Guinea-Bissau media face crackdown ahead of November election

In Guinea-Bissau, the 21-day sprint to Election Day begins November 2 and some politicians and journalists are preparing for a hotly contested campaign.

The high-stakes predetermination play brings with it logistical and ethical challenges for reporters. Media organizations are preparing sum proposals to contiguous to planetary partners, peculiarly the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). These proposals often see requests for per diems to wage for transportation, food, lodging and connection for journalists.

This signifier has agelong been communal successful Guinea-Bissau, wherever media outlets deficiency the fiscal resources to independently screen elections. As a result, galore volition either judge oregon crook to governmental candidates oregon parties for question support, creating a narration that compromises journalistic independence. To support impartiality, media outlets are progressively seeking enactment from planetary and determination organizations.

The UNDP has been supporting media organizations successful Guinea-Bissau with immoderate funding, though the nonstop magnitude varies. During the 2023 parliamentary elections, UNDP provided fiscal assistance to respective outlets, including vigor stations Sol Mansi, Jovem and Bombolom, arsenic good arsenic newspapers O Democrata, Capital News and Última Hora. Each received astir $2,500, according to a VOA newsman successful the country.

UNDP has besides been promoting civic education, moving done the National Elections Commission, which partners straight with media outlets. Despite these efforts, the Union of Journalists and Media Technicians (SINDICATO dos Jornalistas e Técnicos da Comunicação Social) reported that their caller attempts to get further enactment from planetary bodies, including the United Nations, the EU, and ECOWAS, person been unsuccessful.

Guinea-Bissau besides faces issues including the power of almighty cause traffickers and organized crime. In 2023, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved the opposition-dominated parliament aft what helium termed a coup attempt. Voters besides look pressing societal issues specified arsenic the outgo of living, entree to wellness attraction and education.

The authorities has summoned backstage media organizations, demanding $5,000 for a licence to proceed broadcasting. This contented has surfaced before, and successful response, the Forum of Private Media Organizations, oregon FOCSP-GB, prepared a counterproposal to contiguous to the government.

The connection suggests that commercialized vigor stations and newspapers successful Guinea-Bissau wage $3,000 for a license, with a $1,000 biannual renewal fee. For assemblage vigor stations, the connection suggests a one-time outgo of $500 for a license, with nary request for renewal, acknowledging the important relation these stations play successful their communities. The authorities has yet to remark oregon respond to the proposal.

Many vigor stations person been incapable to rise the $5,000 needed to unafraid their licenses earlier the elections.
Four governmental parties and 3 coalitions are competing successful the November 24 contest.

Guinea-Bissau’s governmental strategy has been severely strained successful caller years by divisions betwixt the president and the parliament, arsenic good arsenic infighting wrong the main governmental party. Corruption remains a large issue, advocates say, worsened by the corrosive power of cause traffickers.

“Corruption is widespread, including among elder authorities officials, and some subject and civilian officers person been charged with engagement successful amerciable cause trafficking,” wrote the nonprofit enactment Freedom House this month.

It highlighted the lawsuit of Malam Bacai Sanha Jr., the lad of a erstwhile president, who pleaded blameworthy successful a U.S. tribunal successful September 2023 to charges that helium was starring an planetary cause trafficking network.

At the time, helium was accused of readying to usage the cause profits to concern a coup successful his location country.

Freedom House besides documented efforts to intimidate media outlets, penning that successful caller years, “armed men — immoderate dressed successful subject apparel — person repeatedly attacked the backstage presumption Radio Capital FM, which is allied with the PAIGC [African Independence Party for Guinea and Cape Verde], vandalizing its offices and destroying broadcasting equipment.”

Freedom House reported that, successful December 2023, “in the series of the alleged coup attempt, equipped men and successful subject uniforms invaded authorities tv and vigor stations and ordered them to beryllium removed from the air; a fewer hours later, the men sent technicians to the stations to broadcast euphony and past a quality conception astir the dissolution of parliament by the president.”

The exertion of “exorbitant” backstage vigor licensing fees is identified arsenic a menace to property freedom, particularly erstwhile ineligible default tin pb to up to 3 years successful situation for the presumption owner.

In April 2022, Freedom House said the authorities ordered the closure of 79 vigor stations for deficiency of outgo of licensing fees, and “all stations, but for two, resumed the broadcast aboriginal that month, aft civilian nine organizations helped them negociate staggered payments to the Government.”

In its latest study this month, the radical besides addresses the dissolution of parliament successful December 2023.

“The subject seemingly refrained from interfering successful authorities successful the years pursuing 2014, though they were utilized by President [Umaro Sissoco ] Embalo to implicit his term,” the study said. It added that “voters and politicians’ choices proceed to beryllium influenced by corruption and the networks of clientelism.”

Corruption is wide successful the country, including among elder authorities officials.

“Judges are highly susceptible to corruption and governmental pressure, and the judicial strategy arsenic a full lacks resources and the quality to relation effectively,” the study said, adding determination are “multiple restrictions connected idiosyncratic societal freedoms.”

VOA reached retired to the bureau of the president, but inquiries went unanswered.

Reporters person besides faced aggression from information forces. In September, Julio Oliveira, a photojournalist for the Lusa News Agency, was detained by the Rapid Intervention Police, attacked, threatened to beryllium taken to the constabulary presumption and forced to erase each the images helium had connected his camera. He had been filming a caravan that accompanied erstwhile premier curate and absorption person Domingo Simoes Pereira to his residence successful the halfway of Bissau.

Lusa denounced the attack, saying it was “shocked by the unexpected and inexplicable aggression” to its photojournalist.

“These types of procedures cannot neglect to merit the astir vehement condemnation of the Lusa Board of Directors, uncovering themselves successful usurpation of the astir simple principles of state of accusation and press, arsenic good arsenic the regularisation of law,” it said successful a statement.

In August, during the swearing successful of the caller Cabinet, the president told the caller Minister of Social Communication Florentino Fernando Dias, “Your role, Minister Florentino, is not to adjacent the vigor stations, but they indispensable beryllium ineligible and indispensable wage the contributions to the state.”

Embalo urged him to “help the journalists' unions truthful that they are legal, due to the fact that the national regulates the behaviour of the professionals of the sector, prevents idiosyncratic from proclaiming himself writer lone due to the fact that helium has an net and a telephone.”

However, tensions continue, with journalists complaining of being barred from covering authoritative events. In an incidental successful July, Embalo utilized profanity toward journalists upon arriving astatine the airdrome pursuing a travel to China.

Watchdog groups accidental the state is progressively becoming a unsafe spot for the media, and restrictions are preventing citizens from accessing important information.

“The concern of Guinea-Bissauan journalists is dramatic,” said Sadibou Marong, the sub-Saharan Africa bureau manager for the property state nonprofit Reporters Without Borders. “The president of the republic displays a disastrous cognition toward the media.”

This communicative originated successful VOA’s Portuguese Service.