Mali suspends broadcasting of France 24 and Radio France International

Bamako, 17 March The transitional military government of Mali opened a procedure to suspend the broadcasting of French public radio and television radio France International (RFI) and France 24 until further notice. After doing what this media described as “unfounded false"Allegations against the Mali army”. In a statement signed by a spokesperson, Colonel Abdulaye Maiga of the Mali government claims that he came to power after two coups in the African country and that he knew with deep disappointment about the false abuse committed by the Mali Army (FAMA) against civilians and the violation of human rights and international legal humanitarianism”. And he attributes these claims to three sources: a statement by Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on March 8, the Human Rights Watch report on March 15, and the report of the RFI on March 14 and 15. The government sanctioned by the Economic Community of the West African National Economic Community (ECOWAS) fails to fulfill its promise that “given the time of this media hype, the government destabilizes the transition and deduces a premeditated strategy to demoralize the Mali people and distrust the brave FAMA,” calling for a transitional period of 5 years after calling for a transitional period of 5 years. According to the statement, certain statements from the RFI “have no other purpose than to “ethnize” Mali's anxiety, thereby spreading hatred and revealing the criminal intent of journalists. It is compared to the broadcast of Mille Collines radio, which promoted genocide in 1994 in Rwanda. The government “expressly rejects these false claims” and “announced that it has opened a procedure for suspending RFI broadcasting on shortwave and FM and France24 television until further notice in accordance with the laws and regulations in force in Mali. All digital nationwide platforms”. It also prohibits all national radio and television stations, as well as digital media and newspapers, from “re-broadcasting and/or publishing broadcast and press articles from the RFI and France24 following the entry into force of the suspension.”