Ghana: Radio programmes banned in Northern Region
Less than two months before presidential and general elections in Ghana, radio stations operating in the Northern Region of the country have been banned from broadcasting "political" discussions, interviews and phone-in programmes. Deputy Minister for the Region Charles Bintim, who is also chairman of the Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC), imposed the ban on 11 October 2004 in a meeting with directors and news editors of radio stations in Tamale, the regional capital.
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
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ACTION ALERT - GHANA
25 October 2004
Radio programmes banned in Northern Region
SOURCE: Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Accra
(MFWA/IFEX) - Less than two months before presidential and general elections
in Ghana, radio stations operating in the Northern Region of the country
have been banned from broadcasting "political" discussions, interviews and
phone-in programmes.
Deputy Minister for the Region Charles Bintim, who is also chairman of the
Northern Regional Security Council (REGSEC), imposed the ban on 11 October
2004 in a meeting with directors and news editors of radio stations in
Tamale, the regional capital.
Bintim gave no reason for the ban on "political discussion, interviews,
newspaper reviews and phone-ins," but the ban came after a 15-year old boy,
Mohammed Amin Sumani, was shot and killed on 9 October. Bintim, without any
evidence, claimed that 70 percent of supposed tension in Tamale is caused by
the media.
Radio stations have denied the charge, claiming, on the contrary, that they
had contributed to the attainment of peace in the region by producing "peace
jingles" and providing "air-time for peace messages."
Three of the radio stations operating in the area have protested the ban,
which they say infringes on their constitutional rights to inform the people
of the region.
In a statement issued on 22 October, three of the radio stations operating
in the region, Diamond FM, Filla FM and Justice FM, protested the ban. They
called on the REGSEC, "as a matter of urgency, to review the directive and
allow [them] to carry political discussions and accept political messages,
as the continuous ban is a violation of [their] rights and tantamount to
gagging radio stations in the metropolis."
While encouraging all radio stations and journalists in the Northern Region
to be guided by their professional, ethical and constitutional obligations
of responsibility and discretion, the MFWA protests the arbitrary ban on
"political" programmes announced by the deputy minister.
BACKGROUND:
Ghana's Northern Region has been the subject of national security concerns
since the king of the Dagbon traditional area, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, was
killed in April 2002, together with 40 others, in a chieftaincy dispute.
On 17 August 2004, the government of Ghana, based on a determination that
security conditions had significantly abated, lifted a state of emergency
and curfew that had been in force since the death of the Ya-Na.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Send appeals to authorities:
- protesting the arbitrary ban on "political" programmes
- noting that the constitutional mandate of the National Media Commission
(NMC), together with the ethical sanctioning authority of the Ghana
Journalists Association (GJA), provide adequate institutional avenues for
regulating and addressing any purported professional journalistic breaches
- appealing to the REGSEC and the Interior Ministry to urgently lift the ban
imposed on the radio stations and permit the legitimate exercise of media
freedom and freedom of expression in the Northern Region
APPEALS TO:
H. E. John Agyekum Kufuor
President, Republic of Ghana
Office of the President
P.O. Box 1627
The Castle Osu
Accra, Ghana
Tel: +233 21 66 54 15 / 66 22 81
E-mail: [email protected]
Hon. Nana Akomeah
Minister of Information
Fax: +233 21 22 97 86
Hon. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang
Minister for Interior
Ministry of Interior
Fax: +233 21 66 74 50
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
For further information, contact Jeannette Quarcoopome, Media Foundation for
West Africa, P.O. Box LG 730, Legon, Ghana, tel.: +233 21 24 24 70, fax:
+231 21 22 10 84, e-mail: [email protected], Internet:
http://www.mfwaonline.org
The information contained in this action alert is the sole responsibility of
MFWA. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit
MFWA.
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