The Guinean government, dominated by the military, has banned four private radio stations and one private television station which are widely followed in the country, indicates a press release from the Ministry of Information published on Wednesday May 22.
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New attack on press freedom in Guinea. While the antennas of several audiovisual media have been jammed for more than six months, the broadcasting authorizations of three press groups were withdrawn this Wednesday by the Minister of Information and Communication, Fana Soumah. These are FIM FM radio, and several media from the Djoma and Hadafo groups.
Minister Fana Soumah invokes a “ non-compliance with the content of the specifications » to justify this decision of the transitional authorities, accused for more than a year of putting the Guinean press in line on instructions from the CNRD junta.
According to the director of FIM FM, Talibé Barry, the radio received a visit this Wednesday morning, May 22, from the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARPT), accompanied by a bailiff and a gendarme. “ They informed us of a decree taken by the Ministry of Information and Communication dated yesterday, Tuesday May 21. Which decree therefore decided the withdrawal of FIM approval among others. So, we were only entitled to read the part announcing this decision. As for the reasons which contributed to these various decisions or in any case to the making of this decree, nothing has been communicated to us », explains director of FIM FM, Talibé Barry.
Nothing was told to us, nothing was read to us regarding the reasons which led the Minister of Information and Communication to issue this order. So, we must resign ourselves to the observation that ultimately nothing surprises us and that this decision to withdraw our approvals is in some way the final blow in relation to the process of muzzling our media which apparently annoys the authorities of the transition.
The director of FIM FM, Talibé Barry
The same day, a Guinean Press Self-Regulation Observatory was set up by media organizations. Its creation follows the remarks of Prime Minister Bah Oury who demanded at the beginning of the month “ more responsibility and professionalism » from journalists. The president of the Guinean Online Press Association maintains that it is indeed the media which is at the origin of the invention of Ogap while affirming “ take it at your word ” the head of government.
“ He said the ball was in the court of the press associations who initiated the creation of this self-regulatory body. Now that it is created, it is up to the Prime Minister to do what he promised : put back the channels that were jammed and tell us why the media that were already jammed were the subject of this recent decision by the Minister of Communication », points out Amadou Tham Camara.
Because at the very time of the OGap creation ceremony, the Minister of Communication and Information Fana Soumah announced that it was withdrawing the approvals of several media outlets, including FIM FM. The secretary general of the Union of Press Professionals of Guinea, Sékou Jamal Pendessa: “ Everything the government sold us was not true, it was false. We had warned our press bosses, it was a game to deceive us. The CNRD junta just wants to prove to the world that the press has given up. Which media will this new body regulate, now that their licenses have been withdrawn? »
The trade unionist believes that if the State has managed to impose the creation of OGAP, it will necessarily dictate its operation.