AMPS reacts to Tuesday’s health press conference |06 May 2021

The Association of Media Practitioners (Seychelles) - AMPS, has expressed its regrets following the altercation that took place on Tuesday May 4, 2021, between journalist Clive Camille and the Minister for Health, Peggy Vidot, during a press conference at the Sheikh Khalifa diagnostic centre.

In a letter addressed to Minister Vidot, AMPS chairperson Rassin Varnier, writes:

“AMPS believes the call by the Public Health Commissioner for journalists to practice ‘patriotic journalism’ defeats the purpose of freedom of expression and interferes directly with the editorial stance of media houses.

“Although we recognise that a lot has been done to provide information about the current pandemic to the media, we feel there is room for improvement.

“We are therefore calling on the Ministry of Health to be more forthcoming and pro-active with the dissemination of Covid-19 related information, to allow journalists to do their work and give their audience a better and clearer picture about the pandemic.

“There has been calls for more disaggregated data on a regular basis and in a timely manner (eg: The number of people who have been vaccinated and have contracted the virus, infections based on age groups and gender, as well as the number of repeated cases etc.). We do hope these issues will be addressed shortly, in the public interest.

“We note that both sides have a common goal and that is to keep the population informed, and we therefore commend the work done so far.

“Let us remain focused and united in our quest to inform the public while respecting each other’s profession.”

Rassin Varnier

Chairperson - AMPS