2023-12-14 15:59:34
Since the end of November, many media outlets have been under surveillance in Guinea. The transitional authorities decide to close them until further notice for reasons of “national security”. At the same time, internet access is restricted without explanation. Press professionals see it as a muzzling. Reporters Without Borders points the finger at the transition authorities and denounces a “considerable” attack on press freedom.
Three television channels were removed from the Canal+ and StarTimes packages for reasons of “national security” without notification and amid general incomprehension. In a context where access to social networks and several independent radio stations has been suspended for weeks, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the Guinean authorities to put an end to this censorship.
Cascading media suspension in Guinea. For Canal+ subscribers in the country, it’s a black screen on the channels Djoma, Evasion et Space. On December 6, the High Authority of Communication (HAC), the authority regulating the media sector, asked the general director of Canal+ to remove the private information and entertainment channel Djoma (TV and Radio) of its bouquet for reasons of “national security” et “until further notice”. Three days later, the same reasons were given to request the removal of private channels Escape (TV and FM) and Space (TV and FM). These channels, followed in the country, have also been removed from the StarTimes pay television service platform since December 12, for the same reasons, without details. Its director general did not wish to answer RSF’s questions before having received, according to him, an “official order”.
In addition to these television channels, radios FIM FM, Djoma FM, FM space et Escape have also been inaccessible in the country for two weeks, their signals being jammed without explanation. Social networks such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are still unavailable without a VPN.
Contacted by RSF, the general director of the Djoma Média group, Kalil Oularé, said: “very surprised”. “We have not received a prior summons: this is a measure that the HAC does not normally have the authority to take in this manner. »It is required to justify its decision by notifying any decision of this type. According to Kalil Oularé, the instruction given by the HAC comes from government authorities.
As a reaction, the government spokesperson, also Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, first, during a press conference given at the end of November, denied the responsibility of authorities, announcing “wait to be officially notified to react”. On X (formerly Twitter), on December 9, he this time argued that “the measures taken by the authorities are in no way intended to muzzle the press”, that it is “an immediate response to practices such as the promotion of community hatred, the accentuation of social tensions and policies […]”. However, no specific content has been called into question, and it is the entire media that is sanctioned. The spokesperson, like the president of the HAC, did not respond to RSF’s calls.
The scale of attacks on press freedom in Guinea is considerable. Access to television channels and radios is suspended overnight, depriving citizens of their right to information. The lack of transparency of these decisions under the pretext of “national security” is alarming, furthermore discrediting the supposed independence of the regulatory body. We demand clear answers from the authorities and that they do everything possible to restore access to censored media and social networks,” says Sadibou Marong, Director of RSF’s Sub-Saharan Africa desk.
Different means of censorship
A climate of repression of independent news media has been taking hold for several weeks. On December 11, the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPT), the administrative authority regulating telecommunications, notified the radio I’m pregnant, whose tone is critical, the withdrawal of its frequencies within three months for non-payment of its annual fees. The director of the radio, Ibrahima Sory Traoré, contacted by RSF, claims to have already paid them and received receipts in support. He believes that the goal is to silence his radio, whose programs include a morning show in which listeners can participate, and an editorial “very free”.
At the same time, the premises of Average Djoma no longer have access to the Internet. According to Kalil Oularé, when he wanted to resolve the problem, the technical team told him that “the ARPT has[vait] prohibits all providers from installing internet in Djoma”. “Everything is in order with us, so we find stratagems from another time to reduce us to silence”, he laments.
The reaction of press organizations
“The situation is worrying. The Guinean authorities are breaking all the rules in their actions against the media,” alarms the secretary general of the Union of Press Professionals of Guinea (SPPG), Sékou Jamal Pendessa. To protest against this repressive climate, the union organized a press-free day on December 11. On December 6, the press associations also declared “enemies of the press” five personalities, including the Prime Minister, Bernard Goumou, and the government spokesperson, Ousmane Gaoual Diallo.
While the junta committed to respecting press freedom with RSF after coming to power in October 2021, the media situation is deteriorating in Guinea. Since May, attacks have multiplied: social networks and private radio stations cut off, information sites interrupted or suspended for several months without explanation, journalists attacked in the field, arrested… The authorities, regularly criticized, do not provide any element of response to recent censorship. The media concerned all have in common that they follow a free and critical editorial line.
Guinea ranks 85th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index published by RSF in 2023.
Reporters Without Borders
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