(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an abridged version of an RSF alert: RSF is concerned by repeated attacks against the radio station Radio Terre Nouvelle (RTN), broadcast from Bongor (200 km south of N’Djamena). In a letter dated 10 May 2006 and addressed to the minister of culture and communication, Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor, the organisation […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is an abridged version of an RSF alert:
RSF is concerned by repeated attacks against the radio station Radio Terre Nouvelle (RTN), broadcast from Bongor (200 km south of N’Djamena). In a letter dated 10 May 2006 and addressed to the minister of culture and communication, Hourmadji Moussa Doumgor, the organisation asked that the government “commit to showing those who think power can conceal independent information sources that violence will not trump the law.”
The latest episode in a series of attacks occurred on the night of 16 to 17 April 2006 at 2 a.m. (local time), when four individuals tried to break into the radio station and attacked the night security guard, Haman Djoda. He was the target of gunshots after refusing to give the key to the station to the attackers, who finally fled the premises. Staff members of the radio station have already been the object of attacks in the past. On 7 July 2005, at 7 p.m., RTN director Gianni Abeni was shot at as he left the station. His vehicle was seriously damaged, costing over 1 million CFA francs (approx. US$1,950) ?US$2 million? to repair. According to the station’s management, a military soldier who is the suspect in this case spent several days in prison before being released. On 22 March 2004, a former security guard, Hamadou Bello, was assassinated in the radio station’s premises by several unknown, armed individuals, who were never identified.
As a form of protest, RTN ceased broadcasting over a period of three days, from 29 to 31 April 2006. Since 1 May, the station has reduced its programming, cancelling morning shows and closing the antenna at 6:00 p.m., rather than the normal 9:30 p.m. closure time, in order to ensure the security of journalists and the station’s personnel. In a recent visit to Bongor, minister of public security and immigration, Routouang Yoma Golom, publicly promised the arrest of the perpetrators of this attack and an effective punishment. He also called on the local and traditional authorities to actively assist in the search for those responsible for the crime.
