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New York, August 30, 2007—Niger’s state-run High Council on Communications has banned the broadcast of live debates on an armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in the north of the uranium-rich West African nation, according to local journalists. Attacks by Tuareg fighters have killed at least 45 soldiers since February, according to Reuters.

The ruling on Tuesday was linked to the broadcast of a live panel Saturday morning on private station Radio Saraounya FM in the capital, Niamey, the journalists said. The debate contained commentary critical of the government’s handling of the conflict.

New York, July 20, 2007--The Niger government suspended broadcasts of France-based Radio France Internationale (RFI) on Thursday, accusing the station of "broadcasting false news" related to a recent armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in northern Niger, according to local journalists and news reports. The move came less than a week after the army chief threatened to kill a veteran RFI correspondent.

In early August, a military uprising in the eastern Diffa Region by soldiers demanding salary arrears jeopardized Niger's fragile democracy. The mutiny was the first serious challenge to civilian rule since the election of President Mamadou Tandja in December 1999. Before that election, the country had experienced two coups in three years. Anxious to restore order and avoid instability, authorities used the insurgency as a pretext to crack down on the media and opposition voices.

September 4, 2002

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His Excellency Hama Amadou
Prime Minister
Primateur
Republic of Niger

Via Facsimile: 227-73-33-71

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Your Excellency:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the climate for independent journalism in Niger, following the recent arrests of two journalists and a presidential decree restricting the media.