THE democratic maturity of a country is measured on how people enjoy their freedom of expression, Vatican Ambassador to Zambia Archbishop Nicola Girasoli has said.

And Archbishop Girasoli said all forms of corruption have a pernicious effect on society and undermine respect and maintenance of the rule of law.

Meanwhile, this year’s Lucy Sichone/Bright Mwape Media Award from the Press Freedom Committee of The Post was presented to late Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) president Professor Alfred Chanda.

Officiating at the fifth award ceremony at Lusaka’s Taj Pamodzi Hotel on Friday, Archbishop Girasoli said freedom of expression and opinion were not a concession or a gift or something to be tolerated.

Archbishop Girasoli noted that freedom of expression and opinion were fundamental human rights fully acknowledged in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948.

“The aim of this award, founded in 2001, is very noble and it concerns two important and vital issues for democracy: good governance and media freedom. Celebrating distinguished persons who believed and concretely promoted good governance and media freedom surely encourage those who are facing challenges and difficulties to continue in their search for the truth in our society,” Archbishop Girasoli said.

He said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly acknowledged that different opinions, views and proposals were always an enrichment and never a challenge for a democracy.

“Democracy is not based on power but on the participation of the citizens pursuing the common good,” Archbishop Girasoli said. “We shall never be afraid when someone thinks differently or expresses publicly different opinions on issues concerning the life of citizens.”

Archbishop Girasoli said the right to freedom of opinion and expression should be understood as a right for serving and searching the truth.

“The Bible reminds us that only truth will set us free (Cf. John 8.32). Different opinions and various approaches offer more opportunities to find the most equitable solution to a problem concerning the everyday life of people. This also means that the right to freedom of opinion and expression promotes an open dialogue in the country,” Archbishop Girasoli said.
“This is also the reason why human rights are not negotiable. We may negotiate everything except Human Rights. The achievements of the Universal Declaration in 1948 are the pillars, the human platform on which a democracy is founded. So this concretely means that when we defend human rights we are always on the right side.”

He said since his arrival in Zambia about four years ago, he had been impressed by the way the country promotes the concept of unity.

“Diversity preludes to a full acknowledgment of equality of everybody before the law. The protection of cultural diversity is based on the acceptance of the principle of equality. Unity does not mean uniformity, but the achievement of a common goal through the contribution of different views,” Archbishop Girasoli said.

“Because we are all humans, the temptation of acting in a wrong way or making mistake is always there. This is why in a democracy the mechanism for checks and balances is vital in order to assure good governance.”

But Archbishop Girasoli said this mechanism could work effectively only if prejudices were removed.

“Prejudices are wrong tactics which let people escape from the real issues. A political leader who respects his opponents is more likely to earn respect himself, compared to the one who harbours political prejudices on the opponents,” he said.
“The most profitable investment for politicians is to work for the benefit of all. National development concerns all citizens and not only those who are in government.”

Archbishop Girasoli said it was important that in a democracy the people who exercise the right of voting and selecting their leaders, also have the right to freely express their opinion.

“…On how their leaders are managing the mandate,” he said. “Good governance and national development are strictly linked. This link works successfully only when leaders and politicians consider the priority of their political mandate, the common good of everyone and are ready to give up to some of their expectations which could benefit only their political side or the people of their constituency.”

Archbishop Girasoli said it was known that these principles were usually theoretically accepted by all and in real terms a weakness of promoting and sustaining good governance free from particular interests was registered.

“I think that we do need to educate our young people to be more involved in a culture free from all kinds of corruption,” he said.

“All form of corruption has a pernicious effect on society undermining respect and maintenance of the rule of law. Providing education is an essential condition for consolidating and deepening democracy in our country.”

Archbishop Girasoli advised that the long and stable peace and unity that Zambia had enjoyed from independence was a gift, which needed to be protected and strengthened through a culture of dialogue without any kind of prejudice.

“We all have to promote peace as a supreme value, because without peace everything is lost,” said Archbishop Girasoli.

And Press Freedom Committee (PFC) of The Post chairperson Chansa Kabwela said the country’s achievements remained threatened if Zambians do not remain vigilante.

Kabwela said the late Lucy Sichone and Bright Mwape worked tirelessly to ensure a better Zambia.

“Lucy and Bright were dedicated to contributing to the growth of the country’s democracy, promotion of human rights and better media freedom,” Kabwela said.

“It has been over 12 years since Lucy and Bright departed from this world but the struggles that they strongly fought against still remain with us. The challenges of poverty and other social ills, abuse of political power, human rights violations and the recent threat to gag the media are but some of the issues that you and I need to strongly reflect upon.”

Kabwela said as people remember Lucy and Bright they were challenged to work towards contributing to the country’s development.
“Democracy demands that we take ourselves seriously as citizens. We should not just see ourselves as mere voters or wards but self-governors and masters of our destiny,” Kabwela said.

“And again today as we honour another exemplary citizen who, like Lucy and Bright, dedicated his effort and intellectual capacity to the service of our people, we should remind ourselves that without eternal vigilance everything that our people have achieved in all areas of human endeavour can easily be negated.”

Kabwela observed that there was currently a notable upsurge of all the undesirable human attributes.

“We see an increase in greed, selfishness, vanity, corruption and abuse of public office. This requires our participation as citizens,” said Kabwela.

“Only if we remain vigilant, like Lucy and Bright and the citizen we are going to honour this evening, the achievements of our people will remain threatened.”

Meanwhile, Prof Chanda’s widow, Ann, described him as a man who lived by what he preached.

Ann said it was gratifying that about three years following Prof Chanda’s death, he was still warmly remembered by the people he worked with.
Ann said Prof Chanda was an ardent believer in press freedom, access to information and a strong fighter against corruption.

She urged those that worked with Prof Chanda to emulate him.

“He lived what he preached,” said Ann amid applause.
Prof Chanda, who was also dean in the school of law at the University of Zambia (UNZA), a publisher and researcher, died on January 7, 2007 in a road traffic accident.

Source: http://www.postzambia.com