The government of Guinea-Bissau is under strong suspicion following the interruption of the transmission of two foreign communication channels on July 13, 2023. However, it has denied responsibility for the interruptions.
Prior to the shutdown, the government had released a statement in which it rebuked the media for allegedly biased and offensive reports against the country’s head of state.
RTP Africa and RDP Africa, both owned and operated by Portugal’s state broadcaster, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, were shut down four days after the government threatened to take “corrective measures” against the media outlets due to an alleged editorial bias aimed at President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and a specific group of rulers in the country. The government claimed that the two channels were making “blatant accusations”.
Government spokesman Fernando Vaz criticized the media for allegedly failing to report positively on the first summit of West African heads of state held in Guinea-Bissau. Vaz regretted that the summit was a significant milestone for the country after half a century of independence. The spokesman accused the media of trying to compromise President Embaló’s reputation and minimize Guinea-Bissau’s diplomatic achievements.
A few days after the statement, the signals of the Portuguese media organizations were cut off, and the channels posted a brief message on their websites explaining that the interruption was a matter of “higher orders”.
Against this backdrop, the interruption of the transmission of the two media channels was widely suspected to have been orchestrated by the government in fulfillment of its threat. However, in a statement issued on July 15, 2023, the government denied being behind the interruption. It claimed that Portuguese state media broadcasters RTP Africa and RDP Africa were off the air due to technical problems caused by heavy rains and winds.
“Guinea-Bissau is a democratic state under the rule of law, where freedom of the press and freedom of expression are guaranteed. All national and international radio stations that do not have specific agreements to broadcast on national antennas are operating normally, including RTP Africa and RDP Africa,” the government said in its statement.
However, the government’s statement has been met with much doubt by many in the country and rejected by the media fraternity. A senior journalist from the affected media organizations, who spoke to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) on condition of anonymity, rejected the government’s claim that the channels went off air due to technical problems caused by heavy rains and winds.
“Futile, lies without substance. There were no technical problems of any kind, as many other major media, including state media, continued broadcasting,” said the journalist.
An executive from one of the country’s leading press freedom organizations also insisted that the outage was not the result of any natural occurrence, but rather an act of sabotage. They stopped short of naming the perpetrators, after revealing that technicians at the site where Media’s antennas are located were ordered to cut the signals.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) welcomes the resumption of broadcasting by the media. However, we consider the circumstances surrounding the interruption to be rather suspicious and indicative of a deliberate act of intimidation.
While we recognize the government’s right to protect its reputation against unjustified attacks or accusations, it is important that this right is not exercised to stifle the media.
