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                    Attacks on Press Freedom Continue in DRC

   by Kim Lewis

   Attacks on the media continue to increase in the Democratic Republic of
   Congo since the M23 rebels have been fighting against the army in the
   eastern part of the country.  Media advocacy groups express concern
   over the arrests of journalists and censorship of the press,  both of
   which have increased over the past year.  Media Monitoring Africa said
   press freedom in general is under attack in countries where there is
   continued instability.
   William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa, based in
   Johannesburg, South Africa, said the attacks on press freedom in the
   D-R-C are a major concern, because there are more and reports of such
   instances occurring.
   "For example, we were doing some work in some of the bordering
   countries in Burundi and Uganda a few months ago, and things were a lot
   more stable, and certainly the views we were getting then from our
   colleagues in the journalism area there were that things weren't nearly
   as bad then as they are now, and that was only at the start of this
   year.  So in a few short months, we've seen a fairly rapid
   deterioration of media freedom and the impact on media in the D-R-C."
   According to reports, media attacks on journalists and on press
   institutions occur in various forms, from arrests, to personal attacks,
   to the ransacking of press buildings.
   "Well, we know about some of the journalists that have been personally
   attacked and harassed.  We've also seen it against particular media
   institutions.  But, I also think that some of it is about using more of
   a kind of structured means of simply preventing institutions from using
   their medium to either broadcast or produce their papers," explained
   Bird, who added that he does foresee these types of attacks continuing
   as long as instability continues.
   "It seems to be a fairly consistent theme to go and target media, and
   not only within the D-R-C. We saw that more recently in the Middle
   East, that the media was a formal target of military intervention, so I
   don't see any reason why we wouldn't see something similar within the
   D-R-C.  I suspect as the political situation deteriorates, or next, it
   stabilizes, there's every indication that these kinds of attacks will
   continue, and they may in fact get a lot worse.  But then again it also
   depends on where you are within the country, and also who you are
   tending to support."
   Bird described how the continued attacks take their toll on the media's
   ability to perform its job. "Well, obviously they're fairly devastating
   to the extent that it's no longer a question of being able to say
   certain things and being biased, it's about simply being able to
   perform their fundamental duties.  So clearly it has a very negative
   impact not only in the D-R-C, but also in the surrounding countries.
   We know that in Uganda, for example, their media freedom is also under
   severe threat.  You certainly see some topics that you are just not
   permitted to discuss, so when one government in the region or groups of
   people . . . take this kind of action, it does have a ripple effect on
   the neighboring nations, and that obviously is a very concerning trend
   for media freedom not only within the D-R-C, but certainly the
   surrounds."
   On the other hand, Bird pointed out that in many cases the government
   accuses the media of being biased, and therefore feels its means are
   just in going after them.
   "They justify it in terms of issues around insults, around defamation.
   They accuse radio stations of sowing division, of fostering violence.
   So it's something that makes the lines quite blurred.  It's not as
   though they admit to doing this as a means of preventing the media from
   doing their job, they usually try and put a very negative spin on it,
   and say these journalist were arrested because they are guilty of
   sedition, or they are accused of insulting people, unnecessarily of
   spreading hatred."
   Bird also emphasized that people are sometimes left not knowing what to
   expect from either side.  However, he emphasized what they do know in
   many parts of Africa is who is telling the truth, because either the
   media or the governments may present only one side of a story, and that
   side does not add up to what people are actually experiencing.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/drc-press-freedom-media-attacks/15632
   85.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/drc-press-freedom-media-attacks/1563285.html