(JED/IFEX) – The directors of Kinshasa’s main independent newspapers have been ordered to stop publishing information about the army and security services. The order was issued by a National Information Agency (Agence nationale de renseignements, ANR) official who summoned them to his office by the Congo River, in Kinshasa/Gombe, on 30 November 2000. Referring to […]
(JED/IFEX) – The directors of Kinshasa’s main independent newspapers have been ordered to stop publishing information about the army and security services. The order was issued by a National Information Agency (Agence nationale de renseignements, ANR) official who summoned them to his office by the Congo River, in Kinshasa/Gombe, on 30 November 2000.
Referring to a recently published article in the newspaper “L’Alarme”, which announced that “Kabila’s power will end on 15 December”, the ANR official stated that independent newspapers’ articles “are increasingly subversive.” He warned that “from now on, we will hit back” and noted that he is “paid to protect the regime” in power in Kinshasa.
Having received an oral summons on the eve of the scheduled meeting with the ANR official, many independent newspaper directors (from “Le Phare”, “La Référence Plus”, “La Tempête des Tropiques”, etc.) refused to present themselves at the ANR office. According to information received by JED, only Léonard Mulamba Kalala, editor-in-chief of the daily “Le Potentiel”, and Eyobi Motamba, secretary-general of the daily “Forum des As”, responded to the summons. The ANR official who received them deplored the other newspaper representatives’ absence, and even issued an order, by telephone, that the director of the daily “La Référence Plus” be arrested and brought before him. On 30 November, “La Référence Plus” also published an article denouncing the security services’ harassment and intimidation against independent newspapers.
On Wednesday 29 November, Moïse Musangana, editor of the daily “Le Potentiel”, was summoned by telephone to another ANR office, on Justice Avenue, in Kinshasa/Gombe. He is to present himself there shortly.
JED recalls that on 16 October, the Congolese National Police’s Security Services (SS-PNC) severely reprimanded the publishers of the newspapers “Le Phare”, “Le Potentiel”, “La Tempête des Tropiques” and “La Tribune” (see IFEX alert of 16 October 2000). An SS-PNC official accused the newspapers of reporting information about the current war in Equator Province (in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s north-west).
