Press freedom slips in Zambia
In Zambia, the coming week will mark the anniversary of the untimely death of President Levy Patrick Mwanawasa. The late president had championed press freedom with his commitments to reform, and, with his passing, the Zambian media lost an ally. Worse, the media freedoms gained in recent years are now slipping.
Ethiopia pushes Kenyan TV to drop report on rebels
Last week, the Ethiopian government tried to force private Kenyan broadcaster Nation Television (NTV) to drop a four-part exclusive report on separatist rebels in southern Ethiopia. NTV aired the first two parts of “Inside Rebel Territory: Rag-Tag Fighters of the Oromo Liberation Front,” which led Ethiopia’s ambassador to Kenya to accuse the Nation Media Group of giving a platform…
Niger president tightens grip on media with amendment
In Niger today, the government is holding a public referendum on a constitutional amendment that would pave the way for President Mamadou Tandja to run for office indefinitely. It would also further increase the former army colonel’s control over the press. Tandja, at left, has charged ahead with the referendum despite overwhelming public opposition after he…
For RFI, static in Kinshasa
Like many radio listeners in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, I tune to Radio France Internationale (RFI) on 93.4 FM or 105 FM. But beginning on July 24, the frequencies carried nothing but static. It was no accident. Media reports quoted government spokesman Lambert Mende as declaring a ban on RFI…
Only the Gambian president has press freedom
On July 22, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh once again went after journalists in an interview on the country’s only state-run television station. The president made a thinly veiled threat toward six independent journalists currently facing “seditious publication” and “criminal defamation” charges in the country: “So they think they can hide behind so-called press freedom and…
Democratic Republic of Congo bans RFI
New York, July 30, 2009–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on authorities today in the Democratic Republic of Congo to lift a ban on the FM broadcasts of Radio France Internationale (RFI) across the Central African country. The government silenced the station in response to its coverage of the ongoing conflict in the east, RFI…
In Madagascar, media torn along partisan lines
“Are you sure about coming back here now?” My cousin in Antananarivo was a bit hesitant about the wisdom of my plan to visit the family while the political crisis was still weighing on the daily lives of Malagasy citizens. I had not been back to my home country in nine years until this summer.…