(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Justice Marcel Metefara, RSF protested the death threats against Maka Gbossokotto, publication director of the independent daily “Le Citoyen” and RSF correspondent, and the attacks on his wife. “We ask that you do everything in your power to put an end to these threats and see to […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Justice Marcel Metefara, RSF protested the death threats against Maka Gbossokotto, publication director of the independent daily “Le Citoyen” and RSF correspondent, and the attacks on his wife. “We ask that you do everything in your power to put an end to these threats and see to it that the person who is behind them is arrested and punished,” urged RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard.
According to information collected by RSF, on 10 July 2001, a “Le Citoyen” newspaper vendor was taken in for questioning by a member of the Presidential Special Unit (Unité spéciale présidentielle, USP), formerly the Presidential Guard (Garde présidentielle, GP), who instructed him to tell Gbossokotto the following remarks: “I am the ‘GP’ that you spoke of in your newspaper. Go tell your publication director that I am looking for him and if by his misfortune I should find him, I will blow his brains out.” On 13 July, the same USP member repeated his threats to the journalist’s wife. As she was waiting in line at a service station, he told her that if Gbossokotto had been there instead of his wife “his fate would have been sealed.” He then threatened to take out his weapon but customers persuaded him not to. On 22 July, with no explanation offered, the journalist’s wife was prevented from boarding a plane to Paris.
The threats follow the publication of an article in the 2 July issue of “Le Citoyen” which reported on an assassination attempt against two financial executives belonging to the Yakoma ethnic group. Since the failed coup d’état on 28 May, a real “witch hunt” was launched against officers belonging to the ethnic group of former president André Kolingba, the assumed author of the failed coup. Three publication directors belonging to the Yakoma ethnic group have taken flight. They include Samba Ferdinand of the daily “Le Démocrate”, Fouquet-Kpolodo Saint Clair of the weekly “L’Avenir” and Bambou Faustin of the weekly “Collines de Bas Oubangui”.
