[ad_1]
According to Reporters Without Borders' 2019 report on freedom of the press in sub-Saharan Africa, African leaders have changed tactics to prevent the spread of news by exerting economic pressure on journalists, generally through through an exorbitant tax or inflated accreditation charges.
"Political leaders are demonstrating a lot of innovation and creativity to silence the media," says Arnaud Froger, RSF Africa director. "Usually, they opt for intimidation, aggression or suspension of the media, but we are witnessing increasing economic pressure," he told RFI from Dakar, Senegal. .
In Tanzania, President John Magufuli pbaded a law requiring online news organizations, bloggers and journalists to pay a fee of US $ 900 to register a blog or news site, representing a high price for many Tanzanians.
Tanzania also expelled last year two press freedom defenders who were present to evaluate the media.
"The media is regularly suspended and the authorities denounce hate speech against journalists," said Froger. "The situation is worrying, especially because Tanzania was doing pretty well," he said.
In neighboring Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has imposed a daily tax on users of social networking and online messaging services, which he says is an effort to reduce gossip.
According to RSF, Mozambique considers that media accreditation is the most prohibitive and would charge several thousand dollars to shoot in the country or be based there as a correspondent abroad.
Political changes
Although the decline in press freedom in sub-Saharan Africa is not as marked in 2019 as in the rest of the world, 22 out of 48 countries are in the red or black zone, which means the situation is "bad" or & # 39; very bad & # 39 ;.
Some 22 countries have also experienced social media destruction and Internet blackouts over the last five years, a disturbing trend, according to Froger.
"Most of these disturbances came from political leaders who were in power over 13 years," he said.
RSF notes progress, however. This year's report highlights the fact that political change has a direct impact on the freedom of the press.
"In Ethiopia, the changes are dramatic," said Froger, noting that this had happened after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power. "There are no more journalists in prison in Ethiopia. This is the first time for more than a decade, "he says.
Many media professionals have returned to Ethiopia after being exiled to work as journalists, and media companies that had been banned under the old regime are functioning again, says Froger.
The Gambia has also made significant progress – the country has won 30 places out of 92North Dakota position since the departure of Yahya Jammeh in early 2017 and the return of journalists in voluntary exile.
The situation in Sudan, however, remains unstable – protests in the past three months have recently dislodged former President Omar al-Bashir and his successor, but two journalists, Walid Elnoor of Al-Meghar The newspaper and Mahir Abul Gookh of the Sudania 24 channel are still being held.
Sudan's intelligence and security services have been blocking social networks since April 7, for the second time since the protests began.
According to the RSF report, the president's demonstration of tension two months ago appears to have been designed solely to save time and divert attention from regime violations, including those against the media.
"The situation is very diverse, especially in Africa. It is difficult to compare Senegal and South Africa with a rather favorable environment for media workers at the black hole of information that characterizes Eritrea, or Djibouti, for example, "said the director of international surveillance media for Africa.
Source link
