Journalists and media workers on Thursday launched a new press organization, S.O.S Journalistes, with the mission to protect and defend freedom of the press, to organize its members and to carry out projects likely to improve the socio-economic conditions of media professionals at all levels.
S.O.S Journalistes is headed by a committee of three members: Joseph Guyler C Delva (Reuters), Secretary-general; Yves Paul Léandre (Melody FM), Deputy Secretary-general, and Louis Gary Cyprien (Le Nouvelliste), Administrative Secretary.
Joseph Guyler C Delva, who has given up his responsibilities with Association of Haitian Journalists (AJH), declared that the new organization will cooperate closely with the AJH.
“S.O.S Journalists plans to work with all the organizations, including the AJH, the ANMH and the AMIH*”, he said. “What we hope is that there will be unity among all the members of the sector. We must put aside everything that divides us and embrace everything that we have in common”, declared Guyler C Delva, who announced the designation of a new committee of transition at the head of the AJH.
It is composed of Pierre Jean-Paul (Radio Ibo), Carl Dieudonné (Télémax) and Eddy Jackson Alexis (Radio Mégastar). A preliminary meeting is envisaged in the next few days to officially unveil the transition committee. This committee will have the role of organizing a general assembly to elect a permanent committee at the head of the organization within a time period not exceeding 3 months.
Delva let it be known that he remains available to answer all the transition committee’s requests if it would need his support. “We made enormous sacrifices to re-start the AJH which did appreciable work, in particular in the defense of freedom of the press over these last few years,” said Guyler C Delva. “There is no question of the AJH dying, he added.
The former secretary-general of the AJH indicated that the new organization, S.O.S Journalistes, proposes to organize permanent forums and debates on freedom of the press, and on the rights and responsibilities of journalists and media workers in general in terms of citizenship and human rights.
* The ANMH is the Haitian National Media Association.