2023-07-19 11:54:49
Guinean collective condemns suspension of RTP and RDP-Africa broadcasts and demands respect for freedom of the press, considering the closure as “an abusive, illegal order and without legal basis”.
The collective of students and workers from different Guinean diasporas condemn, through a petition, the attitude of the Government of Umaro Sissoco Embaló to suspend the broadcasts of Portuguese Radio Television and Radio, RTP and RDP-África respectively. The signatories of the public petition demand that the Government suspend the order, which they describe as “illegal and an attack on freedom of the press”.
The Government of Guinea-Bissau issued a communiqué, on 9 July, signed by its spokesman, Fernando Vaz, in which it issued threats to RTP and RDP-Africa, accusing these Portuguese state media outlets of sabotaging the executive of Umaro Sissoco Embaló.
Days later, on the 13th of this month, the Government ordered the suspension of broadcasts by these two international bodies with representation in Bissau, transmitted through the Retransmissor Center of Nhacra.
press freedom
The Guinean political activist, Sumaila Djaló says, in statements to DW, that this is yet another act that threatens democratic freedoms in Guinea-Bissau.
“Evidently. We are facing yet another act by the Government against freedom of the press in Guinea-Bissau, as has happened with all the media that do not align with the dictatorial and authoritarian logic of the regime led by Umaro Sissoco Embaló.”
public petition
A group of Guineans in the diaspora, headed by the collective Firkidja de Pubis (People’s Assembly), decided to launch a public petition to condemn the attitude of Umaro Sissoco’s government. The petition, according to Sumaila Djaló, is launched “in defense of freedom of the press, in defense of free journalism and also free opinions in our country, which wants a democratic rule of law”.
The petition, open for subscription until this Friday (7/21), will be addressed to the Governments of Guinea-Bissau and Portugal.
Prosecutors urge the Portuguese State, through the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the Prime Minister, António Costa, “to cut all the complicity relations that it has maintained with the dictatorial regime of Umaro Sissoco Embaló, not only because this alliance goes against the so proclaimed democratic values of April 25, 1974, but also because they represent their participation in the oppression of the people of Guinea-Bissau by one of the most authoritarian regimes in Africa today”, they said.
bilateral relations
Guinean journalist, Onsimo Figueiredo, urges Guinean government authorities to have more elevation in their relationship with friendly countries, such as Portugal, respecting cooperation agreements.
“When we go for the last resort, suspension, opening precedents and opportunities for a fight, this is complicated. I am against having it suspended [as emissões] does not make sense. This cannot continue to happen in Guinea-Bissau because we are living in a country where the intention is to create a democratic rule of law.”
“Abusive order”
Sissoco Embaló Executive’s bet comes after Rádio Capital FM was twice destroyed by armed men in the recent past. Its professionals were attacked and some were seriously injured, as Sumaila Djaló recalls.
“Then, the radio itself was ordered to close based on an abusive, illegal order, without any type of legal basis or via a court order that could justify the closure of a media outlet based on legal and legal procedures.”
Until then, there is no official reaction from the Portuguese Government or from the management of RTP, who prefer to remain silent.
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