10:58 CAT | 27 Apr 2017
Angola, Mozambique and
Equatorial Guinea fell in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) world
rankings on freedom of the press, while Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and
Timor-Leste rose.
According to the organization’s annual
report released yesterday, the worst performance among members of the
Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) is that of Equatorial
Guinea, which fell three places to 171 in the last 10 of 180 countries
in this territory – which does not include Sao Tome and Principe.
The country remains under the
authoritarian rule of Teodoro Obiang Nguema, re-elected in April 2016
for a fifth seven-year presidential term, which is reflected in how the
media is treated, the report says.
Reports on Arab springs, conflicts in
Mali and Syria and the fall of Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaoré
were banned, as was the follow-up to the trial of former Ivorian
President Laurent Gbabgo in the International Criminal Court, the RSF
report says.
“Controlling the means of social
confinement and prior censorship is common in this country, which has
been governed for 38 years by the same man,” the report’s authors write.
“Under this authoritarian regime, it is truly impossible to criticize
the president or the security forces.”
Angola is in 125th place, two places
below its 2016 ranking, due to the control the regime maintains over the
media in the country, and its having introduced new legislation in 2016
that facilitates defamation lawsuits and forces TV and radio to
broadcast presidential speeches, the organization says.
“Despite a modest liberalization that
ended the state television monopoly, journalists continue to be subject
to constant control, either through Angolan anti-defamation legislation
or through more direct methods such as the arrest of journalists who
irritate authorities.”
Mozambique is in 93rd place, down from
87th in 2016, due to self-censorship, especially in rural areas, and
intimidation of journalists by the authorities.
“In 2015, Paulo Machava, who worked for
the online newspaper Diário de Notícias, was shot down in the street. He
had defended journalists sued for defamation of the head of state,” the
report reads.
East Timor has risen to 98th and is
praised for freedom of expression, despite lawsuits being used as a form
of intimidation, police violence and public criticism of the media by
members of the government and MPs.
“East Timor’s journalists face numerous
pressures trying to prevent them from freely exercising their
profession,” the report said.
Except for Portugal, the best-ranked Portuguese-speaking country is Cape Verde, in 27th, up five places from 2016.
The country is distinguished by the
absence of attacks on journalists and “exceptional” press freedom, even
on state television TCV and Radio Nacional do Cabo, whose content is
independent.
However, the report notes a certain
“degree of self-censorship,” which it attributed to “the small size of
the country and the communications sector, which makes journalists
reluctant to create conflicts with potential future bosses.”
Guinea-Bissau is in 77th place, two places above the 79th place it occupied in 2015.
According to the document, the “political impasse favours interference in the state media, whose directors have been replaced.”
Although the sector is open to private
entrants and there is freedom of expression, the report’s authors say
that there is self-censorship when it comes to issues related to
government, organized crime or the influence of the military in society.
“Some journalists have gone into exile because of intimidation and threats,” the report notes.
Read the ful report here https://rsf.org/en/ranking
Source: Lusa
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