(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Ange-Félix Patassé, RSF has expressed its concern further to a number of recent statements by the head of state which threaten the press. Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, noted that “these statements do nothing to calm the present situation.” RSF also recalled that the Central African Republic has […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to President Ange-Félix Patassé, RSF has expressed its concern further to a number of recent statements by the head of state which threaten the press. Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, noted that “these statements do nothing to calm the present situation.” RSF also recalled that the Central African Republic has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 19 of which guarantees freedom of expression.
According to RSF’s information, on 28 December 1999, Patassé affirmed that as of 1 January 2000, “measures will be taken against the press, which has a tendency to incite rebellion, tribal war and hatred.” He also added that “the page has definitively been turned and recess is over.” These statements come at a time when newspapers in Bangui have been denouncing the 17 November assassination of two soldiers in Kembe (East of Bangui). According to several articles published in the capital, members of the presidential guard are allegedly implicated in these murders. On 29 November, four editors of private newspapers – Faustin Bambou of “Les Collines de Ba-Ubangui”, Cordoso Meillot of “Le Démocrate”, Jude Zosse of “L’Hirondelle” and Maka Gpossokoto of “Le Citoyen” – were questioned on the matter by the head of the permanent military tribunal of the Ministry of Defence.
