(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 19 September 2002 IFJ press release: The IFJ condemns the death threats against journalists in Casamance The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world’s largest journalists’ organisation, is very concerned over the death threats received by correspondents of the Senegalese private dailies Wal Fadjri and Sud Quotidien, and other […]
(IFJ/IFEX) – The following is a 19 September 2002 IFJ press release:
The IFJ condemns the death threats against journalists in Casamance
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the world’s largest journalists’ organisation, is very concerned over the death threats received by correspondents of the Senegalese private dailies Wal Fadjri and Sud Quotidien, and other media professionals in the Casamance region of southern Senegal.
According to information collected by IFJ Africa Bureau Coordinator Mohamadou Mahmoun Faye, the threats constitute a serious attack on the freedom to inform, especially in this part of southern Senegal, which has been in the grips of a civil war for two decades. The Senegalese army is battling the Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de la Casamance (MFDC, a separatist movement) in the region.
Alpha A. Sall, secretary-general of the Syndicat des Professionnels de l’Information et de la Communication du Sénégal (SYNPICS, an IFJ member organisation), has asked the MFDC’s political and military authorities to “take the necessary measures to ensure that the threats against the journalists are not carried out.” He also asked the Senegalese government to “urgently take the necessary measures to guarantee the safety of journalists working in the region.”
The IFJ’s Africa Bureau recalls that other journalists who work in the Casamance region have previously been threatened. Some have even been physically assaulted because of their reports on the conflict.
The International Federation of Journalists deplores these threats and condemns those behind them. The organisation calls on the Senegalese authorities and MFDC officials to guarantee the safety of journalists in Casamance.
The IFJ is the world’s largest journalists’ group, with over 500,000 members in 106 countries.
