The government of Burkina Faso have suspended the French media on Monday, March 27, after it broadcast an interview with the emir of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
“Programme blocked. The channel does not have the broadcast rights for this program and therefore asked us to block it. Find the next programme at the end of the occultation,” noted Monday, many viewers of France24 in Burkina.
It apologized for the “occasional inconvenience” after the government suspended the broadcasting of its programs, on the pretext that the channel broadcast an interview with the “Leader of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM),” Abu Obeida Youssef al-Annabi, three weeks ago.
By opening its airwaves to the head of AQIM, “France 24 is not only acting as a communication agency for these terrorists, but it is also providing a space for legitimizing terrorist actions and hate speech to further the evil aims of this organization in Burkina Faso,” said Transitional Government spokesman Rimtalba Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo.
The Minister of Communication also denounced the fact that the head of a terrorist organization can benefit from the editorial largesse of France 24 to express himself on the channel, while this organization is the perpetrator of crimes around the world and particularly in Burkina Faso. The government, “without contesting the freedom of the channel’s editorial choices,” questioned the ethics that govern the professional practice of journalism on France 24.
The news channel deplores the decision
The management of the news channel deplored this decision and contested the “baseless” accusations that call into question the professionalism of the channel. It considered that it had “never given the floor directly” to the head of AQIM and had taken care to report his words in the form of a column allowing the necessary distancing and contextualization. The same clarification was made on twitter by Wassim Nasr, the journalist who conducted the interview.
France 24 was outraged by the “outrageous and defamatory remarks” of the Burkinabe government, associating the channel with “a communication agency for these terrorists” who are trying to discredit the channel, whose independence and ethics are no longer in question.
At the beginning of February 2023, France24 was given formal notice for using the term “Islamic rebels” instead of armed terrorist groups to describe the perpetrators of the kidnapping of some sixty women in mid-January in the north of the country.
On December 3, 2002, the government suspended the broadcasting of Radio France Internationale (RFI), accusing it of broadcasting false information and providing a platform for Islamist militants.
The ruling military reaffirmed its commitment to freedom of the press and opinion. They called on media professionals to be more responsible in the editorial choices they make in reporting on terrorism.
DS/ac/lb/abj/APA