Attacks on the Press in 2010 - Committee to Protect Journalists

<strong>Attacks</strong> on the Press in 2010country summariesSummaries in this chapter were written by Mohamed Keita, CPJ’s Africaadvocacy coordinator, and Tom Rhodes, CPJ’s Nairobi-based East Africaconsultant.AngolaPresident José Eduardo dos Santos led one of the world’s fastest-growingeconomies, but he faced criticism over social inequalities, corruption,and press freedom violations. Capitalizing on booming oil production anddiamond mining, his government invested a reported US$1 billion to hostthe 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in January. But the soccer tournament,which the government saw as an opportunity to enhance its internationalimage, was marred when separatist guerrillas ambushed the Togolesenational team, killing two people, including a journalist, and exposing theprecarious security situation in the restive enclave of Cabinda. Dos Santos,in power since 1979, and his ruling Popular Movement for the Liberationof Angola (MPLA) sought to tamp down on independent reporting of theambush. By mid-year, a corporate entity whose principals were not disclosedhad purchased three of the country’s leading independent newspapersand toned down their coverage.Insecurity in Cabinda, a sliver of land separated from Angola by theneighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, made worldwide headlineson January 8 when gunmen attacked a convoy of vehicles carrying Togo’ssoccer team. Stanislas Ocloo, 35, a sportscaster with the Togolese nationalbroadcaster TVT, and assistant coach Hamelet Abulo were killed. TheFront for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda claimed responsibilityfor the attack, according to news reports. Writing on the CPJ Blog in June,award-winning Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais said the governmentpressured Catholic-run Radio Ecclésia and state media not to usetheir reporters’ firsthand accounts of the attack. Without that reporting,which would have shed light on possible security failures, authorities wereable to shift and avoid responsibility, he said. “The censorship compoundedwith the dearth of knowledge among international media allowed thegovernment to rewrite the narrative unchallenged. Authorities sought togarner international sympathy on antiterrorism grounds, then pass blameonto the Togolese team itself,” Marques wrote. The team was unjustlyblamed for not notifying authorities of its itinerary, an assertion that thefacts on the ground could have debunked, he said.Following the attack, the government arrested nine people, includinglocal community leaders, and charged them with endangering national24