By Violet Ikong

For the second time this year, military leaders in Burkina Faso have suspended the U.S.-funded international broadcast network Voice of America (VOA) over comments made by the outlet’s reporter in a September 19 broadcast. 

The suspension, announced on October 7 by Burkina Faso’s media regulatory body, Conseil Supérieur de la Communication (CSC), is expected to last three months, owing to alleged claims that VOA’s broadcast program “Washington Forum” condoned terrorism and demoralized military troops in Burkina Faso and Mali.  

VOA spokesperson Nigel Gibbs responded to the suspension, saying the broadcast network has shut down its transmitter in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital. “But, while Voice of America respects the regulatory framework within Burkina Faso, we do not agree with what we believe are incorrect assertions made by the CSC,” he added. 

Journalists and press freedom organizations have since condemned the suspension, one of many imposed by Burkina Faso’s military junta on local and international media outlets reporting on the country’s protracted insurgency sponsored by Islamist extremists linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS). 

When Burkina Faso’s junta leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, seized power in a September 2022 coup d’etat, he promised citizens he would improve the country’s security within two to three months. But since then, security in Burkina Faso has only worsened, and the country now ranks first in the global terrorism index.

Widespread killings and human rights violations involving insurgents and the country’s military are regularly recorded in the country, and when media outlets report on these issues, they are slammed with suspensions and bans, especially when such reports are considered unpatriotic by military leaders.  

Last year, Burkina Faso’s transitional parliament passed a law allowing the junta leader, Ibrahim Traore, to appoint the president of the media regulatory body, the CSC. According to a statement from the international nonprofit Reporters Without Borders (RSF), “Until now, the CSC’s president was chosen by its nine-member Council of Sages, of whom six members were appointed by the state – three by the country’s president and one each by the heads of the National Assembly, Senate, and Constitutional Council – and three were appointed by associations of media professionals.” 

This new law has empowered the CSC to enforce stringent operational media rules that go against press freedom, including the deportation of foreign reporters as well as the arrest and detention of local reporters. Some reporters are also conscripted into the country’s army. 

Recently, three journalists – Serge Atiana Oulon, Adama Bayala, and Kalifara Séré – who went missing in June this year, were confirmed to have been forcefully conscripted into the country’s army to fight against insurgents.  

Angela Quintal, the Africa Program Coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide, reacted to the news in a statement saying, “It is outrageous and chilling that Burkinabe authorities feel it is acceptable to take journalists from their homes and offices without warning and wait four months before saying publicly that they have been forced into military service.”

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“The repeated conscription of journalists appears to be just one, aggressive tactic in a wave of censorship deployed across Burkina Faso’s media landscape,” Quintal added. 

Suspended outlets

Under Traore’s leadership, French media outlets including Jeune Afrique, Radio France Internationale, France 24, TV5Monde, Le Monde, and La Chaîne Info (LCI), have all faced suspensions and bans on different occasions. 

Other international outlets like The Guardian, the BBC, Deutsche Welle, and Voice of America have been affected as well. Local outlets, on the other hand, have gone into self-censorship while others have shut down operations for fear of sanctions and attacks from Burkina Faso’s military junta. 

The recent suspension of VOA, for instance, was accompanied by a ban of local media outlets from using international media reports because a privately owned broadcast station, Omega FM/TV, had rebroadcasted VOA’s program. 

“The media clampdown in Burkina Faso is affecting the right to information for millions of Burkina Faso people because if you go to the country’s constitution, there are provisions for press freedom, the right to know, and freedom of expression,” Saidibou Marong, West Africa Director of RSF, told Amjambo Africa. “The more we see these clampdowns, the less we see the capacity of journalists to investigate deeply,” he added. 

Burkina Faso soldiers. Image credit: UN News/Michele Cattani. 

For many Burkinabes, government-approved media outlets are now the only available sources for accessing information. “The right to pluralism of information channels is being killed. People no longer have the right to choose what channel or information they would love to listen to,” Marong said. 

Central Sahel affinity

Burkina Faso is one of three countries in West Africa that make up a region called the Central Sahel, alongside Mali and Niger which are also led by military juntas. All three countries are battling Islamist-sponsored insurgencies and leading media crackdown campaigns to control media coverage of the insurgencies. 

A 2022 Human Rights Watch report revealed that media professionals in Mali were subjected to intimidation and harassment for criticizing military authorities. In April this year, Mali’s military junta banned the media from covering political parties and their activities in the country until further notice, while in August, French outlet LCI was suspended for two months on allegations of false accusations made against the country’s military. Media outlets like Radio France Internationale, TV5Monde, and France 24 have also faced suspensions in Mali, over time. 

Similarly, Niger’s military junta suspended the country’s media umbrella organization, Maison de la Presse, in January this year, with no explanation from authorities. Amnesty International, in a May 2024 report, said, “Press freedom in Niger is in jeopardy as transitional authorities intimidate and arbitrarily arrest journalists reporting on the country’s conflict and security-related issues.”

In September this year, the judicial authorities in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger collectively opened investigations against French journalist and researcher Wassim Nasr, accusing him of “complicity and apology for terrorism,” in his coverage of jihadist attacks in the Central Sahel. 

This affinity shared by all three countries in silencing the media has seen them decline steadily in the global press freedom index ranking. Burkina Faso ranked in 41st position in 2022 with a press freedom score of 73.12, but fell to 58th in 2023, having a score of 67.64. This year, the country has further slipped to 86th position with a score of 58.24. 

In 2022, Mali ranked 111th with a score of 54.48 and slipped to 113th in 2023 with a score of 52.29. The year 2024 has seen a further decline as the country now ranks in 114th position, having a score of 50.56.

Niger fell from 59th position in 2022 with an index score of 67.8 to 61st in 2023 with a score of 66.84. Currently, the country ranks in 80th position with a score of 59.71. 

‘Cornerstone of democracy’

Amongst numerous concerns that surround the media crackdown campaign in Burkina Faso and the Central Sahel is a diminishment of the potential for these countries to transition to democratic rule. “Political processes are always complicated, but press freedom is the cornerstone of democracy. It’s critical for democracy,” said Jonathan Rozen, Senior Africa Researcher at CPJ. 

Meanwhile, journalists and press freedom organizations have continued to call for international attention to the media clampdown campaign in Burkina Faso. “What we have been calling for is attention. We need the international community to recognize what is happening in Burkina Faso. Hopefully, they will be able to help with the situation in the country, ensure the safety of journalists, and account for those who have gone missing,” Rozen said. 

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Picture: Ibrahim Traoré, president of Burkina Faso (Source: Wikipedia)