French Cameroun: Dion Ngute urges press to be responsible in dissemination of information ⁰

Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute on Tuesday called on journalists to hold fast to professional standards and shun what he described as “hate speech and sensationalism.”

“The journalist should always know that all communities are founded on shared values and that the preservation of these values is indispensable for all including journalists,” Ngute said in the capital Yaounde at the start of the 48th general assembly of the International Francophone Press Union.

“That is why, peace, national unity, living together, territorial integrity and rejection of hate speech and tribalism just to name these, constitute some of these imperatives which must move in line with recognized press freedom,” he added.

In September, Cameroon complained bitterly about “biased and unprofessional” coverage by some western news media of a separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions.

Over 300 media professionals from 22 French speaking countries are taking part in the four-day general assembly on the theme “Journalism of emotions, Journalism of information.”

The International Francophone Press Union is the world’s oldest organization of French-speaking journalists with more than 3,000 members in 110 countries.

Source: Xinhuanet