Guinea-Bissau
Portuguese media allowed to return to Guinea-Bissau

afrol News, 2 February - The Portuguese state-owned broadcaster RTP África was allowed to return to Guinea-Bissau after senior level diplomacy between Portugal and its ex-colony. RTP África was banned from Bissau in December last year for "tarnishing" the country's good image abroad.

The heads of Bissauan and Portuguese diplomacy met in Lisbon on Friday, and decided to put an end to the diplomatic row over the Portuguese public broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa (RTP). Spokesmen of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that RTP África's Bissau bureau chief, João Perreira da Silva, was to be permitted to return to Guinea-Bissau. 

A 1 December 2002 decision by the Bissauan government to suspend RTP África's operations in Guinea-Bissau "for an unspecified period", caused protests by the Portuguese government and international media watchdogs. 

The Information Ministry in Bissau, in an official press release, accused RTP África of broadcasting "information that is likely to tarnish the good image of Guinea-Bissau outside the country and may stir up anger inside the country." 

On 30 November last year, during the evening, the Portuguese public station had broadcast a programme marking the second anniversary of the death of General Ansumane Mané, the former head of a 1998 rebellion who was killed in November 2000, following an attempted coup d'état against the country's elected president, Kumba Yala. 

The RTP África bureau chief in Guinea-Bissau, Mr da Silva, was questioned by the Information Ministry about the information that was broadcast by his station. He was then given one week to leave the country and RTP África's broadcasts in Guinea-Bissau were suspended.

According to the Portuguese government, the differences with Bissau had now been cleared. RTP África's Mr da Silva is expected to return to Bissau this weekend and RTP África's broadcast in and from Guinea-Bissau are to resume immediately, the situation thus "will be normalised," it was stated.

As the government of President Yala has seen growing difficulties in implementing its policies in Guinea-Bissau, attacks on civil society and the independent media have become more commonplace. This week, radio journalist Tony Goia was arrested after broadcasting critiques over President Yala's spending of government funds. Last year, two journalists were arrested and detained, following the airing of information about President Yala and a radio announcer was fined for criticising the concentration of power in the hands of members of the head of state's tribe on the air, according to the French media watchdogs Reporters sans Frontières (RSF).

RSF in December also strongly protested the decision to suspend RTP África's operations in Guinea-Bissau as "unfair and unacceptable." RTP África did "nothing more than fulfil its mission of informing the people of Guinea-Bissau of events that have marked their country's history," RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard stated in a letter to Deputy Information Minister Joao Manuel Gomes. 

Sources: Based on RTP, press reports, RSF and afrol archives

© afrol News.    You can contact us at mail@afrol.com