(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the minister of the interior, General Mamadou Niang, RSF protested the 12 December 2000 detention of Mamadou Thierno Talla and Sidy Diop, editor and journalist, respectively, from the Dakar daily “Le Populaire”. RSF also expressed its concern about comments made by certain government officials which are hostile to press […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to the minister of the interior, General Mamadou Niang, RSF protested the 12 December 2000 detention of Mamadou Thierno Talla and Sidy Diop, editor and journalist, respectively, from the Dakar daily “Le Populaire”. RSF also expressed its concern about comments made by certain government officials which are hostile to press freedom. The statements concerned coverage of negotiations between the government and the Casamance Movement of Democratic Forces (MFDC – a separatist movement in the country’s southern region). “In this context, the use of detention is very worrying and we ask to be informed of the motive and follow-up to this matter,” said Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general. “These statements run counter to Senegal’s international commitments, notably with respect to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, which guarantee freedom of expression,” he added.
According to information collected by RSF, on 12 December, Thierno Talla and Diop received a summons asking them to go immediately to the Criminal Investigation Division. They were interrogated for three hours about the report published by “Le Populaire” that same day titled “The Origins of the Casamance Conflict: Between Historical Interference and Ethnic Rivalries”. The four-page report included a chronological overview of the conflict between the MFDC and the government and notably recalled the MFDC’s demands. Following their interrogation, the two journalists were released without being informed of any possible follow-up to the matter.
Their detention follows a series of government warnings to the press. On 4 December, General Niang threatened legal action against those responsible for “generating, distributing or elaborating on separatist remarks.” On 10 December, President Abdoulaye Wade said that there must be “limits” to press freedom, notably when dealing with certain “sensitive” topics.
