RSF challenges Congolese regulator’s restrictions on FRN
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Kivumorningpost
Reporters Without Borders considers disproportionate the recommendation by the Congolese High Council for Broadcasting and Communication banning media from giving the floor to the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation. The organisation says its wording could hinder coverage of the conflict in eastern DR Congo, according to Kivumorningpost.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a press freedom organisation, is challenging the decision by the Congolese High Council for Broadcasting and Communication (CSAC) banning Congolese media from giving the floor to leaders and members of the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN) in their coverage of the armed conflict in eastern DR Congo. RSF denounced a “disproportionate restriction”, according to Kivumorningpost.
The recommendation also bans the “legitimisation” or “normalisation” of FRN activities and targets representatives of banned political parties. It applies to audiovisual media, journalists, commentators, guests, content creators and influencers, who face sanctions provided for by law in the event of non-compliance.
RSF considers the regulator’s wording “dangerously vague” and calls on the CSAC to safeguard journalists’ right to report on the security situation and gather statements from the various actors. Adopted in a plenary session on 15 October and signed on 19 October in Kinshasa, the recommendation notably bans the broadcasting of interviews, live appearances or statements from the FRN and armed structures linked to it, according to Kivumorningpost.
The challenge comes as civil society organisations in eastern DR Congo support Kabila’s movement, which is led by former president Joseph Kabila.
