The Malian junta suspends the broadcasting of France 24 and RFI

Published on: 03/17/2022 – 12:15Modified on: 03/17/2022 – 13:18 The Malian junta ordered overnight from Wednesday to Thursday the suspension of the broadcast of France 24 and RFI in Mali because, according to her, “false allegations” of abuses committed by the Malian army and reported by the two French media. France Médias Monde deplores this procedure and strongly protests against these unfounded accusations. In a press release published Thursday, March 17, the Malian transitional government announced that it was initiating a procedure to suspend “until further notice” the broadcasting of RFI radio and France 24 television throughout the country. The Malian government ” categorically rejects these false allegations against the valiant Fama” (Malian Armed Forces) and “undertakes a procedure […] to suspend until further notice the broadcasting of RFI […] and France 24,” said the statement signed by Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, government spokesperson, and sent to AFP. France Médias Monde “deplores this decision.”France Médias Monde – which brings together France 24, RFI and MCD – has “The group deplores this decision and strongly protests against the unfounded accusations seriously calling into question the professionalism of its branches,” he said in a press release. so that such a decision is not implemented and recalls its unfailing attachment to the freedom to inform as well as to the professional work of its journalists”, adds this document. ? @France_MM deplores the procedure initiated by the Malian authorities to suspend @RFI and @FRANCE24 in Mali, and strongly protests against unfounded accusations. The group recalls its unfailing attachment to freedom of information and the professionalism of its teams. pic.twitter.com/pjTFLm 0dln— France Médias Monde (@France_MM) March 17, 2022 The European Union also deemed this decision by the Malian junta “unacceptable”. “We have seen the announcements made by the Malian government to suspend RFI and France 24. We consider this to be unacceptable. We deplore this decision and the unfounded accusations,” spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said during a briefing. press, deploring a “leak ahead” of the junta. The broadcasts of the two media continued Thursday morning in the country, noted AFP. Such a suspension of two major foreign news media has no recent precedent in Mali. RFI and France 24, which cover African news closely, have a strong following in the country. the floor to presumed victims of abuses allegedly committed by the Malian army and the private Russian group Wagner. national radio and television stations, as well as Malian news sites and newspapers, the rebroadcasting and/or publication of programs and press articles from RFI and France 24″. Colonel Maïga also considers that “the actions of RFI and France 24 resemble, in the recent past, the practices and the infamous role of the radio ‘Mille Collines'”, which had encouraged the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. With AFP and Reuters