<B>By Pauline Etienne</B>

The arrogance of some people who are “close to power” sometimes leaves me astounded. As soon as they find themselves on the right side, they think that they can say or do whatever they like. Recently, I was making a similar comment about Bijaye Madhoo after an interview he gave to l’express. This time, it is some of Fareed Jangeerkhan’s words that leave me in a state of shock. And strangely enough, what these two people have in common is their both belonging to the national broadcasting corporation… The former is the director general, the latter the chairman of the board. Is it the air around the station that makes people so big-headed? I do not know but there is an urgent need to bring them down to earth…

The Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has been seen as a tool in the hands of political leaders for so long the people at its head have ended up thinking that they can do what they want with their little toy. After all, they were placed there by people with whom they share a common ideology and mindset. But they tend to forget that there is not one single way of thinking in this country. The people of this (democratic) nation all have the right to balanced information and are justified in expecting quality radio and television.

In his interview published in Week-End on Sunday, the chairman of the MBC does not hesitate to openly show his political colours. Instead of commenting on the work of the MBC as a technician, he appears as a politician defending the government in power.

I am not questioning Fareed Jangeerkhan as a professional. He claims that he has done a great job since he arrived at the MBC as chairman. Fair enough. Even though he should leave it to others to praise him rather than praising himself, we might trust that he is doing a good job as a technician. The main problem is that he himself seems to confuse his role as a technician with that of a political partisan.

There is no doubt that the government placed its own people in important positions when it came to power. Fareed Jangeerkhan is one of those who do not hide the fact that they belong to the labour “family”. Once again, fair enough. He indeed has the right to freedom of expression and to belong to whatever political community he wishes. But he should not think that he has the freedom to say whatever he pleases. We have the feeling that we could soon hear him proclaim, “Power is in our hands. And we can do whatever we want”.

This is dangerous for democracy. What is serious is not only that the MBC deals with information in a biased way but it is also the fact that the people at the head of the institution are trying to justify this attitude.

It is true that successive governments have all used the MBC as a propaganda tool. But do you find it normal that the chairman of the institution just admits it and… even worse, tries to justify it? He admits not giving proper coverage to the opposition because, in his view, “there is no opposition”.

Yet, we are supposed to live in a democracy. Some people have voted for the opposition and all citizens have the right to up to date information on all the political parties of the country. Instead of justifying their biased attitude with the usual “This is how it has always been”, the institution should strive to become a body which people can trust. The chairman of the MBC says he hopes that he was appointed to his post because he is a professional and not because he is a Labour partisan. It is up to him to show that he is more of a technician than a politician… So far, he has failed lamentably in this!