(JED/IFEX) – Journalist in Distress (JED), an independent and non-partisan organization for the defense and promotion of freedom of expression, and member of the alert network of the Alerts Network of the Central African Media Organization (OMAC), is outraged by the National Council of Communications’ (CNC) suspension of the Libreville-based, privately-owned weekly, “L’Echo du Nord”. […]
(JED/IFEX) – Journalist in Distress (JED), an independent and non-partisan organization for the defense and promotion of freedom of expression, and member of the alert network of the Alerts Network of the Central African Media Organization (OMAC), is outraged by the National Council of Communications’ (CNC) suspension of the Libreville-based, privately-owned weekly, “L’Echo du Nord”. Libreville is the capital city of the Republic of Gabon.
JED deems the issues surrounding the Mbianié islet to be important for the entire population of Gabon. Pursuant to the principle of the freedom of expression, contained in several international legal instruments ratified by Gabon, broadcasting and disseminating information on these issues is not only a right but also a duty of the press, which does not undermine the Gabonese nation or its territorial integrity.
The CNC’s banning of the weekly for publishing articles about the Mbianié islet is without grounds and constitutes an attempt to silence opinions about an important issue.
As such, JED demands the unconditional and immediate lifting of the arbitrary and illegal suspension of the paper, which originates from a political will to censor, rather than from a concern to regulate.
According to information obtained by JED, “L’Echo du Nord” was suspended on 30 September 2006, for three months for having published, in a 25 September article, statements considered “malicious insinuations” and “speculation on unverified facts”, concerning the conflict between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea over the sovereignty of the Mbanié islet.
The article in question denounced the “triviality” and “recklessness” of Gabonese authorities in the settlement of the dispute, which according to the CNC constitutes “a breach of the nation’s honour and its territorial integrity”.
The Mbiané islet is a strip of land measuring thirty hectares, located between Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, which hosts a large oil deposit. The islet has been at the centre of a conflict between the two countries since 1972, since both claim sovereignty over it. In mid-September, the Gabonese press accused the interior minister, Mr. André Mba Obame, of treason after he proposed, along with a foreign lawyer, that the islet be sold to Equatorial Guinea.
