(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 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 and unbiased reporting it needs.
RSF urged the authorities to use dialogue to settle disputes, and urged the privately-owned news media to respect the rules of fairness in their election coverage. The organisation also called on the High Council for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), which regulates the media, to rescind its ban on privately-owned media coverage of the elections, and to reach an agreement with press and journalists’ organisations on a fair and professional way to work.
“We are particularly worried by the fact that political violence, whatever its source, has clearly infiltrated the press in Togo,” RSF said. “We previously expressed our concern when the privately-owned press was turned into a political weapon. But it is absurd and counter-productive to impose a blanket ban on privately-owned media coverage of the election campaign, at a time when antagonism is at its peak.”
“We advise the HAAC to respond to problems on a case by case basis. This will allow a return to a situation where fairness prevails. Above all, we support the mediation efforts undertaken by the Union of Free Radio and Television Stations of Togo (URATEL), which the authorities and the HAAC should take seriously.”
“Moreover, regardless of which candidate they support, the heads of privately-owned news media must ensure that their journalists do not become political campaigners or spokespersons. We stress that it is the Togolese public that is paying the price for this climate of tension, because it is being deprived of balanced and objective reporting,” RSF added.
On 19 April, the HAAC banned privately-owned radio and television stations from “providing media coverage of election campaigning by all candidates.” The agency also demanded that broadcast media “scrupulously respect the provisions governing the organisation of the election campaign, in particular, those banning special broadcasts or debates by candidates or their representatives.”
According to the rules established by the HAAC at the start of the election campaign, the privately-owned media were banned from covering the campaign except for rallies held by candidates. Coverage of all other aspects of the campaign was restricted to the state-owned media.
On 15 April, Dadja Pouwi, an adviser to Communications Minister Pitang Tchalla, told RSF that, “Some radio stations, in defiance of the law, are continuing to exacerbate the situation in the country by organising live broadcasts in which listeners phone in using false names and indulge in insults and provocations.”
Pouwi also criticised the “lack of balance” in the privately-owned media’s coverage and their bias in favour of the opposition. Some radio stations have broadcast virulent political editorials attacking the late president Gnassingbé Eyadema’s son, who is the candidate of the ruling Rally of the Togolese People (RPT), and attacking France, which is believed to support the regime.
