A MUZZLED CHADIAN PRESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 001379

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

PARIS AND LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM CD PGOV
SUBJECT: A MUZZLED CHADIAN PRESS

REF: NDJAMENA 1327


1. (SBU) Summary. Losing readership and unable to report on
the real news in Chad, representatives of the francophone
print media are demoralized and frustrated. While
independent newspapers reach only a small Chadian elite, the
censorship imposed during the State of Emergency has dealt a
severe blow to the last independent voice in Chad. End
summary.


2. (U) The Ambassador met with representatives of Chad's
independent print media on November 27 to discuss the effect
of the State of Emergency (reftel) on freedom of the press.
Representatives of Chad's leading print media participated,
including the managing editors of Le Temps, Notre Temps,
Ndjamena BiHebdo and L'Observateur. Under the State of
Emergency, the media is barred from publishing anything
affecting public order, national unity, territorial integrity
and respect for institutions of the republic. All
publications are subject to censorship prior to publication.
It has reportedly taken the government some time to assemble
the censorship board which is composed of representatives of
the Ministries of Security, Defense, Territorial
Administration and the Presidency. Even now, the process of
obtaining clearance from the censorship board was described
as time-consuming and unclear. According to participants, the
Government has provided no formal guidelines on what can or
cannot be published.

NEWSPAPERS WITHOUT NEWS DO NOT SELL
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3. (SBU) Meeting participants frankly acknowledged their
frustration and concern with the censorship. Some argued that
it was not clear what the Government of Chad (GOC) wanted to
suppress -- was it the reporting on inter-ethnic fighting in
the east, or was it interviews and reporting on rebel
leaders? It was noted that both have been regular features
in the independent press for some time. In any event, press
representatives did not feel that they had precipitated the
crisis by publishing sensitive information. They were also
quite worried about the financial viability of their
publications: a newspaper without news does not sell many
copies, and they were losing readership. Participants
pointed out that the 1962 law which the GOC had invoked for
the State of Emergency predated the current Constitution.
The Constitution of Chad does not have, in fact, any
provisions dealing with press censorship. While unlikely to
win, some were interested in pursuing the case through the
courts to draw attention to what they considered the flagrant
violation of the law.


4. (SBU) Participants reported that they had met on November
15, forty-eight hours after the State of Emergency was
declared, to see if the independent media could take a common
position. They had agreed to suspend publication for a week
as a protest. Subsequently, the State of Emergency -
originally put in place for 12 days - had been extended to
six months. International partners (including the NGO
Reporters Without Borders) had encouraged them to resume
publication, arguing that after a certain point a suspension
only justified the position of the regime. All have now
recommenced publication, although some content is blacked out
and identified as "censored."


5. (SBU) Concerning content, Notre Temps editor Benoudjita
Najikimbo pointed out that an edition which contained quotes
from Radio France International (RFI) and Le Monde (i.e.
information available elsewhere) had passed the censors.
However, Le Temps Director Michael Didama doubted that any
independent reporting of the week's events, including rebel
incursions into Chad, or any critique of the censorship
itself would pass. While it was true that the international
media was operating without prior censorship (e.g., BBC,
RFI),Benoudjita recalled ruefully that he had had to "pick
his words" in a recent radio interview with Voice of America.
Some participants felt that RFI was "not telling the full
story." Another noted that the arabaphone press had also been
censored.

HARASSMENT OF JOURNALISTS

NDJAMENA 00001379 002 OF 002


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5. (U) Concerning harassment of journalists, Notre Temps
editor recounted the situation that had led to his office
being searched by Chadian security services agents after he
had distributed the Notre Temps edition that had been printed
before the announcement of censorship. After one government
authority told him he could distribute the newspaper, another
forbade it. The authorities then searched his office and
attempted to destroy copies of the newspaper. Participants
also followed up on the fate of the Notre Temps journalist
who had published a story in October intimating that the
government was using child soldiers (although according to
them, he never used the word "child soldiers," only calling
them "poorly trained young people.") The journalist was not
tortured, but was confined in a small cell (reportedly with
some rebels from Central African Republic) for some 48 hours.
He was still on notice that he may need to return to court,
although a formal suit has not been filed against him.
Additionally an Al Jazeera journalist was reportedly held
briefly, questioned and then released on November 26.


6. (SBU) Recognizing that the independent print media
reaches only a small portion of Chad's population, notably
the literate elite, participants regretted that press
censorship was effectively snuffing out the last organ of
civil society able to fulfill its role and function
independently in Chad. In closing, the Ambassador expressed
the mission's support for the journalists, and noted that
they could be assured that he would raise the issue with the
government.

COMMENT:
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7. (SBU) Prior to last year, freedom of the press was one
important exception to an otherwise poor human rights record
in Chad. It is an also an area in which the United States
has invested heavily through programs to train and
professionalize reporters and editors. Press censorship in
Chad is additional evidence of a regime under stress,
concerned only for its day-to-day survival, and increasingly
isolated and cavalier as to the impact of actions on the
long-term development of Chad's nascent democratic
institutions.
WALL