Thirty media outlets and press freedom groups on Wednesday called for Mali and Burkina Faso’s ruling juntas to safeguard journalists in the face of mounting threats. In an open letter published on World Press Freedom Day, the signatories said they were alarmed by threats and intimidation of the press in Burkina Faso, which included calls for journalists to be murdered. They also cited the suspension of French international media including France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI), and the expulsion of correspondents from the French newspapers Liberation and Le Monde.
In Mali, there is rising “pressure and intimidation,” the letter said. The signatories included Burkinabe media outlets, Malian television station Joliba, France 24, Liberation, Le Monde and RFI, as well as journalists’ associations and rights organisations. The letter, addressed to the heads of major African and international organisations, highlights repression from the authorities and refers to the spread of jihadist violence the two Sahel countries are facing. “The fight against terrorism must never be used as a pretext to impose a new standard of news,” it said.
The two countries on Wednesday fell further down the World Press Freedom Index, compiled by the watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Burkina Faso, ruled by the military after two coups in 2022, dropped from 41st to 58th place out of 180 this year. Mali, which has also been ruled by the military since 2020, fell from 111th to 113th place.
The Sahel is becoming a “no-news zone,” RSF warned. The letter urged the Malian and Burkinabe authorities to “put a stop to all measures that undermine press freedom” and “guarantee the protection” of media workers. They also called for “impartial, effective and independent investigations” into violations.
The president of the Maison de la Presse du Mali, an NGO that speaks with the authorities and claims to represent part of the media, accused organisations such as RSF of supporting “a specific foreign press” whose reporting was biased. “The skewed, selective, racist, contemptuous and scandalous coverage by this foreign press gives us valid and justified reasons each day to condemn them,” El Hadj Bandiougou Dante said.
