Equatorial Guinea
Equatoguinean press organisation leader detained

afrol News, 15 May - The President of the Equatoguinean Press Association (ASOPGE), Pedro Nolasco Ndong, was detained on Malabo airport returning from the UNESCO celebrations of the International Day of Press Freedom in Namibia. All his papers were confiscated.

The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) reported the assault on Ndong. In a protest letter to Clemente Engonga, Minister of Home Affairs, the group condemns the detention of ASOPGE President Pedro Nolasco Ndong upon arrival at Malabo Airport. RSF reminded the minister that Equatorial Guinea has signed the International Treaty of Civil and Political Rights, also guaranteeing freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

According to information gathered by RSF, Pedro Nolasco Ndong was detained and questioned on Malabo Airport on 13 May when he was returning from the Windhoek (Namibia) seminar on the International Day of Press Freedom organised by the UN agency UNESCO.

The Equatoguinean police confiscated a report about the press freedom situation in Equatorial Guinea since 1991 and all papers and documentation that had been distributed at the Windhoek seminar. RSF also reports that the police confiscated 100 US$ from Ndong, without giving any explications. In its letter to Minister Engonga, RSF demands the rapid return of Ndong's properties, both the confiscated papers and reports and the money he carried.

The Equatoguinean Press Association (ASOPGE) has been a target for government repression at several occasions. Only in February 2001, the Malabo mayor Gabriel Mba Bela ordered the closure of ASOPGE's offices. The new government appointed in February has however given the impression of taking human rights more serious than its predecessors. The detention of Ndong and the confiscation of his papers therefore is observed as the first test to whether the government will live up to its promises on press freedom. 

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 Spanish International Radio is the only independent source of information for Equatoguineans. The weekly newspaper 'La Opinion', which is conceived as somewhat closer to the opposition, was restricted from publishing in November 2000. 

In April 2001, the new Equatoguinean government signalised that it would improve the country's human rights situation. Prime Minister Cándido Muatetema Rivas himself visited the United Nations human rights committee, where he told the members that, "Personal rights - freedom of movement, protection of personal data, freedom of expression, religious freedom, for example - are enjoyed by all residing in Equatorial Guinea, and their standing is improving every day as their intellectual maturity continues to grow."

Muatetema Rivas was later praised by the UN committee for making an important step towards implementing human rights in his country. Practical results have however not been observed yet. The government's reaction to the protest from Ndong and RSF therefore will be an important signal to whether Muatetema Rivas' announced policy changes have practical implications or not. 

Sources: Based on RSF and afrol archives

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