(RSF/IFEX) – On 16 September 2003, Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), a privately-owned radio station, was suspended indefinitely. The authorities have accused the station of broadcasting “enemy propaganda.” RSF has expressed concern over the sudden tough line taken by the authorities. “This is the second radio station to be suspended in the past three days. We […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 16 September 2003, Radio Publique Africaine (RPA), a privately-owned radio station, was suspended indefinitely. The authorities have accused the station of broadcasting “enemy propaganda.”
RSF has expressed concern over the sudden tough line taken by the authorities. “This is the second radio station to be suspended in the past three days. We wonder how far the government is prepared to go in its effort to suppress news of the rebels’ activities,” said Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. “We urge you to allow the RPA and Isanganiro radio stations to resume their broadcasts so that Burundian citizens can continue to hear diverse news sources,” the organisation said in its letter to Communications Minister Albert Mbonerane.
On 16 September, RPA interviewed Pasteur Habimana, a spokesperson for the National Liberation Forces (Forces nationales de libération, FNL), a Hutu rebel group, who spoke of the failure of recent peace negotiations in Burundi. That same evening, the communications minister ordered the station off the air, accusing it of “broadcasting statements that were insulting to the government” and deliberately violating the ban on airing rebel statements.
On 13 September, Isanganiro was also suspended for one week for giving air time to rebels. The next day, in reaction to Isanganiro’s suspension, the other privately-owned stations in Burundi announced their decision to cease covering the government’s activities until the radio station is allowed back on the air.
