- Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has raised alarm with the safety and protection of the media in Guinea following an alleged plot by the military junta, targeting the independent media.
RSF said it had learned from a source within the military government in Conakry that the Lynx-Lance press group and some of its journalists could be the target of an "operation." Consisting of two weeklies, "La Lance" and the satirical "Le Lynx", with a combined print run that is the largest in Guinea, the group is renowned for being independent and outspoken.
"We are taking this information and the threat it entails very seriously," RSF said. "With a climate of fear still prevailing within the Guinean media, we will hold the junta responsible for any use of violence against the Lynx-Lance press group and its employees. We also urge Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré, who is mediating in the Guinean crisis, to ask the junta to respect media freedom and the expression of diverse views."
RSF said in a statement that it was told that the operation would consist of a night-time raid on the press group's headquarters and "ambushes" against some of its journalists, further adding that the source said these attacks would be blamed on "uncontrolled elements." It appears that the military have decided to "silence" the Lynx-Lance group because of its perceived support for the opposition, the media watchdog said.
Souleymane Diallo, the head of the Lynx-Lance group, also reportedly told Reporters Without Borders: "We must not let ourselves be discouraged by this information. We will continue to do our job with objectivity, as we always do."
In a separate case, Reporters Without Borders had deplored the fact that Talibé Barry, the editor of the L'Indépendant press group, was summoned for questioning at the headquarters of the national gendarmerie on 11 November in connection with an article about the disappearance of a soldier.
Guinea's journalists meanwhile regard Cheikh Fantamady Condé's recent appointment as information and culture minister as a backward step for press freedom. Mr Condé is said to believe in media uniformity and is keeping Radio Télévision Guinéenne (RTG) and the other state media under close control, ensuring that their coverage of political developments is muted.
Ever since the military dispersed an opposition protest in a Conakry stadium with great loss of life on 28 September, many Guinean journalists have been living in fear, in part because of reliable reports that a blacklist of journalists has been compiled by staunch supporters of Guinea's military leader, Capt Dadis Camara, for an operation called "Dadis or death."
In the immediate aftermath of the 28 September massacre, the junta organised a manhunt for the "traitors" within the media who had "sold out Guinea" to the international community by covering the massacre. Several journalists who work for international media or online media have fled the country because of death threats. Some, who Reporters Without Borders prefers not to name, are seeking asylum abroad.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español