Journalists stop the presses, call for release of imprisoned colleagues

Chadian journalists began a one-week news blackout on Monday, to protest the imprisonment of four colleagues and to draw international attention to what one striking reporter called the ”creeping dictatorship” of President Idriss Deby. All but one of Chad’s private newspapers have stopped work and some private radio stations have cut news transmissions after four journalists were thrown in prison since late June, accused of various offences including defaming Deby and inciting hatred. The arrested journalists face sentences of between three months and three years in prison. Deby, who took power in a coup in 1990 but validated his position through elections in 1996 and 2001, sparked a wave of criticism at home and abroad in June when he pushed through constitutional changes allowing him to run for a third term in 2006. One of the arrested journalists had written a piece criticising Deby’s constitutional changes. Previously the constitution limited presidents to two consecutive terms in office. A number of journalists said the Deby government has become increasingly repressive towards the private media, which have been largely critical of Deby’s third-term ambitions. Journalists have also got into trouble for articles about a rebellion in the volatile east of the country. Deby, who came to power with backing from Khartoum, has long had to perform a delicate dance in eastern Chad that abuts Sudan and has been the site for sporadic rebel movements over the last 15 years. Nadjikimo Benoudjita, president of the Chadian Association of Private Newspaper Editors (AEPT), said Chadian journalists are paying the price for criticising Deby and that he hopes their strike will help rally international support to stop the government crackdown. “We want the pressure of international opinion to seize this government,” he said. A Chadian journalist, who declined to give his name told IRIN that the press is the only protection against tyranny in Chad today. “The government wants to destroy the press,” he said. “Without the press, we’re in a dictatorship.” AEPT’s Benoudjita said journalists had tried to talk about their concerns with government officials, “but to absolutely no avail.” Chad’s only private daily - Le Progres - will not be stopping its presses except on Friday, according to Abderamane Barka, director of publication. But, Barka said, the paper would be publishing articles and communiques in support of the journalists’ cause. Some Chadian journalists and other local observers told IRIN Le Progres is closely aligned with the government. The eight striking papers are weekly or semi-weekly publications. Leonard Vincent, Africa director of Reporters sans Frontieres, said the Chadian government’s jailing of the four journalists is disappointing and dangerous. “The regime is seeking to hold together a fragile situation by way of repression, but of course this will be utterly counterproductive,” he told IRIN on Monday. Amnesty International and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists have also condemned the Chadian government’s actions. Landlocked, arid Chad ranked 167 of 177 in the 2004 UN development index. The country officially joined Africa’s oil producers in 2003, with a World Bank-backed project that promised to ensure that oil wealth would trickle down to the average citizen. But there is widespread discontent in Chad. AEPT’s Benoudjita told IRIN that as far as he could see, the oil funds were not having the anticipated economic impact. “We are living in utter misery. Meanwhile the oil has been running for two years.”