Article 19: Freedom of Expression 130. The Constitution guarantees that everyone has the freedom to acquire and impart knowledge and information (Article 29). The Constitution also assures the media its freedom and clearly guarantees journalists the right to protect sources (Article 28). However, there are no laws which guarantee freedom of expression and right to information in the Maldives. A Bill on Right to Information has been pending in the Parliament since 2009 and is under review by Social Committee of Parliament. Although the “Roadmap for the Reform Agenda”, formulated in 2006, identified passing of a Freedom of Press Bill as one of the goals, so far no work has been done to draft such a bill. Furthermore, working on a Freedom of Press Bill is not included in the legislative agenda of the Attorney General’s Office. 132. MPS sometimes reacts with force against journalists who cover demonstration, especially those organized by the main opposition party. Citing one incident, on October 25th, 2010, MPS attacked and briefly detained some journalists who were covering an opposition party (Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party) protest rally. This act was condemned by HRCM stating that MPS used force in the specific incident in ways which may have caused physical injury to the journalists45 46. Maldives Journalist Association (MJA) has been constantly condemning the actions of police, alleging that journalists are often beaten with batons, sometimes handcuffing and detaining them. Maldives Broadcasting Commission (MBC) through media expressed its concern over the fact that journalists covering the rallies are being arrested by police. The justifications given by police for their actions were that some of the journalists covering the demonstration engaged with police in a confrontational spirit and disrupt police work in maintenance of public order. 133. The State should act to guarantee freedom of expression to the extent provided in the Constitution. The State should ensure that media and press adopt a code of ethics that shall restrain from irresponsible reporting and defamation. Chapter: Article 19: Freedom of Expression 131. Despite, the lack of important legislations, Maldivian media currently enjoys an environment that is conducive to exercise their constitutional rights and press freedom which had improved from the beginning of 2008. However, incidents of government attempts to interfere and obstruct media freedom occur frequently. Also, politically charged violence against journalists and media outlets have increased recently. Furthermore, there are lots of ethical issues within the media that jeopardize exercising their freedom and independence. 51