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afrol News, 14 June - According to reports from the Equatoguinean opposition, the Spanish International Radio (REE) is supposed to stop broadcasting its programs about Equatorial Guinea to the country beginning from next month, thus cutting off the only accessible alternative channel of information in the country. Media in Equatorial Guinea are thoroughly controlled by the government and critical journalism within the country is banned, in practical terms. Also the Internet media is monitored and access is made close to impossible. Thus, the Spanish state owned radio REE, broadcasting to all Spanish speaking countries, has been the only way of obtaining relatively credible news from another source than the government. According to a statement by the exiled oppositional Association for a Democratic Solidarity with Equatorial Guinea (ASODEGUE), the Spanish radio will cease its daily emissions about the country beginning from July this year. A program focusing on the Spanish development cooperation in Africa is to take over. ASODEGUE, which also had been covered on REE's news programs, laments the alleged decision. REE's Equatorial Guinea programs were first launched some 11 years ago and reportedly have achieved a broad audience in the country. According to ASODEGUE, the country is "practically paralysed during the hour of emission," describing REE's popularity. The REE, being a thorn in the side of the country's government, could not operate freely in Equatorial Guinea. It however has a great number of Equatoguineans acting as "spontaneous correspondents". Not withstanding the risks and high communication costs, the Madrid redaction received a large number of daily phone calls and letters, describing human rights abuses or simply praising the program and its speakers as their last hope for a democratic change in the country. According to ASODEGUE, there has been an increasing amount of reports of detentions and torture of people suspected of releasing information to the Spanish broadcaster over the last years. But the REE has also saved lives, ASODEGUE claims, referring to those secretly imprisoned having their names read by the broadcaster. This often led to their release. - Rafi de la Torre, the program's editor, has in a decisive manner contributed to create the political language, which today is used between Equatoguineans, the organisation states. "The program by the Spanish International Radio in this way signals in advance what will be the issues of debate in a future democratic Equatorial Guinea." The reasons for the possible closure of the emission are not known. The Equatoguinean government has however pushed strongly for its cessation for years. Also the Spanish government, owner of the editorially independent REE, has had a troublesome relationship with the broadcaster as it several times has embarrassed the government when negotiating with Equatorial Guinea. The editorial liberty of REE however never seemed threatened, even if Spain currently has embarked on a stronger cooperation with the Equatoguinean regime. One of the responsible editors of REE, Javier Garrigós, explains the step by citing the "new Spanish policy towards Africa," which will be reflected by the radio broadcaster. While the REE's Africa programs so far have focused on the Spanish ex-colony Equatorial Guinea, the new Africa redaction will cover the entire African continent, and mainly focus on the work of the Spanish Cooperation agency. ASODEGUE however contributes the cessation of the Equatorial Guinea programs to a possible internal conflict in the REE between the government-close leader Garrigós and the rest of personnel working with African issues. It was noted that Garrigós already in September 2000 had censored reports from a press conference by Spanish national Augusto Mba-Sa Oyana on returning to Spain after his unlawful detention in Equatorial Guinea. Oyana's case had gotten much attention in Spanish media aimed at a Spanish audience. Garrigós however deemed it too much for a Equatoguinean audience. In September and October 2000, the Equatoguinean government had renewed its pressure on the Spanish government to close the REE's broadcasting to the country. Equatoguinean President had connected oil concessions in his country to Spanish companies with the closure of REE emissions. Ramón Gil Casares, responsible of foreign policy in the Spanish Presidency, in an interview with afrol News however strongly denied the Spanish government would put any pressure on the REE. According to Gil, the Spanish government had not intervened, nor did it have any intention to close the Guinean service of the REE. He could, however, confirm the "repeated complaints of Equatorial Guinean government officials concerning the broadcaster." The Equatoguinean government totally controls the media and the access to information in the country. All electronic media are subject to thorough censorship and private media are practically inexistent. The ruling party, Partido Democrático de Guinea Ecuatorial (PDGE), controls all the major publications in the country, including the radio and TV broadcasting media. The weekly newspaper 'La Opinion', which was conceived as somewhat closer to the opposition, was restricted from publishing in November 2000. Sources: Based on ASODEGUE, Spanish Presidency and afrol archives
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