By Garwin Davis, Assistant News Editor 
Prime Minster P.J. Patterson (left) and Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), arrive at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston yesterday. They were attending the start of a two-day international conference celebrating World Press Freedom Day. - Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer.
PRIME MINISTER P.J. Patterson said calls for changes to libel and defamation laws in Jamaica would be greatly enhanced, if media owners would agree to impose "professional penalties to protect any citizen or institution which has been undeniably wronged".
He said his Caribbean Community (CARICOM) colleagues are willing to examine the recommendations for change to the existing laws, and that the CARICOM Secretariat has already ordered a study of the issues.
Speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNES-CO)-sponsored international conference marking World Press Freedom Day today at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, the Prime Minister said that while he was aware of the "continuing lobbying" for the changes, nothing could be done without first taking the public's interest into consideration.
"I am aware of the continuing lobbying by publishers, media owners and managers in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean for constitutional changes and amendments to libel and defamation laws," Mr. Patterson said. "This they say, are required to better secure press freedom and reduce the financial and other risks arising from defamation."
Media practitioners in Jamaica and the region have, since 1997, made recommendations to CARICOM's legal affairs ministers, seeking to have defamation and libel laws throughout the Caribbean amended.
"My legal background allows me readily to accept that the law must be subject to a continuing process of evolution," said the Prime Minister. "I have said elsewhere... and have been constantly misinterpreted and misrepresented... that the law is not a shackle to enslave but must be seen as a tool of social engineering. It is within such context, and in such a period as this, that we must also take into account changes in technology and the consequences of instant communication within a global framework."
Mr. Patterson was referring to the flak he took five years ago, when he declared an impromptu holiday following Jamaica's football team gaining qualification to play in the World Cup. Chided for not giving the required notice, as stated by law, the Prime Minister responded by saying "the law is not a shackle."
He noted that any amendment to the defamation laws would have to be looked at with an eye as to what would be the policy implications for the wider society. He noted that, "if we accept that... and I hope we do...there are attendant responsibilities attached to every right... that for every wrong there must be a remedy." He said he was looking forward to the results of the forum that the Mona School of Business, with the support of UNESCO, had organised as part of World Press Freedom Day activities to discuss what he called, "these burning issues." The forum took place on Thursday on the UWI, Mona campus.
"The findings of this forum will certainly be of interest to CARICOM Heads when we finally receive and consider the findings of the report already ordered by the CARICOM Secretariat," Mr. Patterson said. "Let me observe, from now though, that my colleagues and I are unlikely to find as persuasive any argument that by volunteering to enter politics we have agreed to surrender the rights to a good reputation. This we cannot agree on unless of course we are engaged in some conduct which is inappropriate or has blemished our behaviour in some way."
The Prime Minister told the gathering local, regional and international media practitioners, that Jamaica has long been a champion for press freedom and has created "the structures on which we can build the platform for sharing information, facilitating dialogue and ensuring that there is a good measure of understanding between people and government." He pointed to the passing last year of the Access to Information Act as a milestone in the country's history.
