AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.—The Constitution provides for freedom of expression,
subject to certain limitations; however, despite government statements in support
of free speech and a free press, the Government broadly restricted these rights.
The Government prohibited talk or chants in public that it considered seditious, established
defamation and slander as criminal offenses, and prohibited communications
that insulted the President; incited violence, discrimination, or hatred; or disturbed
the public peace. Sanctions included fines, revocation of press cards, imprisonment,
and banishment.
In December a journalist was arrested and tried in Conakry for the defamation
of a public official. The journalist was sentenced to 1-year imprisonment but subsequently
was pardoned by President Conte.
In July 2001, police in Conakry closed the offices of the UFR, whose leader vocally
opposed the Government’s campaign to extend the President’s term in office. The
office reopened during 2001 and the UFR continued to function as an opponent of
the administration.
The Government published an official newspaper, the daily Horoya, and operated
the official television and radio (ORTG) stations. The state-owned media provided
extensive and favorable coverage of the Government and ruling party, while providing
little coverage of opposition party activities. For example, the Government
and the PUP used the state-owned media to campaign for constitutional changes to
allow a third term for President Conte (see Section 3). Journalists for the official
press practiced self-censorship and avoided reporting on politically controversial
issues. However, some younger broadcast journalists for the official press reported
critically about the Government.
There was a vocal private press that criticized the President and the Government.
For example, the weekly satirical newspaper Le Lynx published front-page cartoons
lampooning the President and senior government officials. Seven private newspapers
(Le Lynx, La Lance, L’Oeil, Le Democrat, L’Independant, La Nouvelle Tribune,
and L’Observateur) were published weekly in Conakry, and up to 10 other publications
appeared sporadically, although technical difficulties and high operating
impeded regular publication. Le Lynx and La Lance, under the same management,
had Internet web sites. One newspaper, L’Espoir, was affiliated with the governing
political party, and several other newspapers were affiliated with opposition parties.
Other newspapers offered news and criticism of both the Government and the opposition.
However, because the literacy rate was only approximately 35 percent of the
total population and the price of newspapers was beyond the reach of the average
citizen, print media had a limited audience. Despite the limited reach of the print
media, the Government still occasionally criticized and harassed print journalists.
In December the Government suspended three newspapers—Croisade, Diplomate,
and Defi—for unspecified reasons.
The Government-controlled press promoted ruling party candidates during the
June legislative elections. Opposition parties were allowed 5 minutes on government
television and radio per party per night during the final month leading up to the
election.
Political tracts occasionally circulated in Conakry and other urban areas. Some
tracts supported the Government, while others specifically criticized senior officials.
Foreign publications, some of which criticized the Government, often were available.
In July an army officer detained the editor of the newspaper L’Aurore and then
released him the following day.
The trial of the journalist arrested in July 2000 for publishing an article about
the electric company Sogel still was pending at year’s end, although he had been
released.
The Government owned and operated all domestic broadcast media including
radio, which was the most important source of information for the public. Although
the law permits private electronic media, the Government never has approved license
requests for private radio and television stations, on the grounds of national
security and stability. Many citizens listened regularly to foreign-origin shortwave
radio. The Government did not restrict access to or distribution of foreign television
programming via satellite or cable; although relatively few citizens could afford
these services.
The Government did not restrict access to the Internet. At year’s end, there were
four domestic service providers, three private and one affiliated with SOTELGUI,
the joint venture telephone company (owned by the Government and a Malaysian
telecommunications firm), which held a monopoly on international telephone lines.
Storefront operations offering Internet access were common throughout downtown
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