Journalists are not intelligence agents - Sismondi Bidjocka

The world has learned this morning with worry that in a country like Cameroon, journalists are summoned to the military court for "not having warned the administrative or judicial authorities of a military activity likely to harm national defense from July-August 2014, offenses defined and punishable under Articles 74 and 107 of the Penal Code".

Rather staggering incompetence and symptomatic of the security services and intelligence of Cameroon that draws all private press into vilification.

The combination of the Cameroonian diplomatic press for its part reminder for all practical purposes that journalists are not intelligence agents in the payroll of some service, and they are free in accordance with the ethics to judging the usefulness of a publication in their respective press bodies.

The intelligence services are paid for intelligence work and must not justify their incompetence by requiring mandatory reporters' collaboration. Journalists are not paid for it.

The invitation by the military court of reporters Rodrigue Tongue of La MESSAGER, and Felix Ebole of CHANGE is horribly unacceptable.

We recall here that no one is required to do the intelligence services jobs that have large budget from our taxes allocated for it.

The cooperation of Cameroon Diplomatic Press Council and the Minister of Defense should work hard to make them most competent services instead of harassing journalists of the private press to get them to work.

The President of the association of the Diplomatic Press Sismondi Barlev Bidjocka Journalist columnist Tel: 7785891