The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) started a media campaign under the slogan “We want media law that enhance freedom of expression”. The campaign aims to raise the awareness of the need to provide a healthy legal environment for the journalists.

 

MADA’s General Director Mr. Mousa Rimawi said that the Palestinian media faces a lot of obstacles and problems; especially because of the continued internal division and the Israeli occupation. Besides the absence of modern media laws has negatively impacted the development of the media and freedom of expression in Palestine.

 

Rimawi added that after the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, no media laws were enacted except for the law of printing and publication in 1995; which needs a lot of amendments. He also explained that there are drafts for the Audio-Visual and the Higher Media Council, whereas the journalists are still being arrested according to articles in the Jordanian Penal Law No. 16 of 1960 in the West Bank and the Palestinian Penal Law No. 74 of 1936 in the Gaza Strip.

 

Rimawi pointed out that the Right to Access Information Law is still at the Council of Ministers and still not enacted until this moment; despite MADA’s and other Civil Society organizations as well as the Anti-Corruption Commission efforts to enact it.

 

He also emphasized that it is really difficult to talk about developing of media and enhancing freedom of expression, journalists’ protection and the reduction of self-censorship without the existence of a modern media law that guarantees freedom of expression and aligned with the international standards, also without enacting the right to access information law.

 

It should be pointed that MADA established a legal unit that offers free legal consultancy for journalists and defends them in courts, as well as holding training workshops to increase awareness among journalists and media students on local legal issues and international standards.

 

This campaign that includes billboards, radio spots and posts on Facebook, is a part of different activities of the project “Defending Freedom of Expression in a Healthy Legal Environment”; which is funded by the European Union.

 

The You Tube link for the  Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrDJMwDhigw

To access the campaign through Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/MadaCenterPS?ref=hl