Should Cameroon continue to have a strong-biased press regulated by a highly controversial 1990 communication`s law or for the first time ever strive to have a free press, a real free press away from politicians?
In Cameroon looking into the culture, practices and ethics in the press and the examination of the relationship of the press with the public, police, military-police and politicians, a lot can be said and also be done to set out boundaries in order to have a real free press accountable to the public.
There is a huge need for a radical shake-up in the way Cameroon`s press has operated since it began. Hafis Ruefli, an outspoken opponent of Biya`s leadership is in favour of a properly accountable media complaints commission and explain on how the newspaper industry in Cameroon should be allowed to function and restore public confidence in the press.
The Cameroon Journalists Union (CJU) with his Press Complaints Commission created and funded by press freedom`s organisations has become infiltrated with government spies`s boys, spurned lovers and smears artists. Decency, privacy and old fashioned honour no longer mattered and at the end , the public were repulsed.
The creation by the government funded of a fake national union of journalists ( members were all residents in Yaounde, political capital city of Cameroon) which followed was intended to restore public confidence in the press and avoid the division in the press`s family.
But it was a chaos and once more the government has registered a failed regulatory systems. There has never really been a regulator even a complaints mechanism under Biya`s regime and authority.
There is a need of a creation of a regulator which guarantee independence from ownership control. These minimum standards include civic society involvement and representation of the profession which is provided by all journalists organisations legalised and there won`t be any direct or indirect State involvement in the regulatory system. No publisher is forced to join.
In Cameroon there is a need of an independent regulatory body, independent from the government and the industry that will really protect free expression and free press, ensure high standards of journalism, fully defend journalists who protect their source, provide a right of reply, be backed by the ability to impose sanction such as fines, have the authority and ability to regulate all commercially-driven press.
It will be good to have such unions or organisation that can play a huge and an important role in maintaining standards and standing up for ethical journalism. Hafis believes it is possible and can be done.
However, any conversion from sinners to saints would be short-term and once public and political attention went elsewhere, it will be business as usual.
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