[cma-l] AMARC marks World Press Freedom Day, 3 May

[Steve Buckley]

On World Press Freedom Day, AMARC asserts communication rights of 
disaster hit communities

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 3, 2010 - On the occasion of World Press 
Freedom Day (3 May) AMARC, the World Association of Community Radio 
Broadcasters, calls on governments and international agencies to 
respect the communication rights of communities struck by disaster 
and to recognise the vital role of community media in disaster 
response and reconstruction.

In the Haiti earthquake of 12 January 2010, community media support 
organisations in Port-au-Prince suffered complete destruction of 
their facilities. Community radio stations were directly affected in 
12 disaster struck communities while, in other parts of the country, 
community broadcasters provided vital information on missing persons 
and needs of displaced people.

In the Chile earthquake of 27 February 2010, 15 community radio 
stations suffered serious damage, of which 10 lost their entire 
buildings. At least 40 others were directly affected but quickly back 
on air ensuring access to information, providing psychological 
support and enabling people to air their concerns about the pace and 
progress of disaster response and humanitarian relief.

AMARC believes greater attention needs to be given to respect for 
communication rights in humanitarian disaster response and 
reconstruction. It is not sufficient to focus on informational 
messages to disaster hit communities. The first responders are people 
in the communities themselves who need communication tools to 
organise local relief. The most vulnerable people - women, children, 
the elderly and the disabled - are often the last to be heard. Civil 
society organisations need to have voice and involvement in the 
process of reconstruction. International agencies and governments 
must do more to demonstrate transparency and accountability.

AMARC marked World Press Freedom Day in Haiti with the signing of an 
accord in Port-au-Prince with the Haitian community media support 
organisation, SAKS, Sosyete Animasyon Komunikasyon Sosyal, for a 
joint programme of work on humanitarian communication, reconstruction 
and community media development. The programme, which will run 
initially for a period of six months, is supported by Open Society 
Institute, Free Voice, Diakonie, Development and Peace, UNESCO, 
International Media Support, Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs 
and Japan Platform among others. It builds on an international 
solidarity response to the Haiti emergency from community media 
activists and organisations including Amisnet, ALER, Radio Santa 
Maria, BHN Communications, Austin Airwaves, WACC and AMARC's regional 
offices in Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

-ends-

Notes

Through service to members, networking and project implementation, 
the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters AMARC, brings 
together a network of more than 4,000 community radios, federations 
and community media stakeholders in more than 115 countries. Since 
its creation in 1983, AMARC has supported the development of a world 
wide community radio sector that has democratized the media 
landscape. AMARC advocates for the right to communicate at the 
international, national, local and neighbourhood levels and defends 
and promotes the interests of the community radio movement through 
solidarity, networking and cooperation.

For further information visit http://www.amarc.org