Togo

(MFWA/IFEX) – On 12 August 2005, the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (Haute autorité de l’audiovisuel et de la communication, HAAC, Togo’s broadcast regulator) suspended the broadcasting licence of TV Zion, a religious television station, for 15 days. According to an MFWA-Togo source, between 5 and 8 August, the station’s director, Luc Kodjo Adjaho, […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 16 May 2005 CPJ letter to President Faure Gnassingbé: May 16, 2005 President Faure Gnassingbé C/o Embassy of the Togolese Republic 2208 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington D.C. 20008 Via facsimile: (202) 232-3190 Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by ongoing government censorship and attacks on […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Telephone, Internet and fax communications in Togo have become increasingly difficult since 22 April 2005, making it virtually impossible for local and international media to work effectively. Jacques Djakouti, president of the Union of Free Radio and Television Stations (URATEL), told RSF that telecommunications had been virtually blocked in the country since the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 22 April 2005 CPJ press release: TOGO: Radio station shuttered New York, April 22, 2005 – An independent radio station in the capital, Lomé, was shuttered on Wednesday by the High Audiovisual and Communications Authority (HAAC) – the same government agency that banned independent broadcasters from covering the campaign […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF is concerned about the climate of tension in Togo in the run-up to the 24 April 2005 presidential election. The organisation has appealed to the news media and the authorities for calm and noted that the chief victim of the present situation is the Togolese public, which is not receiving the objective […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has welcomed a 25 March 2005 decision by Togolese authorities’ to allow Radio Victoire to resume broadcasting. “We are relieved at the announcement of Radio Victoire’s return to the airwaves. A three year broadcasting ban and the seizure of the station’s equipment were abusive and disproportionate actions,” the organisation said. Georges Agbodjan, […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has urged Togo’s presidential candidates to appeal to their supporters not to use violence against journalists after a crew from the state-owned television station TVT was attacked and threatened during a rally by the opposition Union of Forces for Change (UFC) on 26 March 2005. Demonstrators were demanding the postponement of the […]

(RSF/IFEX) – A lower court in Lomé has withdrawn an order that kept two radio stations off the air for the past two weeks. Radio Nana FM manager Peter Dogbé and Radio Kanal FM manager Modeste Mesavusu-Ekué said their stations were able to resume broadcasting on 24 February 2005. The only other radio station that […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has acknowledged the Togolese authorities’ decision to allow seven stations to resume their broadcasts over the past few days. But the organisation called on the authorities to permit all closed media outlets to resume operations. After being shuttered for more than a week, Radio Fréquence 1, Radio Carré Jeune, Radio Djabal’nour and […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF warns that as many as 60 privately-owned radio and television stations could be closed in Togo in a continuing wave of censorship that began on 5 February 2005 after President Gnassingbé Eyadéma’s death and the takeover by his son, Faure Gnassingbé. “It is now clear that the authorities intend to silence all […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 14 February 2005 CPJ press release: TOGO: CPJ condemns government crackdown on private broadcasters New York, February 14, 2005-The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the closures of several private broadcasters in the capital, Lomé. On Friday, February 11, Togolese authorities shuttered four stations that have protested the military’s appointment […]

(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the one month closure of three radio stations and a television station for “inciting civil disobedience and revolt”. The closure was announced on the evening of 11 February 2005, just hours after officials forcibly closed and sealed the premises of all four privately-owned media outlets citing “tax reasons”. “Instead of […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 10 February 2005 CPJ press release: TOGO: CPJ protests censorship and threats to private radio stations New York, February 10, 2005 – CPJ is outraged at today’s closure of the private station Radio Lumière, as well as attempts by Togolese authorities to intimidate private broadcasters that have protested the […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 20 October 2004 CPJ press release: Promises and the Press A Special Report: In Togo, journalists are skeptical but see opportunity in regime’s bid to shed sanctions New York, October 20, 2004-Togolese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma has dominated politics and muzzled critics for nearly four decades. His regime’s ironfisted tactics […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 13 October 2004, Minister of Communications and Civic Education Pitang Tchalla assured RSF’s Togo correspondent and other representatives of press freedom organisations that the government recognised its obligation to guarantee the safety of journalist Jean-Baptiste Dzilan, publication director of the privately-owned weekly “Forum de la Semaine”. “We welcome [the government’s] decision and […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The publication director of the privately-owned weekly “Forum de la Semaine”, Jean-Baptiste Dzilan (also known as Dimas Dzikodo), has been receiving anonymous telephone calls in which the caller has threatened to kill him. The threats began after he published a report by an opposition group. “Death threats against journalists are to be taken […]