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Press Freedom
Violations Decreased in 2007 in West Africa
Incidents of press freedom violations in the
West African sub-region witnessed a decline in the year 2007 according
to the Accra, Ghana-based free expression group, the Media Foundation
for West Africa (MFWA) in the report it released of its monitoring of
attacks on freedom of speech and expression in West Africa.
The report showed that 142 cases of
violations were recorded in fifteen of the sixteen countries covered by
the MFWA in the sub-region, including Mauritania, as compared to one
hundred and sixty-eight (168) in 2006.
Niger Republic emerged as the worst abuser of
media freedom with 23 recorded cases of abuses of press freedom rights.
Nigeria, the country with the largest population and land size, followed
with 18 reported cases of abuses. Of the remaining figure, Sierra Leone
and Liberia had 14 each; Ghana is fifth on the list with 13 cases;
Guinea-Conakry and The Gambia, where there is state repression, followed
with 11 cases each; Senegal followed closely with nine cases; Cote
d’Ivoire recorded eight cases; while Burkina Faso had six; with Mali and
Mauritania recording seven cases each. The last sets of countries that
had cases ranging from two to four are Benin two, Togo three, and
Guinea-Bissau four.
Cape Verde recorded no case of abuse of press
freedom.
The MFWA noted that, as usual, the
compilation may not include several other possible acts of violation
that may not have been noticed, observed or reported. It is likely that
some of the countries that registered a low number of cases may have
been poorly monitored. Even for those where there appears to be more
cases reported, not all cases may have been captured, especially when
they occurred outside the capitals and big cities.
Moreover, the MFWA observed that while a low
number of cases does not necessarily mean less harmful violations, more
cases also did not necessarily represent the cruelest violations,
either. The organization cited two countries: The Gambia and
Guinea-Conakry, which it said exhibited the worst and generally more
violent forms of repression, yet recorded numerically less than, say,
Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana.
MFWA disclosed that the report only recorded
violations against press freedom, and did not represent numerous other
acts of attacks on free speech or violations of other realms of freedom
of expression in the region, such as academic freedom, etc. It noted
that Mali’s small number of cases included one distinctly disturbing
violation of academic freedom. Mali’s cases also indicated a negative
tendency away from the country’s fine records in recent years.
The MFWA reiterated its numerous calls to
human rights organizations, political parties, and their leaders and
civil society organizations that cherish democracy to join it and other
free expression advocacy organizations to intensify activities to
protest such violations. |
