(RSF/IFEX) – According to RSF, on 7 February 1998, authorities closed radio Citizen FM, officially citing Citizen FM’s failure to pay the US$ 2,500 licensing fee as the reason for the closure. Since then, members of the Police Intervention Unit have been impeding access to the premises of the radio station, which is shared by […]
(RSF/IFEX) – According to RSF, on 7 February 1998, authorities closed radio
Citizen FM, officially citing Citizen FM’s failure to pay the US$ 2,500
licensing fee as the reason for the closure. Since then, members of the
Police Intervention Unit have been impeding access to the premises of the
radio station, which is shared by the newspaper “New Citizen.” As a result,
“New Citizen” has not been able to publish for nearly a month.
**Updates IFEX alerts dated 9, 13 and 19 February 1998**
Background Information
According to an IFEX alert issued by the International Press Institute
(IPI), on 5 February 1998, Boubacar Gaye and Ebrima Sillah, the proprietor
and news editor respectively of Citizen FM radio, were arrested by members
of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). Soon after, NIA officials and
more than a dozen armed soldiers sealed off the Citizen FM station and
ordered all staff members to leave the premises. The detention of Gaye and
Sillah came shortly after Citizen FM broadcast a story claiming that the
NIA’s Director of Operations had been sacked in connection with an alleged
counterfeit scandal. According to IPI, the Ministry of Information, in
consultation with the Ministry of Justice, issued an official statement
which stated that the broadcasting of rumors about a staff shake-up at the
NIA was “irresponsible” and “deceptive”, and violated both national security
interests and the conditions under which radio and newspaper licenses are
issued.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
Civil and Political Rights, article 19 of which guarantees the freedom to
inform and to be informed
premises of the “New Citizen” so that it may resume publishing
Appeals To
His Excellency Colonel (Retd.) Yahya Jammeh
President of the Second Republic of The Gambia
Office of the President
State House
Banjul – The Gambia
Fax: +220 227 034
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
