In Burkina Faso, the ruling junta suspends the French magazine Jeune Afrique

2023-09-25 20:04:24

Burkina Faso announced, Monday evening, the suspension of “all broadcast media” of the media Jeune Afrique, which has a paper newspaper and a website, after the publication of articles evoking tensions within the Burkinabè army. .

Published on : 25/09/2023 – 22:04

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New attack on press freedom in Burkina Faso. The ruling junta announced, Monday evening, September 25, the suspension of “all broadcast media” of the media Jeune Afrique, accusing it of having published “false” articles according to which the country’s army was undermined by tensions and discontent.

The “transitional government” has “thus decided with full responsibility to suspend until further notice all Jeune Afrique broadcast media in Burkina Faso as of Monday, September 25,” the spokesperson wrote in a press release. word of the government and Minister of Communication, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo.

The junta justifies its decision by the distribution of a new “falsehood” article on the website of the newspaper Jeune Afrique, entitled: ‘In Burkina Faso, still tensions within the army, published Monday. “This publication follows a previous article in the said newspaper on the same site”, published Thursday, “in which Jeune Afrique alleged that ‘In Burkina Faso, discontent is growing in the barracks'”, adds the minister.

According to the government, “these assertions made deliberately without the shadow of a beginning of proof have the sole aim of casting unacceptable discredit on the National Armed Forces and beyond all the combatant forces.”

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Several French media, including France 24, already suspended in the country

This decision comes almost a year after Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power in a coup, the second in eight months. Burkina Faso shares several of its borders with two countries also led by the military, who came to power through coups: Mali since 2020, and Niger since the end of July.

In June, the Burkinabè authorities announced the suspension of the French channel LCI for three months, after having expelled the correspondents of the French dailies Libération and Le Monde in April.

At the end of March, they ordered the sine die suspension of the television channel France 24, after having suspended RFI in December 2022, two French public media accused of having relayed messages from jihadist leaders.

Burkina Faso also suspended a national radio station for a month in August accused of having interviewed an opponent of the Nigerien military regime.