AA/Ouagadougou/Dramane Traoré
The Burkinabè government decided on Saturday, the immediate suspension until further notice, of the broadcasting of Radio France Internationale (RFI) programs throughout the national territory because of “shortcomings” observed in the work of the French media, according to an official statement.
The Minister of Communication and spokesperson for the Burkinabè government, Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo, justified this decision by explaining that in a report broadcast this Saturday, December 03, 2022, Radio France Internationale (RFI) “is relaying a message of intimidation of populations attributed to a terrorist leader”.
“This media thus contributes to a desperate maneuver by terrorist groups to dissuade the thousands of Burkinabè mobilized for the defense of the Fatherland, rowing against the current actions for the restoration of the integrity of our territory”, has he said.
The government spokesperson maintained that “to this serious breach is added the resumption yesterday Friday, December 2, in the press review, of a false information, indicating that the president of the transition, captain Ibrahim Traoré, assures that an attempted coup d’etat targeted his power”.
Ouédraogo recalled that on November 3, the Burkinabè government had already expressed its “indignation at the tendentious attitude of the journalists of this media and their propensity to discredit the struggle in which the Burkinabè people are engaged for more freedom. and dignity”.
The Burkinabè government “is also keen to reaffirm to national and international opinion its attachment to freedom of the press and freedom of opinion, but also to the public’s right to information” and nevertheless calls for respect for rules and principles enacted in this area in Burkina Faso, concluded the government spokesperson.
RFI officials had not yet reacted to this decision on Saturday, until 3:45 p.m. GMT.
Since March 2022, the authorities of Mali – neighboring Burkina Faso – had already announced the suspension of the broadcasting of two French public channels, Radio France Internationale (RFI) and France 24, accused of broadcasting “false allegations” of abuses committed by the Malian army.
These two media are increasingly considered as tools of French influence in Africa by certain populations, in a context of growing rejection of the French presence in all its forms in its former colonies.
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