(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 25 August 1999 RSF press release: Eighth Summit of French-Speaking Countries Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, 3-5 September 1999 Fifteen countries taking part in the French-speaking countries’ summit violate press freedom Of the 52 states and governments taking part in the eighth summit of French-speaking countries, 15 regularly fail to […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 25 August 1999 RSF press release:
Eighth Summit of French-Speaking Countries
Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, 3-5 September 1999
Fifteen countries taking part in the French-speaking countries’ summit
violate press freedom
Of the 52 states and governments taking part in the eighth summit of
French-speaking countries, 15 regularly fail to respect press freedom:
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville,
Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,
Laos, Mauritania, Rwanda, Togo, Tunisia and Vietnam. While the seriousness
of the infringements varies from one country to another, their governments
are all flouting “the French ideal of freedom and human rights” proclaimed
at the previous summit in Hanoi in 1997.
Seventeen journalists imprisoned in five countries
Thirteen of those 17 journalists are Africans. The Democratic Republic of
Congo, which is holding four prisoners, and Rwanda, which is holding five,
are the worst offenders. Joseph Mbakulu Pambu, a journalist with
Radio-Télévision Matadi, was arrested in Kinshasa in November 1998 and
accused of “collaborating with rebels” when they took control of Matadi, in
the south-west of the country. He has still not come to trial.
Rwandan Dominique Makeli is sub-Saharan Africa’s longest-serving journalist
prisoner. Accused by the government of taking part in the 1994 massacres, he
is being held at Remera central prison, Kigali. The charges brought against
him have changed several times over the years and he has not yet been tried.
Two other African countries which have journalists in their jails are
Tunisia (two) and Côte d’Ivoire (two).
In Vietnam, four journalists are currently in prison. Pham Thai has been
there since July 1995. In August of that year, the people’s court in Ho Chi
Minh City sentenced him to 11 years’ imprisonment for “plotting against the
socialist government”. Since 1990 he has been leader of the Movement for
Unity of the People and the Reconstruction of Democracy, one of the aims of
which is to defend press freedom in Vietnam. Pham Thai is 78 and is due for
release in 2006.
Over 102 journalists jailed
Since the Hanoi summit in November 1997, over 102 journalists have been
imprisoned in 20 of the countries taking part in the Moncton summit. The
Democratic Republic of Congo alone has put more than 50 behind bars, and
most of them have never been tried.
In Togo, seven journalists have been jailed during the past two years. Elias
Hounkali of the weekly Le Nouveau Combat spent nearly ten months in a police
station cell in Lomé before being released in April 1999. He was accused of
“damaging the honour of the president of the republic and his wife”.
In Cameroon, Pius Njawé, publishing manager of the triweekly Le Messager,
spent ten months in Douala prison, from December 1997 to October 1998, for
printing a report saying President Paul Biya had been taken ill at the
Cameroon football cup final.
In Côte d’Ivoire, six journalists from the independent daily Le Populaire
were arrested during April and May 1999. They were accused of “insulting the
head of state” and “disturbing public order”, mainly because of an article
alleging that the president had “bought” a doctorate in economics. Two of
them are still being held at Abidjan prison.
In Equatorial Guinea, Sinecio Ngua Essono, an executive of the independent
newspaper El Sol, was arrested in August 1997 and jailed until October 1998.
During his detention he was tortured and thrown into a container in the port
of Bata. The authorities left him there for three weeks.
In Chad, a journalist was ill-treated by soldiers in March 1998. Dieudonné
Djonabayé, editor of Ndjamena Hebdo, was whipped with electric cables in a
cell at police headquarters. He had already been given a two-year suspended
sentence in February of that year for writing a report headlined “Déby, a
partisan president” accusing the head of state of granting favours to
inhabitants of the north of the country.
Journalist murdered in Burkina Faso
On 13 May 1998, Norbert Zongo, editor of the weekly L’Independant, was found
dead with three other people in a burnt-out vehicle 60 miles south of
Ouagadougou. As a result of pressure from national and international human
rights organisations as well as ordinary citizens, the government set up an
independent committee of inquiry on 18 December. On 7 May 1999, after
talking to over 200 people, the committee submitted its findings to the
prime minister. The final report confirmed that Norbert Zongo had been
murdered and that “the motives must be sought in his reporting and
particularly his recent investigation of the death of David Ouedraogo, the
chauffeur of the president’s brother, François Compaoré. The committee gives
the names of six soldiers in the presidential guard whom it describes as
“serious suspects”.
On 21 May, President Blaise Compaoré announced that he was taking various
measures regarding the case. In particular, he stressed that “all those
involved, without any exception, will be brought to trial”. This has not yet
happened, but some progress was made on 20 June, when three of the six
soldiers mentioned in the report were locked up at Ouagadougou prison. On 2
August, a “committee of wise men” appointed by the president asked for a
truth and justice commission to be set up as soon as possible, with a view
to shedding light on “various crimes” and dealing with compensation.
Censorship is still in force
Seizure of newspapers is common currency in several countries that take part
in the summits. In Tunisia, where the main feature of national newspapers is
their striking uniformity, the foreign titles that enjoy greater freedom to
criticise the government are often the target of police raids. To take just
one example, the French dailies Libération and Le Monde have been seized no
fewer than 40 times in less than two years because they contained reports
criticising the Tunisian president or condemning the country’s human rights
record.
Another example is Mauritania, where continual seizures are gradually
suffocating independent newspapers. Since November 1997, three newspapers
have been targets on 22 occasions: Le Calame, La Tribune and Mauritanie
Nouvelles. The latter went bankrupt in January 1998 as a result of
relentless administrative harassment.
In Gabon, the suspension of the satirical newspaper La Griffe on 17 March
1999 deserves mention. The weekly, which had already been suspended in 1998,
only had time to bring out two issues before another crackdown by the
National Communication Council. Explaining its decision, the council said
those in charge of the newspaper were not identified in its imprint. Yet the
names of the publishing manager and editor, as well as the addresses of the
newspaper and its printing works, are clearly shown in the two issues
published in March 1999. A few days earlier, the council had banned
programmes “of a political nature” on Radio Soleil, a privately owned
station which had invited listeners to take part in live phone-in shows.
Some of their comments were “insulting to the president of the republic”,
according to the council.
Newspapers in the Central African Republic are also victims of severe
repression. Two independent newspapers – Le Citoyen and Le Novateur – often
have their computer equipment confiscated, preventing them from appearing
for several days. Copies of Le Citoyen were set on fire in 1998 and street
vendors were attacked on several occasions. They no longer dare venture into
some Bangui neighbourhoods regarded as being under government protection for
fear of reprisals.
In Laos, journalists are directly supervised by the information ministry.
Broadcasters act as mouthpieces for the single party and the only
independent news available comes from foreign stations broadcasting from
neighbouring countries, particularly Thailand.
Laws that spell death to freedom
Fourteen of the 15 countries that Reporters Sans Frontières has condemned
here still have prison sentences for press offences in their legislation.
International human rights organisations believe that prison for offences
such as libel is out of proportion to the harm suffered by the victims. In a
document dated 14 July 1992, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
stressed that “detention as punishment for the expression of an opinion is
one of the most reprehensible means to enjoin silence, and as such
constitutes a serious violation of human rights”. That is why nowadays no
democratic state passes prison sentences in cases involving the media. Yet
in Cameroon and Tunisia, to give just two examples, the law provides for
prison sentences of up to five years for press offences. In January 1998,
Togo adopted a new, more liberal press law, under which journalists can no
longer be imprisoned for press offences. Since then, however, no fewer than
seven journalists have been thrown into jail for “libel” or “offending the
honour of the president of the republic”.
Recommendations
At the Hanoi summit of French-speaking countries in November 1997, Reporters
Sans Frontières said that “the French-speaking cultures should not only
share a common language, but also a common culture: that of respect for
human rights, tolerance and freedom of expression”. It repeats that appeal
today. The situation has not improved since the last summit, despite the
participants’ solemn affirmation of their “faith in democratic values based
on respect for human rights”. The number of journalists jailed has even
increased. There are now more journalists in prison in countries taking part
in the summit than there were in November 1997: 18 instead of 16.
Reporters Sans Frontières therefore calls once again for the immediate and
unconditional release of all journalists jailed for press offences in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, Vietnam and
Congo-Brazzaville. We also call for fair trials in all the other cases
pending against the press, particularly in Rwanda and Tunisia.
Reporters Sans Frontières also calls for an end to arbitrary arrests. In
Togo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo-Brazzaville and Equatorial
Guinea, journalists have been held for several days, and sometimes several
months, without being charged or brought before a court. Such arrests are
completely illegal and are often made on the direct orders of high-ranking
state officials.
Reporters Sans Frontières calls on the 15 countries mentioned above, and on
all states and governments taking part in the Moncton summit, to amend all
the clauses in their legislation providing for prison sentences for press
offences, replacing them by fines. In democratic states, prison sentences
should only be passed for press offences in exceptional circumstances, such
as repeated incitement to violence or ethnic hatred.
Reporters Sans Frontières urges the 12 countries that continue to flout
press freedom, even though they have ratified the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, to respect their commitment. We call on three
other countries, Burkina Faso, Laos and Mauritania, to ratify the covenant.
Finally, Reporters Sans Frontières calls on Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
secretary-general of the International Organisation of French-Speaking
Countries, to act as guarantor for the French-speaking community’s
undertakings concerning press freedom and to put pressure on the 15
countries condemned in this press release to respect their commitment.
For further information, contact Jean-François Julliard or Vincent Brossel
at RSF, rue Geoffroy Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84,
fax
