New York, February 14, 2005—Burundian independent radio station Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) today resumed broadcasting after authorities suspended the station on Friday for two days, accusing it of violating the country’s press law. Private news agency Net-Press, which was also summarily banned on Friday for seven days following libel complaints, remained shuttered. Local journalists believe…
FEBRUARY 11, 2005 Posted: February 16, 2005 Radio Publique Africaine CENSORED Burundi’s government-appointed media regulatory body, the Conseil National de la Communication (CNC) ordered independent radio station Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) closed for two days, accusing it of violating the country’s press law.
Although the number of journalists in prison in Africa at the end of 2003 was lower than the previous year, African journalists still faced a multitude of difficulties, including government harassment and physical assaults. Many countries in Africa retain harsh press laws. In the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, some…
New York, September 19, 2003—Today, the Ministry of Communications lifted the ban against Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), which was ordered shut “for an indefinite period” on Tuesday, September 16. The order stemmed from an interview the station aired with Pasteur Habimana, a spokesman for the rebel National Liberation Forces, about the government’s closure of the…
New York, September 17, 2003—In a widening crackdown in Burundi, authorities yesterday closed Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) indefinitely, only days after closing another station, Radio Isanganiro. The shutdown of RPA came after the station broadcast an interview with a rebel spokesman. On September 13, Radio Isanganiro was ordered closed for one week for airing a…
Although the Kenya-based East African Standard, one of Africa’s oldest continuously published newspapers, marked its 100th anniversary in November, journalism remains a difficult profession on the continent, with adverse government policies and multifaceted economic woes still undermining the full development of African media.
President Pierre Buyoya’s government remained wary of political opposition and critical press reports during 2002. Meanwhile, government attempts to identify war criminals following Burundi’s eight-year civil war between the Tutsi-led regime and the Hutu-backed opposition stalled when peace talks collapsed again on November 7, and the conflict continued intermittently.