CPJ is condemning the 16 April 2000 closure of Horizon FM, a privately-owned radio station based in Ouagadougou. The station appears to have been closed because it criticised the government of President Blaise Compaoré for failing to adequately investigate the December 1998 murder of Norbert Zongo, editor of the newspaper “L’Indépendant”. The bullet-ridden bodies of […]
CPJ is condemning the 16 April 2000 closure of Horizon FM, a privately-owned radio station based in Ouagadougou. The station appears to have been closed because it criticised the government of President Blaise Compaoré for failing to adequately investigate the December 1998 murder of Norbert Zongo, editor of the newspaper “L’Indépendant”.
The bullet-ridden bodies of Zongo and three other men were found in Zongo’s burned-out vehicle on 13 December 1998, some fifty miles outside Ouagadougou. Before his death, Zongo had been aggressively investigating allegations that President Compaoré’s brother François Compaoré took part in the January 1998 killing of his own chauffeur, David Ouedraogo.
Although President Compaoré’s government has agreed to pay financial compensation to the families of Zongo and the other victims, six presidential guardsmen widely considered suspects in the killings have never been properly investigated. Meanwhile, the judge who charged François Compaoré with murder has been removed from the case.
On 14 April, the Supreme Council on Information (CSI), a state-operated media supervisory body, accused Horizon FM of violating Burkina Faso’s 1993 Information Code. Among other repressive statutes, the code prescribes immediate closure of media outlets charged with endangering national security or distributing false news.
The CSI’s ruling came just two days after Horizon FM aired a 12 April communiqué from Le Collectif, a coalition of fifty-five opposition parties and human rights groups, calling for “a major rally” in downtown Ouagadougou that same day to protest the lack of progress in investigating Zongo’s murder.
The communiqué also urged President Compaoré’s government to lift the de facto curfew imposed on local university campuses after students clashed with police during Zongo demonstrations earlier that week.
In its ruling against Horizon FM, the CSI stated that the broadcaster had behaved unethically by broadcasting “false and alarmist” information. The CSI charged that Horizon FM was pursuing
“dubious political goals likely to cause civil unrest”.
At 9 a.m. (local time) on 16 April, two days after the CSI ruling, a dozen heavily-armed police invaded the premises of Horizon FM, interrupted the broadcast of “Sondage Démocratique” (Democratic Poll), a weekly political talk show, and sealed off the station’s offices after evicting its personnel.
At the moment of the police raid, the guest on “Sondage Democratique” was Halidou Ouedraogo, the leader of Le Collectif, who harshly condemned the invasion of university campuses by police and alleged police brutality during country-wide Zongo demonstrations the previous week.
Although President Compaoré promised that the government would not meddle in the work of the Independent Commission of Inquiry set up to investigate the murders, members of the Paris-based press freedom advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), who had come to Burkina Faso to discuss the Zongo case with the commission, local journalists, and government officials, were expelled from the country in May and September 1999.
On 27 December 1999, police arrested seven members of Le Collectif on charges of having undermined state security by organizing a 27 November protest rally of 70,000 people calling for a transparent investigation of Zongo’s murder. Among the arrested Le Collectif members were Jean-Claude Medah, head of a local press union, and editor Paulin Yaméogo of the private weekly “San Finna”, which had published several editorials accusing President Compaoré of complicity in Zongo’s murder. Medah and Yaméogo were released on 28 December, after all charges against them had been dropped.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– noting that the Zongo case crystallizes the concerns of many in Burkina Faso and the
international community about press freedom and the rule of law under His Excellency’s government
– pointing out that there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that Zongo was murdered simply for doing his duty as a journalist
– further noting that this tragedy has been compounded by his government’s unwillingness to tolerate criticism about its handling of the Zongo affair
– urging His Excellency to ensure that Zongo’s murderers are brought to justice, that there is no further legal harassment of Horizon FM, and that all journalists in Burkina Faso may seek, receive, and broadcast information without fear of reprisals
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
President Blaise Compaoré
Ouagadougou State House
Burkina Faso
Fax: +226 30 87 92
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
