Despite the detailed and detailed responses from France Médias Monde to each of the grievances that were formulated by the High Authority for Communication of Mali (HAC) against RFI and France 24 to justify, a posteriorithe shutdown of the two international media in the country since March 17, 2022, the Malian regulator has just pronounced a decision which definitively deprives RFI and France 24 of their authorization to broadcast in Mali, and thereby the Malians of their right to free information.
France Médias Monde will give any appropriate follow-up to the decision
France Médias Monde, the parent company of RFI and France 24, strongly protests against this decision which it considers unfounded and arbitrary, and announces its intention to use all possible remedies. All of the responses duly delivered by France Médias Monde to the HAC, in full compliance with Malian procedures, attest point by point to the professionalism and independence of its journalists, thus contesting any violation of the provisions cited in the formal notice. of the HAC dated March 28, 2022.
Procedural defect
In addition, France Médias Monde denounces a procedural defect linked to the brutal, unilateral shutdown on March 17, prior to any formal notice and/or any sanction (the formal notice from the HAC dates from March 28), which legally renders null and void all subsequent acts and procedures.
Breach of equality before the law
France Médias Monde is also surprised that, contrary to the principle of equal treatment of all before the law, the HAC only targeted the channels of France Médias Monde for the information they disseminated on abuses of the Malian army, while information of the same nature is disseminated by other media accessible in Mali, without them having incurred the slightest sanction, which FMM is delighted with.
Libel action
In addition, France Médias Monde is taking action for defamation in France and Mali, following the publication of the press release of March 16, 2022 announcing the suspension of its media, in which the Malian government compares the alleged actions of RFI and France. 24″ to the infamous practices and role of the radio Mille collines “. These accusations, which refer to the radio having encouraged the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994, in addition to being totally unfounded, are extremely serious and shocking, undermining the integrity of RFI and France 24 as well as the safety of the teams. .
These allegations are all the more unbearable for the media which, for having simply done their job of informing as closely as possible to the field and the populations by covering issues of peace and reconciliation, have lost two reporters, first kidnapped then cowardly murdered by jihadists in Kidal, northern Mali, in November 2013.
Independence and freedom to inform
Taking note of the decision pronounced by the HAC while taking all possible recourse to assert its rights, France Médias Monde will pursue its mission of informing and will continue to treat the news of Mali, which interests all of Africa as well as the rest of the world, and in particular the Malian community in France. In Mali, all technical solutions will be deployed to make RFI and France 24 accessible to Malians who wish to continue to follow free, expert information that is open to the world. France Médias Monde recalls its independence from political and economic powers, which is embodied both in its method of financing and in the method of appointing its leaders.