Gabon: Satirical newspaper 'Le Gri-Gri International' banned

ALERT - GABON

19 October 2001

Satirical newspaper 'Le Gri-Gri International' banned in Gabon

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontieres (RSF), Paris

(RSF/IFEX) - In a letter to Minister of the Interior Mboumbou Miyakou, RSF
asked for an explanation following the order given to the head of
Sogapresse, a Gabonese press distributing service, to stop distributing the
satirical newspaper "Le Gri-Gri International". "The banning of 'Le Gri-Gri
International' demonstrates yet again the authorities' efforts against
press
freedom in Gabon," stated Robert Mard, the organisation's
secretary-general. "The will to muzzle the press is all the more glaring
when one considers that no official explanation was offered. Once again,
the
head of state's sensitivity has collided with a satirical newspaper that
has
been very successful in Gabon," added Mard. RSF underlines that
in his
book "Blanc comme Negre" (White as Black), Gabonese President Omar
Bongo
stressed his commitment to press freedom. He notably wrote, "There are
people, such as Mitterrand or myself, who do not lose sleep over
criticism."

According to information collected by RSF, on 18 October 2001, Mr. Barre,
head of Sogapresse, asked that shipments of "Le Gri-Gri International" be
stopped. Yet, a week earlier, Sogapresse had ordered more copies of the
newspaper because of high demand for it in Gabon. National Chief of Police
Jean-Claude Labouba summoned Barre on 15 October. Labouba told him to stop
distributing "Le Gri-Gri International", explaining that this was on the
instructions of the Ministry of the Interior. Criminal Investigation
Department officers seized the last copies of the newspaper that were
available in kiosks on 12 October. They did not have a warrant to carry out
the seizure.

RSF recalls that "La Griffe", a weekly that Michel Ongoundou Loundah
published in Gabon before starting to publish "Le Gri-Gri International"
fro
m Paris, was suspended several times before being permanently banned.

The first suspension came on 12 August 1998, following a sentence by the
Libreville Correctional Tribunal in a defamation case. On 15 February 1999,
the Libreville Appeals Court annulled the tribunal's decision. On 17 March
1999, the National Communications Council (Conseil national de la
communication, CNC) suspended "La Griffe" on the pretext that the weekly's
publication director and editor-in-chief did not reside in Gabon.
Furthermore, in January 2001, President Bongo, his wife and his
sister-in-law G. Opra filed two complaints against "La Griffe"
for
slander. The two cases have yet to be heard (see IFEX alerts of 19 February
2001, 18 March 1999 and 17 August 1998).

On 15 Feburary, the CNC suspended "La Griffe" and its supplement, "Le
Gri-Gri", and temporarily barred publication director Ongoundou and
editor-in-chief Raphael Ntoutoume from working as journalists.

For further information, contact Jean-Francis Julliard at RSF, rue
Geoffroy
Marie, Paris 75009, France, tel: +33 1 44 83 84 84, fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51,
e-mail: [email protected], Internet: http://www.rsf.fr

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of RSF.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit RSF.
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