CHAD: MINISTER DEFENDS PRESS CENSORSHIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 001414

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TAGS: PGOV KPAO PHUM CD
SUBJECT: CHAD: MINISTER DEFENDS PRESS CENSORSHIP

REF: N'DJAMENA 1379


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The continued censorship of the
Chadian press is justified as long as Chad is in a state
of war with rebel movements trying to destabilize the
country, according to the country's Minister of
Communication, responding to concerns raised by the
Ambassador about the restrictions. The Minister also
stated that the lack of professionalism among
journalists in Chad's independent press is a threat to
the country's national interests and imperils political
and ethnic reconciliation. Effective December 6, the
independent press announced a two-week suspension of
publication to protest the extension of the state of
emergency to six months. END SUMMARY.

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MINISTER STAUNCHLY DEFENDS THE PRESS CENSURE.
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2. (SBU) During a meeting on December 11 with the
Ambassador, Minister of Communication and Government
Spokesman Moussa Doumgor defended the Government of Chad's
decision to censor reporting by the independent media in
Chad. Doumgor noted that the Government was facing internal
threats from the Chadian rebel movement and external threats
from Sudan that could potentially tear apart the Chadian
state along ethnic and political lines. The current Chadian
rebel movements pitted Tama against Zaghawa, Arab against
Goran, and Northerner versus Southerner. During this period
of internal strife and a state of war with a powerful
adversary, the press needed to be responsible and not to
inflame the situation.


3. (SBU) As a result of the current instability, Doumgor
argued, the Government was justified in censoring the
independent media. Given Chad's ethnic divisions, even
simple comments could result in numerous deaths in certain
parts of the country. Doumgor said that the press itself
was not censured from reporting on the current instability
in the country. The Government wanted, however, to ensure
that the press reported factually on the events unfolding in
eastern Chad. If there is a battle in Biltine, then the
press should report that there was a battle in Biltine. The
press should not sensationalize or mischaracterize the facts
surrounding the battle, argued the Minister. For instance,
if the press reported that President Deby provoked the
conflict in Biltine, that item would be censured, as it was
not only a baseless assertion, but was contrary to the need
for national unity against the forces of instability.
According to the Minister, such comments would only feed the
divisions that existed within the country.

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.AND DENOUNCES CRITIQUES BY THE INDEPENDENT MEDIA
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4. (SBU) Doumgour continued to argue that the censorship
was especially needed to check an independent press that
lacked "intellectual maturity." He pointed out that as a
former journalist, the Minister understood the meaning of a
responsible press. The Chadian independent press, he
argued, was a far cry from that. The press was free to
report on the rebellion in the East and the inter-ethnic
killings in southeastern Chad, but had to report the facts.
Thus far, according to the Minister, it had failed do so.
He noted that the critiques against Deby and the Zaghawa
community by some members of the press had the potential to
create real divisions in the country. These divisions were
exacerbated by the fact that the independent press, whose
members were primarily from southern Chad, was attacking a
head of state and ethnic group from the North.


5. (SBU) In addition, personal attacks and insults against
senior GOC officials by the independent press did little to
support the press's claim of professionalism, but did a
great deal to incite tensions between the public and the
government. He cited a specific instance in which an
independent print journal referred to the Prime Minister as
a "brute." Such falsehoods only incited anger against the
country's leaders, and created further political and ethnic

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schisms. Insults against respectable officials needed to be
censured.

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WHEN DOES IT END?
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6. (SBU) The Ambassador told Doumgor that while he
understood that the GOC's argument concerning a responsible
press, he was concerned that the independent press was now
unable to report accurately on important news items and that
Chad risked losing its reputation as a country that had a
reasonably liberal press environment. The Minister
responded to the initial concern by saying that the
independent press had done little to engage him or the GOC
directly on how to accurately report the facts and avoid
being censored. He contended, "if I was running an
independent newspaper, I would be able to run a responsible
newspaper that avoided being censored." The press simply
needed to work with the GOC rather than criticize it.


7. (SBU) In response to the Ambassador's second point,
Doumgor agreed that censorship was contradictory to the
values of a democratic society. However, Chad, he argued,
was in a state of war. In a time of war, a democratic
society could not flourish. Stability was first required to
ensure that democracy was maintained. The Minister pointed
out that once there was stability in the country and the
opponents of stability were defeated, the censorship would
be lifted.

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INDEPENDENT MEDIA ANNOUNCES NEWS BLACKOUT
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8. (U) On December 6 the francophone independent media
(which had resumed publication November 30 after a one week
suspension to protest the initial declaration of a state of
emergency (reftel)) announced that it would suspend
publication for two weeks in order to protest the extension
of the state of emergency for six months. Arab language
print publications have also suspended publication. The
independent radio stations do not have a similar black-out
policy, although FM Liberte suspended broadcasting for one
day on December 6 in solidarity with the print media.

WALL