Press Council (East Timor)
The Conselho de Imprensa ( German Press Council ) is an independent body under public law in East Timor with its seat in Dili . It was established in October 2013.
Overview
In large parts the model was the press council in Indonesia . The structure and statutes are set out in Regulation No. 25/2015 of August 5, 2015. The council adopted its regulations on May 16, 2016.
In the 2016 state budget, $ 700,000 was earmarked for the press council. $ 136,000 for salaries, $ 404,000 for supplies and services, and $ 160,000 for minor tasks.
Members
The Conselho de Imprensa consists of two elected representatives of the journalists, one representative of the media companies and two members appointed by the national parliament. Only adult citizens of East Timor can become members. But you are not allowed to
- have held an office in an independent body, an organ of government or local government for the past two years,
- have held office in a political party in the past two years,
- be an official for public relations or press work, communication or images,
- be a public service employee or
- have owned or been a member of the administration, management or directorate of a corporate communications body in the past two years.
The representatives of the journalists are excluded from the last regulation.
In 2015, the three media representatives were elected and it took parliament nine months to determine its two representatives. José Maria Ximenes from the Timor Post sits on the council for media companies . Francisco Belo Simões da Costa from the Timor-Leste Press Club (TLPC) / Timor-Leste Press Union (TLPU) and Hugo Maria Fernandes from the Associação de Jornalistas de Timor-Leste (AJTL) represent the journalists. Virgílio da Silva Guterres and Paulo Adriano da Cruz Araújo ( Hunu Mali ) were sent by Parliament. Silva Guterres was elected President at the first meeting of the Council on March 31, 2016. The swearing-in of the council members took place on May 10th.
On September 27, 2018, Francisco Belo Simões da Costa was laid off as news editor by his employer GMN . This was justified with his commitment to the press council. Costa could not concentrate on his work when he was also working for the press council. The International Federation of Journalists and TLPU protested against the dismissal and demanded reinstatement.
tasks
The Conselho de Imprensa punishes misconduct by journalists and violations of their code of ethics, which was published in 2013, provided the cases are not criminally relevant. It accredits and registers journalists, including foreign correspondents.
According to its statutes, the council should support freedom of expression and freedom of the press and protect the independence of the media from the influence of individuals, groups, and political and economic interests. The council should ensure access to the journalistic profession in accordance with the legal requirements and promote the development of journalism in East Timor and ensure its professionalism in respect of high ethnic requirements and quality standards. Its duties result from the media law.
criticism
Reporters Without Borders saw the establishment of the Conselho de Imprensa as a measure that led to the self-censorship of journalists. In the ranking of press freedom , East Timor experienced a fall from number 77 to number 103 for this reason.
See also
Web links
- Website of the Conselho de Imprensa (tetum, English)
- Council Regulations (Portuguese)
- Ordinance No. 25/2015 of August 5, 2015 and statutes of the Conselho de Imprensa (unofficial English translation)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c La'o Hamutuk: Proposed Law on Media , updated 23 May 2017 , accessed June 9, 2017.
- ↑ a b Statutes of the Conselho de Imprensa, adopted on May 16, 2016.
- ↑ Timor Leste: Editor dismissed over role on Press Council , October 10, 2018 , accessed September 13, 2018.
- ↑ a b Reporters without borders: Press Freedom Index 2014