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> Download Africentr@lemedias 41 - December 2005 - pdf (136 ko)
Dec. 2005 - n° 41
Africentr@lemedias is published
monthly by the Institut Panos Paris (IPP) as part of its Pluralist
media for peace and democracy programme in Central Africa. This monthly
newsletter on media pluralism is prepared by journalists from the nine
Central Africa countries (Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial
Guinea, Central African Republic (RCA), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
Rwanda and Chad), with the support of CORDAID (Netherlands).
In the news this month - December 2005 - 41
Focus
>
Central Africa: Press freedom threatened in DRC
1.Diary
> DRC:
HAM, OMEC and UNPC meet for discussions
2.
Print media news
>
Gabon: Le Miroir, Gabon’s first on-line daily
3. Legal and financial frameworks for the media
>
Rwanda: Media on the road to greater responsibility
>
Rwanda: Radio specifications being drawn up
4. Structuring and professionnalisation of the media
>
DRC: UNPC defines its priorities
>
DRC: AFEM/SK defends women’s rights
Contacts
Institut Panos Paris
10, rue du Mail - 75002 Paris (France)
Tel. +33 (1) 40 41 05 50 - Fax +33 (1) 40 41 03 30
mariepierre@panosparis.org
Focus
> Central Africa: Press freedom
threatened in DRC
On the 57th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights on
December 9, the NGO, Journalistes en Danger (JED) and the Central
Africa Media Organisation’s (OMAC) alert network published
their 2005 report on press freedom in Central Africa. The report starts
with what it calls a “state of emergency for the Congolese press”,
and continues with an overview of the press in other countries in the
region.
In 2005, DRC had the highest incidence of attacks on journalists and the
media, with OMAC cataloguing 108 attacks on press freedom and 58 arrests.
According to JED, “compared to the previous year, 2005 showed a
disturbing regression in press freedom in DRC.” And the situation
is hardly less worrying elsewhere in Central Africa. In Chad, in the months
of July and August, four journalists were jailed in N’Djamena until
the case against them for “procedural infringements” was quashed.
The full report is available on JED website: www.jed-afrique.org
Contact
Journalistes en danger
M. Donat MBaya, president
374, avenue colonel Mondjiba
Complexe Utexafrica-Galerie Saint Pierre
Kinshasa/Ngaliema - B.P. 633 - Kinshasa 1 / DRC
Email: direction@jed-afrique.org
/ MPL/ IPP /
1. Diary
> DRC: HAM, OMEC and UNPC meet
for discussions
On 16 January the High Authority for the Media (HAM), the Congolese
media observatory (OMEC) and the Congolese Press National Union
(UNPC) will meet for discussions in Kinshasa.
This meeting follows a period of methodological support provided to OMEC
and UNPC by Baudouin Hamuli and Donat M'Baya aimed at clarifying the mode
of operation of the two organisations.
The meeting is being organised by the Institut Panos Paris with
funding from the British department for international development
(DFID).
.
Contact
Pierre N’Sana
Institutional support officer for IPP
Email: pnsana@panosparis.org
/ MPL/ IPP /
2.
Print
media news
> Gabon: Le Miroir,
Gabon’s first on-line daily
Le Miroir is Gabon’s first on-line daily, and can be found
at www.lemiroir.ga. The paper offers several columns, including politics,
economy, current affairs, culture, analysis, and opinions.
The editorial line is broadly satirical, with a critical approach to current
affairs.
A weekly 8-page print version offers a selection of key articles. With
a print run of 5000 Le Miroir is printed by Multipress, distributed
by Sogapresse and on sale at 300 Fcfa (0.45 euros).
Contact
Le Miroir
Tel. + 241 05 92 72 25
/ AN / IPP /
3.
Legal and financial frameworks of the media
> Rwanda: Media
on the road to greater responsibility
On 9 December, the High Council of the Press (HCP) published
its report on media respect for press laws and codes of conduct. The report
based its findings on data gathered throughout June for print media and
during the third week of June for radio and television. The report, which
was presented to a gathering of journalists, suggests that the profession
had generally kept within its code of conduct during the analysis period,
despite occasional lapses.
For example, 35.65% of reports broadcast on radio and television, and
19% of articles in print media did not provide a source for their information.
A similar absence of credits was found for photographs, while mastheads
naming contributors were lacking and advertising rates not given.
The report recommends training sessions for journalists, in order to raise
awareness on the need to keep within media laws and codes of conduct.
/ AR / IPP /
> Rwanda: Radio
specifications being drawn up
A workshop was held in Kigali from 28 to 29 November 2005, devoted to
media regulation in Rwanda, the drafting of specifications for radio stations
and to deal with complaints against the media.
The meeting, organised by the High Council of the Press (HCP),
brought together 40 specialists including journalists and lawyers. The
participants proposed a series of amendments to the various texts, previously
drawn up by the HCP, with support from the president of the Conseil
Supérieur de la Communication in Burkina Faso, Luc-Adolphe
Tiao.
Participants called on the legislature to intervene to clarify a contradiction
between article 14 of the radio specifications that forbids political
parties from making use of a radio broadcasting enterprise, and article
20 of the law on political parties, which authorises it.
The workshop was proposed by Institut Panos Paris, with support from Swiss
development aid, (DDC).
Contact
Patrice Mulama
Executive Secretary of HCP
Email: highcouncilofthepress@yahoo.fr
/ AR / IPP /
4.
Structuring and professionalisation of the media
> DRC: UNPC defines its
priorities
From 13 – 15 December, the Congolese Press National Union (UNPC)
held a self-evaluation and programming meeting in Kinshasa, attended by
members of the UNPC steering committee, presidents of its provincial chapters
and representatives of the main media organisations in DRC.
An initial analysis of the way UNPC has been operating since the National
Press Congress held in March 2004 revealed serious communication
failures within the institution. Participants cited a number of obstacles,
including the ambiguity of the union’s statutes, which derived from
the National Congress, and put the UNPC in conflict with other media bodies.
The provincial UNPC representatives shared this impression. They nevertheless
noted a genuine dynamism in the press and all the provincial sections
of the union had carried out restructuring following decisions made at
National Congress. By the end of the meeting the participants had singled
out a number of priority lines of action for the period 2006-2007. These
include instituting a system of work contracts within the Congolese media,
strengthening journalists’ capacity to cover the elections, providing
training in drafting and executing projects and the promotion of press
centres in the provinces.
The workshop was held as part of methodological support provided by Baudouin
Hamuli to UNPC with support from Institut Panos Paris, the British
department for International development (DFID) and NIZA.
Contact
Kabeya Pindi Passi, president of UNPC
Tel.: +243 99 89 99 90
Email: kabpp@yahoo.fr
/ FN / IPP /
> DRC: AFEM/SK defends women’s
rights
On 11 December the Women of the media Association in South-Kivu (AFEM/SK)
held a workshop in Bukavu on “the major problems of involving women
in the process of democratisation”.
Twenty women from radios clubs and listeners’ clubs in the Kabare
and Walungu districts took part in the workshop. Noting the considerable
influence of traditions on the absence of women in public life, AFEM/SK
decided to produce a programme to raise awareness of the role of women
in the process of democratisation.
Entitled “Us, Women” the programme should provide a platform
for women voters and potential candidates for the DRC elections to express
their views. Women from rural areas will also be a solid source of information
and should be able to act as relays to pass on messages to the more far-flung
rural areas of South-Kivu province.
The broadcasts will be produced by Radio Maendeleo and others
should follow, thanks to the NGO, Search for Common Ground. It
will then be possible to distribute copies of the programmes to other
provinces in DRC to be broadcast by new radio stations.
Contact
Chouchou Namegabe, president of AFEM/SK
Tel.: +243 813 180 007
Email: afemsk@yahoo.fr
/ DM / IPP /
Editorial
> Editor-in-chief
Pascal Berqué, Director of the Pluralist programme, Institut Panos
Paris - pascal.berque@panosparis.org
> Coordination
Domitille Duplat, Coordinator of the Pluralist programme in Central
Africa, Institut Panos Paris, domitilled@panosparis.org
> Associate editor
Marie-Pierre Liénard, Project officer of the Pluralist programme,
Institut Panos Paris - mariepierre@panosparis.org
> Correspondents
Burundi: Edmond Toyi
Cameroon: Joel Wadem
Central Africa: Sylvie Jacqueline Benguuéré
Chad: Laoro Gondjé
Congo: Annette Kouamba
Democratic Republic of Congo: Franck Baku (Kinshasa), Doudou
Solol (Katanga), Patient Ndoole (North Kivu), Flory Ngongo
(Oriental province), Dieudonné Malékéra (South Kivu), Michel
Aveledi (Bas Congo), Innocent-Prosper Mbumba (Kasaï oriental),
Anne-Marie Kasenga (Kasaï occidental), Shabani Mwanaomba
(Maniema), Gabriel-Bernard Ohanu (Equateur), Valère Odio
(Bandundu)
Equatorial Guinea: Rodrigo Angue Nguema
Gabon: Achille Ngoma
Rwanda: Anastase Rwabuneza
> Distribution
Séverine Le Ridant, communication officer, Institut Panos
Paris,
communication@panosparis.org
Chantal Fitoussi, internet conceptor,
newsletter@panosparis.org
> Translation
Peter Coles - pcoles@mac.com
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