(JED/IFEX) – On 9 March 2004, Rodriguo Angue Nguema, a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Radio France Internationale (RFI) in Equatorial Guinea, was prevented from attending a press conference given by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema at the presidential palace in the capital, Malabo. A few hours before the incident, Angue Nguema received a telephone […]
(JED/IFEX) – On 9 March 2004, Rodriguo Angue Nguema, a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Radio France Internationale (RFI) in Equatorial Guinea, was prevented from attending a press conference given by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema at the presidential palace in the capital, Malabo.
A few hours before the incident, Angue Nguema received a telephone call from the director of the national television station, informing him of the invitation extended to “all media represented” in the country to attend the press conference. Angue Nguema subsequently went to the presidential palace, accompanied by journalists from the country’s state radio and television stations. Just as he was reaching the stairs leading to the room where the president was holding his press conference, the AFP and RFI correspondent was stopped by the president’s press secretary, Cosme Nguema Bibang Eyang, and denied access. The press secretary did not give the journalist any explanation, simply telling him, “No, you are not entering.”
Only journalists from the state radio and television stations were allowed to attend the press conference. All journalists from the independent press were denied access.
Angue Nguema, who is also JED’s correspondent in the country, recalled that in November 2003, the president’s press secretary threatened to bar him from all formal events organised by the president’s office.
