern to us”.

The GJA statement urged journalists who fall victim to such attacks to report to the police and to remember to formally send a report to the GJA.

“However, we wish to caution journalists against indulging in unethical behaviour that may provoke extreme response from others,” the GJA said.

By Ekow Quandzie