(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Communications and Relations with Parliament Rachid Ould Saleh, RSF protested the prohibition on Mohammed Lemine Ould Bah, correspondent for Radio France International (RFI) and Radio Monte Carlo Middle East (RMC Middle East) in Nouakchott, from working for these two radio stations. “In addition to the constant problems […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Communications and Relations with Parliament Rachid Ould Saleh, RSF protested the prohibition on Mohammed Lemine Ould Bah, correspondent for Radio France International (RFI) and Radio Monte Carlo Middle East (RMC Middle East) in Nouakchott, from working for these two radio stations. “In addition to the constant problems of censorship and self-censorship faced by the Mauritanian media, it is very worrying to see that now the Mauritanian authorities are punishing a foreign media correspondent in a totally arbitrary way. We ask you to reconsider this decision, which cannot be justified in any way,” stated Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary-general. The organisation noted that in November 2000, the Mauritanian authorities prohibited RFI and RMC Middle East from broadcasting their programmes on FM radio.
According to information obtained by RSF, Mohammed Lemine Ould Bah was summoned by Minister of Communications and Relations with Parliament Rachid Ould Saleh shortly after the broadcast of his report on RFI about the visit of Mauritanian President Maaouiya Sid’Ahmed Ould Taya to Senegal. The journalist mentioned the warming of relations between Mauritania and Senegal due, according to him, to the fact that Mauritania could soon be an important oil exporter to Senegal. “For some time your reports have undermined Mauritania’s interests,” continued the minister, mentioning another report by the journalist on the dissolution of the main opposition party, the Union of Democratic Forces – New Era (l’Union des Forces démocratiques – Ere Nouvelle) on 28 October. Rachid Ould Saleh told the journalist that he was no longer authorised to work for RFI and RMC Middle East. In a telephone interview with RSF, Mohammed Lemine Ould Bah referred to the possibility of exile if he found himself “totally unable to practice his profession.” The journalist, who has worked for RFI and RMC Middle East since 1996 and 1993, respectively, is also the Nouakchott correspondent for Abou Dhabi TV based in the United Arab Emirates. In a 10 April 2001 press release, RFI’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Cluzel stated that the two radio stations were going to “take the appropriate steps with the Mauritanian authorities to return to the air and to re-establish the possibility for our correspondent to practice his profession.”
On 21 November, the broadcast of RFI programmes on FM radio was interrupted. The Mauritanian authorities accused the radio station of “inciting the population to revolt” in its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On 19 November, RFI’s programme Le débat africain (African Debate) featured a representative from Mauritania’s ruling party and two others from the opposition, exiled in France. The two opposition members denounced the close ties between the Nouakchott regime and Israel.
