A free and fair media is a necessary element in any democracy. The press is the watchdog of the government. They ensure that the truth be told. The government should have no power in a democracy to control news outlets. If the bill is signed the government is essentially stealing the voice of the people so they will be able to declare a "state of emergency" when it is convenient for them. Giving the government a gag hold on the media's ability to report the truth. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights written 10 December 1948 contains two articles which are in direct opposition to Article 88 *Article 19.* Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. *Article 20.* (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association. The government already bears the right to legislate the process of broadcasting and many aspects of the bill are enlightened and will serve us well in the future, but it is necessary that it is not passed in its current form. As human beings and as Kenyan citizens we are born with the right to voice our opinions, thoughts, feelings, and demands. Is Kenya is a democracy in the Liberal sense? Then it must be bound by the tenets of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, one of the philosophical fathers of the legislative democracy. The current constitution and rule of law is an altered copy of the democratic system of government in the United Kingdom whose constitutions and political thought stem in part from his writings. In the Social Contract by Rousseau he states that "Nothing is more dangerous than influence of private interests on public affairs and abuse of the laws of the government is LESS evil than the corruption of the legislator, which is the infallible result of the pursuit of private interests." He continues that "there is no government so subject to civil wars and internal agitations then the democratic or popular, because there is none which tends so strongly and so constantly to change its form, one who demands more vigilance and courage to be maintained in its own form. It is especially in this constitution that the citizen should arm himself with strength and steadfastness, and every day of his life from the bottom of his heart what a virtuous Palatine said in the "Diet of Poland"; Malo Periculosam libertatem quam quietum seritium." This translates into English as I prefer a perilous freedom to a peaceful slavery. In Swahili - heri kupigania uhuru kuliko amani utumuani! Crystal Kigoni Voices of Africa for Sustainable Development 2008/12/15 Moto Baridi <motobaridi@motobaridi.com>
next thing, they'll require ISP's to block sites that include any "offensive" text or image. Did you just search for "paedophile" in Wikipedia? *"Sorry. The page you requested has been deemed inappropriate by parliament and shall not be displayed. If you have any queries, please contact your MP."* then they'll storm your house and confiscate those Nigerian movies because of that barely-visible 1.2 sec bedroom scene. this is the first step on the slippery slope towards *gov't-sponsored* net censorship. unfortunately, even where it has been implemented by people who understand much more about these things,it has failed miserably in ALL instances. when will people ever learn from the painful experiences of others (e.g. Australia)??
yours cynically, [motobaridi] [carpe noctem]
_______________________________________________ skunkworks mailing list skunkworks@my.co.ke http://ole.kenic.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks Blog http://skunkworks-ke.blogspot.com Beta Blog http://blog.my.co.ke Get Skunkworks RSS Feeds: http://www.jahazi.com/rss/
-- Crystal "Naliaka" Watley Voices of Africa crystal@voicesofafrica.org http://www.voicesofafrica.org/ "You must be the change you wish to see" - Gandhi