Burundi

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 14 February 2005 CPJ press release: BURUNDI: Radio station and news agency suspended New York, February 14, 2005-Burundian independent radio station Radio Publique Africaine (RPA) today resumed broadcasting after authorities suspended the station on Friday for two days, accusing it of violating the country’s press law. Private news agency […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 16 September 2003, Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), a privately-owned radio station, was suspended indefinitely. The authorities have accused the station of broadcasting “enemy propaganda.” RSF has expressed concern over the sudden tough line taken by the authorities. “This is the second radio station to be suspended in the past three days. We […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has called on the Burundian government to immediately end its suspension of Isanganiro radio station for giving air time to anti-government rebels. “This decision deprives people of news and is especially damaging at a time when the country is starting new talks to re-establish peace,” said the organisation in its letter to […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 4 March 2003, President Buyoya ordered all Burundian radio stations to cease airing messages from two rebel groups in the country. RSF expressed its concern over the decision in a letter to the president. “In a country where radio broadcasts are the principal news source, and just as peace talks are underway, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is concerned about the deteriorating press freedom situation in Burundi. “The authorities have taken several steps in the past month that seriously threaten independent media. The government has even started to closely monitor the Internet. Such measures are increasingly beginning to resemble harassment,” stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. “Burundi’s radio stations are […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 16 May 2002, the Burundian defence minister, Major-General Cyrille Ndayirukiye, barred media from publishing or broadcasting interviews with rebels. RSF is concerned by the decision and views it as “a measure designed to censor and control information.” “In a conflict, it is only natural that media outlets would seek to gather the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Defence Minister Cyrille Ndayirukiye, RSF protested journalist Aloys Niyoyita’s arrest by police officers and the assault on reporter Corneille Nibaruta. “The officers responsible for these actions must be punished firmly and swiftly,” stated Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. “To the best of our knowledge, these journalists were manhandled simply […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Pierre Buyoya, RSF protested the private news agency Net Press’s suspension. The organisation urged the head of state to take all necessary measures to ensure that the National Communications Council (Conseil national de la Communication, CNC) annuls the decision. “This decision by the minister of communications appears to […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to State Prosecutor Gérard Ngendabanka, RSF asked that journalist Jean-Claude Kavumbagu be released. “The Net Press director was arrested for an article he did not write and for which he is not responsible. Either the authorities have erred and should immediately release Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, or they are using the article […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Defence Cyrille Ndayirukiye, RSF protested the arrest of journalist Alexis Sinduhije, in Bujumbura. “The journalist was detained because he tried to cover an event that the press was barred from covering. He did nothing more than exercise his right to inform, and nothing can justify his arrest […]

(HRW/IFEX) – The following is a Human Rights Watch press release: Burundi: Arrests of Journalists Condemned Burundian Government Cracks Down on Freedom of the Press (New York, March 16, 2001) — Two journalists arrested in Burundi for airing a brief interview with a rebel spokesman should be released promptly, Human Rights Watch said today. The […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter addressed to President Pierre Buyoya, RSF expressed its concern about recent attacks on journalists covering the opposition’s activities. The organisation also protested the arrest of Gabriel Nikundana, a Bonesha FM journalist. “These Burundian journalists merely exercised their professional duties and should never have been harassed,” stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Pierre Buyoya, RSF has protested the recent threats made against journalists. RSF asked that the president “publicly comment on this matter and do everything to ensure that press freedom is respected across the country.” Recalling that Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions obligates authorities to protect persons (such […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – CPJ is appalled to learn that Major Pierre Buyoya’s government has ordered the Burundian army to treat journalists as legitimate military targets. On 9 September 1999, Buyoya’s defence minister, Colonel Alfred Nkurunziza, said in a speech broadcast on state radio that the army should consider all journalists as enemies, and therefore legitimate targets, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In an 18 June 1999 letter to François Ndayiragije, the attorney general for the Republic of Bujumbura, RSF protested the detention of Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, head of the press agency Net Press. Pointing to Burundi’s international commitments as well as several provisions of the press law of 21 March 1997, Robert Ménard, secretary general […]

(NDIMA/IFEX) – According to NDIMA, on 25 March 1998, authorities in Burundi seized copies of a pro-opposition newspaper and closed down the offices of a second publication. Police seized copies of “L’Aube de la democratie” (The Dawn of Democracy), published in the capital by the mostly Hutu Frodebu party, for the first time in two […]