Journalists Are Not An Inconvenience, They Are Truth-Tellers

On April 28, 2022 Senator Omidvar gave a statement in support of journalists like Dawit Isaak, who have been jailed around the world because of their work.

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I rise today to draw the attention of this chamber and my colleagues to the increasing number of attacks on journalists in different parts of the world. They are being increasingly detained from doing their jobs, speaking truth to power and shedding light on corrupt regimes.

One such journalist, Dawit Isaak, has been imprisoned in Eritrea for 20 years without charge or trial. In 2001, Isaak, a dual Swedish-Eritrean citizen, was summarily detained for his reporting at the Setit newspaper. Despite being released temporarily in 2005, he was imprisoned again just two days after his release. Some of the other journalists who had been detained along with him have died in detention. His whereabouts are unknown but human rights groups, such as the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, led by Irwin Cotler, believe there is hope that he is still alive.

Unfortunately, Dawit Isaak is not alone. There are others like him. When truth comes too close for comfort for foreign dictators, they resort to violence and murder, as in the case of Jamal Khashoggi, or subvert their own laws to silence voices, such as that of Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

This is borne out by the facts. A 2020 report from the Committee to Protect Journalists found that at least 274 journalists have been jailed because of their work. And because of the pandemic and increasing corruption and conflict, journalists seem to have been drawn into this web of violence. And lest we think that this phenomenon takes place only in far away places, let’s remember that a record 100 journalists were arrested or criminally charged in the U.S., and another 300 were assaulted as they were covering important stories, including assaults by law enforcement officers.

This past weekend, Massey College in Toronto celebrated the accomplishments and the voice of Maria Ressa, who commented to us on Zoom because she was denied permission to travel from the Philippines. She said you cannot have integrity of elections without integrity of facts, and she cautioned against the rising war on truth.

Honourable senators, without a functioning fifth estate, democracy is not possible. Journalists are not an inconvenience; they are truth tellers. Thank you.

Some Hon. Senators: Hear, hear.