Africa
2011
Ivory Coast using media regulation to censor critics
New York, February 10, 2011–Incumbent Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has moved to silence critical media under the guise of media regulation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today, following a week in which Gbagbo’s administration tightened control over the official print media regulatory agency and ordered United Nations-sponsored radio network ONUCI FM off the air.
In Rwanda, journalists given 17 and 7 years in prison
New York, February 4, 2011–Harsh prison sentences given to two journalists today under Rwanda’s vague and sweeping laws against “genocide ideology” and “divisionism” will have a chilling effect on the Rwandan press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Mauritius no heaven for news media
American author Mark Twain once quoted a Mauritian as saying that heaven was copied after this Indian Ocean island paradise. Mauritius is cited today as one of the few havens of press freedom in Africa, but for Raj Meetarbhan, left, editor-in-chief of the island’s largest newspaper L’Express, the country is fast losing its glow.Meetarbhan was…
Malawi amendment bans news ‘not in public interest’
New York, February 1, 2011–An amendment to Malawi’s penal code, which became law last week, allows the government to ban any publication deemed contrary to public interest for an unspecified period of time, institutionalizing political censorship of the press, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On January 26, President Bingu wa Mutharika signed into law an…
In Gabon, faux news draws real censorship
Last week, Gabon’s government-controlled National Communications Council ordered the TV station of opposition leader André Mba Obame off the air for a period of three months. The ruling is without appeal and, typically, this is how authorities in this oil-rich equatorial African state silence critical news outlets. Except that, this time, the “reporting” for which the…
With abysmal press freedom record, Obiang takes AU chair
The African Union announced on Sunday that the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, will become the new chairman in the union’s yearly rotating leadership. The first debate Obiang (at left) presided over at the two-day AU conference that ends today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, concerned “shared values”–highlighting issues of democracy and good governance. Representing…
In South Africa, judge orders probe into censorship at SABC
In South Africa, a judge this week ordered an official investigation into allegations that a former news executive for national public broadcaster SABC had muted critical voices and skewed coverage of major events–like the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s 2005 election in favor of the ruling party. The ruling comes amid a contentious press freedom debate stirred…
Authorities illegally shutter radio station in Zambia
New York, January 27, 2011–Authorities in Zambia’s Western Province must immediately allow community station Radio Lyambayi to return to air, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The government raided the private broadcaster based in Mongu, about 360 miles (580 kilometers) west of the capital, Lusaka, carting away computers and other broadcasting equipment on January…
Liberian saga: angry court, jailed editor, president’s speech
On Monday, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who will contest for a second term in elections next November, used her annual speech to the legislature to strengthen her image as the candidate of stability and growth. Among other things, she boasted about winning the “Friend of the Media” award from the African Editors Forum, the…