Every once in a while The Salt Lake Tribune gets a visit from foreign journalists brought to the United States by the State Department so they can learn about American newspapers, television, radio and magazines.
This week we met with five Moroccan men (yes, at least two of them were from Casablanca) who have made several stops across the country.
Lest you think this was just an opportunity to have a glib chat with journalists from another part of the world, let me explain this operation involves two translators – and I suspect that at least one of the guests understands, but does not seem to speak, English. And, unlike those word-for-word translators who work at the United Nations, these translators require frequent stops in conversations to catch up the dialogue.
That said, the conversation was fascinating. Morocco is one of those parts of the world where the press is not free – even though the country’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression. There are laws in Morocco “which are regularly used to intimidate, and in some cases imprison, journalists,” according to Freedom House, an organization that conducts an annual global survey of media independence.
Human Rights Watch, in a news release this year noting trials and punishments for Moroccan journalists, wants the Moroccan government to:
* “introduce amendments to the press code that will abolish or drastically limit criminal penalties for speech offenses;
* “make libel a strictly civil matter;
* “eliminate provisions that punish statements deemed insulting to Moroccan and foreign officials;
* “abolish or narrow the scope of provisions punishing statements that are deemed to undermine the monarchy, Islam or the country’s territorial integrity, or are judged to contain false information that disturbs the public order.”
Now you can see why Moroccan journalists work in a system where press freedom is a golden, shining palace in the distance, something to dream about, but probably never reach.
But journalists in Morocco are not alone. In the Middle East and North Africa region, encompassing 19 countries, the press is free in only one: Israel. Freedom House ranks the press in Kuwait and Lebanon as “partly free,” but the rest – Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Iraq, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Tunisia, Iran, Syria, Palestinian Authority and Libya – are not free.
The desire for freedom is evident, however, when the Moroccan journalists explain their own system. “Our constitution guarantees free speech,” one journalist says. “But,” another interrupts, “sometimes journalists are put in prison.” All one of them has to do to be tossed behind bars is use his words to step over an invisible – and often changing – line.
I talk for a minute about our press freedom being guaranteed in the First Amendment to our Constitution, and when the thought is translated, several of the journalists nod their heads and whisper “First Amendment” reverently.
They know about our First Amendment, words that mean so much to people in other countries and yet are ignored or not valuable to a large percentage of our high school students – and some in our government. Words that guarantee our right to assemble, our right to worship as we wish and bring grievances to the government without reprisal. Words that give us free speech. Words that mean we can boost President Bush or bash him.
Maybe we should take frequent looks at them, since others in the world so envy them:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Number of people upset about Bush-Rumsfeld-Rice coverage
47
Number of people upset about protest and Rocky coverage
18
Number of people asking about circulation problems
13
Number of people upset about JonBenet coverage
9
