Government crackdown on media raises international protest

The government of Niger has launched a crackdown on independent newspapers and radio stations, prompting cries of alarm from international media watchdog organisations. Although the vast desert state is one of Africa's poorest countries and ethnic tensions simmer just below the surface, it has been a functioning democracy since President Mamadou Tandja came to power in elections four years ago that were widely acclaimed as free and fair. But over the past month, his government has closed down 15 private radio stations and arrested the editors of two weekly newspapers. Both men have since been released, but the Accra-based Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) urged the government on Tuesday to demonstrate greater tolerance. "Democracy is about contesting opinions - so long as they do not breach the limits of freedom enshrined in the constitution, people should be free to air their views," Gilbert Tietaah, the research and publications officer for MFWA told IRIN. "It is not right for the authorities to determine or decide what people ought to know, listen to or say and when they should do so," he said, adding that "truth was not a preserve of those in power or authority". The crackdown began with the arrest of Ibrahim Souley, editor of the weekly newspaper L'Enqueteur, on September 13, after he ran an article which accused the government of helping to enrich businessman Djibo Zakou through the irregular award of lucrative contracts. The Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) said Zakou was from western Niger and L'Enqueteur had reported that his success in winning contracts had led to resentment among businessmen from the east. On Monday Souley was given a one-year suspended prison sentence for "inciting ethnic hatred" and was banned from living in the capital Niamey for three months. RSF urged the authorities to overturn his conviction and allow him to resume working normally. "Of course, we are happy that this journalist has been released,"Robert Ménard, the secretary general of RSF said. "But we don't understand on what grounds the court has forbidden him to stay in Niamey for three months. This decision is senseless." The next move came on 25 September, the government suddenly shut down down 15 of Niger's more than 50 local radio stations, saying their licences had been improperly awarded. The Media Foundation of West Africa suggested that the real reason for their closure was the fact that these stations had allowed sharp criticism of the government to be aired in press reviews, talk shows and panel programmes. In particular, it said, the offending stations had broadcast criticism of the government by Tuareg nomads, who have launched a series of rebellions in the north of the country. The foundation said in a statement that a few days after they were shut down, Tandja warned Niger's remaining independent radio stations against broadcasting any programmes "liable to disturb the social peace and public order." Several years of conflict between the government and Tuareg communities of northern Niger finally ended with the brokering of a peace accord in 1995. However, Tietaah said that in recent talk show and discussion programmes, some former rebel elements had been critical of the government's commitment to the terms of the agreement. "We are however encouraging the government and public authorities, including the executive and the judiciary demonstrate tolerance to critical opinions or views," he told IRIN. The latest incident occured on Saturday when Moussa Tchangari, the managing editor of the weekly newspaper Alternative was arrested and accused of inciting last week's student riots in Niamey. Human rights activists said he was released without charge on Monday. Hundreds of students took to the streets of the capital on 7 October, barricading main roads and blocking access to Niger's only university. They also set fire on car tyres to demand improved housing and living conditions. Niger, West Africa's largest country, in 2002 ranked 172 out of 173 on the UNDP index of human development, second only to Sierra Leone. Liberia was not included in the table.