**New cases, plus further details to IFEX alert dated 15 July 1996** RSF is concerned at the situation facing journalists following 7 and 8 July 1996 presidential elections in which General Ibrahim Barre Mainassara claimed an outright victory. On 7 July, police occupied and closed Radio Anfani (see IFEX alert) and detained editorial staff member […]
**New cases, plus further details to IFEX alert
dated 15 July 1996**
RSF is concerned at the situation facing journalists following 7
and 8 July 1996 presidential elections in which General Ibrahim
Barre Mainassara claimed an outright victory.
On 7 July, police occupied and closed Radio Anfani (see IFEX
alert) and detained editorial staff member Souleymane Issa Maiga
for several hours. As of 15 July, the radio was still shut down,
and its offices guarded by police. The closure followed the 7 July
broadcast of an interview with an opposition presidential
candidate. No official warrant was presented, but, according to
RSF, the measure was likely ordered by Interior Minister Idi Ango
Omar.
Radio R&M was also shut down for two hours. It was only allowed to
continue broadcasting after signing a document agreeing to
“conduct itself” appropriately.
In a separate incident, on 8 July, Moussa Kaka and Laurent
Chaffard, correspondent and special correspondent respectively for
Radio France Internationale (RFI), were arrested in front of the
home of another opposition candidate. They were let go after 45
minutes. The same day, AITV special correspondent Gabrielle Lorne
and her cameraman were reportedly stopped and held for questioning
for over two hours. On 10 July, police officers reportedly
confiscated Chaffard’s radio equipment, which the journalist was
only able to reclaim after a heated altercation with security
forces. On 13 July, Kaka was again detained and held for twenty
four hours. Authorities arrested him in Birni Konni, allegedly
thinking the journalist was heading to Zinder, access to which is
being denied to journalists.
As well, Maitourare Abdou Saleye, director general of Niger’s
radio and television broadcasting agency (the Office de
Radiodiffusion et Television du Niger), ordered that opposition
parties, unions and associations no longer have access to the
national (state) radio and television network.
Finally, on 13 July on national radio, Interior Minister Idi Ango
Omar strongly criticized RFI and British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC) correspondents, calling them “stateless people”
(“apatrides”). He gave what he called a “last national warning” to
foreign correspondents in Niger.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
threats against the foreign press in Niger
on Civil and Political Rights, Article 19 of which guarantees the
right to inform and be informed
Radio Anfani to reopen immediately, and to bring about a return to
proper working conditions for all journalists exercising their
profession in Niger
Appeals To
General Ibrahim Barre Mainassara
Niamey, Niger
Fax: +227 72 2245/+227 72 2472
or via the Ministry of Communications: 227 72 2336
your diplomatic representative in Niger
the Niger diplomatic representative in your country
(in Canada)
Embassy of the Republic of Niger
38 Blackburn Ave.
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 8A2 Canada
Fax: +1 613 230-9808
Please copy appeals to the originator if possible.