Your Excellencies: As you gather in Paris for festivities that celebrate your nations’ 50 years of independence, we, the undersigned African press freedom advocates petition for your public commitment to a free, vibrant, and self-sustaining press as a cornerstone of the development of francophone Africa in the next five decades.
On January 8, while Angola was hosting the African Cup of Nations, the country made worldwide headlines after a deadly attack on the Togolese national soccer team, which left a coach and a journalist dead. With international attention turning to the story, a shroud of state censorship and self-censorship by the Angolan media obscured the…
New York, January 11, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists called today on Angolan authorities to ensure the safety of sports journalists covering the African Nations Cup following the death of a Togolese sports journalist on Friday. Stanislas Ocloo was gunned down in the attack on Togo’s national soccer team’s bus in the northwestern Angolan enclave…
Angola | Burundi Central African Republic| Chad | Gabon| Gambia | Ghana | Guinea | Ivory Coast | Lesotho | Nigeria | Republic of Congo| Sierra Leone | South Africa | Togo ANGOLA • Three journalists for national state broadcaster Rádio Nacional de Angola were suspended indefinitely in October after questioning President José dos Santos’…
Government bans critical radio journalist from broadcast FEBRUARY 19, 2008 Posted March 10, 2008 Daniel Lawson-Drackey, Nana FMCENSORED Togo’s Broadcast and Communication High Authority (known by its French acronym, HAAC) summarily banned all editorials and commentary of veteran journalist and media activist Daniel Lawson-Drackey on private station Nana FM, according to local journalists and news…
When Press Freedom and Democracy Are Out of StepBy Tom RhodesBallots may have replaced bullets in much of Africa since the dawn of this new century, but one of the great political ironies for at least part of the continent has been a loss of press freedom following the voting. Leaders in a large swath…
Dear Mr. Evegno, We are concerned by a growing trend by the High Authority for Audiovisual and Communication (HAAC) to suspend media outlets in Togo, citing violations to journalist ethics as a basis for suppression. Two newspapers, The Republic Courier and The Trumpet, are currently suspended for articles deemed unprofessional and against journalistic ethics by your institution.
New York, March 1, 2007—The Togolese government on Wednesday indefinitely banned from broadcast veteran journalist and media activist Daniel Lawson-Drackey over a commentary on private radio Nana FM that was critical of a government minister, according to local journalists. “It’s outrageous that the government is censoring a respected journalist for raising critical questions about an…