Burkina Faso / Africa

  

Dangerous Assignments: Refuse to Forget

Burkina Faso’s ruling clan has endured two years of unrest sparked by the murder of a leading investigative journalist.

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On eve of “National Day of Forgiveness,” CPJ urges full investigation into murder of editor Norbert Zongo

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) remains deeply concerned that justice is not being served in the murder case of Norbert Zongo, late editor of the weekly L’Indépendant in the capital, Ouagadougou. Your government has declared tomorrow an official Day of Forgiveness for all citizens to reflect on Burkina Faso’s painful recent history. While this is a laudable undertaking, it will inevitably fail if suspected human rights abuses by your administration, such as the grisly murder of Zongo, are not fully investigated and their perpetrators brought to justice.

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Attacks on the Press 2000: Burkina Faso

TWO YEARS OF CIVIL UNREST SPARKED BY THE 1998 MURDER of a popular journalist have galvanized the independent press and forced President Blaise Compaoré to broaden his government. On November 12, Compaoré announced a new cabinet that included members of at least 10 opposition parties. The move followed widening protests, including general strikes in April…

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Burkina Faso: Radio station banned for criticizing government inaction in Zongo case

Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the April 16 closure of Horizon FM, a privately-owned radio station based in Ouagadougou. The station appears to have been closed because it criticized your government for failing to adequately investigate the December 1998 murder of Norbert Zongo, editor of the newspaper L’Indépendant.

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Attacks on the Press 1999: Burkina Faso

President Blaise Compaoré seized power in 1987 before seeking legitimacy through the ballot box in 1991 and again in 1998. But his regime still draws much of its authority from the army, especially from the infamous Presidential Guard Regiment (RSP), which local independent journalists blamed for several extrajudicial killings last year. It remains dangerous to…

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Attacks on the Press 1999: Ivory Coast (Côte D’ivoire)

“Press freedom will be total,” promised Gen. Robert Gueï, Côte d’Ivoire’s new head of state. General Gueï, 58, who overthrew the government of President Henri Konan Bedie on Christmas Eve, made this announcement just hours after his nine-man junta imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in this west African country, historically noted for its political stability. However,…

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CPJ Briefing: Gueï ‘s Way

Cote d’Ivoire’s new dictator pledges to respect press freedom — up to a point

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118 Journalists Imprisoned in 25 Countries

Washington, D.C., March 25 — The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported today in its annual worldwide study of press freedom that at least 118 journalists were in prison in 25 countries at the end of 1998, and 24 journalists in 17 countries were murdered during the year in reprisal for their reporting.

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African Journalists Strategize at WAJA Conference

For some delegates, just getting to the West African Journalists Association (WAJA) regional conference in Dakar, Senegal, was an impressive achievement. While his colleagues used more conventional modes of transportation, Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) president Frank Kposowa navigated his way out of the country by night in a hired motorized dugout canoe. The…

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West Africa’s Independent Radio Broadcasters Targeted

Six months after the coup in Niger led by General Ibrahim Mainassara, during the July 1996 national elections, Radio Anfani managing director Gremah Boucar faced down numerous attempts by Mainassara’s military regime to force the station permanently off the air, including a one-month period where soldiers stormed and occupied the Anfani studios. Almost a year…

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