FOTP 2013 Full Report

has increased to at least six in recent years, while the country’s first private television channels,DhiTV and VTV, began operating in 2008 and compete with the state-run broadcaster. Privateoutlets are authorized through individual agreements with the government rather than newbroadcasting legislation, limiting their legal protections. Moreover, broadcasters remain subjectto high annual licensing fees and must be relicensed every year. Most newspapers are notprofitable and rely on financial backing from businessmen with strong political interests. Privatemedia have been under significant financial pressure since 2009, when the government beganpublishing its advertisements in the weekly official gazette instead of private outlets.The internet was accessed by about 39 percent of the population in 2012, and the numberof web-based news outlets has greatly expanded.MaliStatus: Partly FreeLegal Environment: 13Political Environment: 21Economic Environment: 12Total Score: 46Survey Edition 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012Total Score, Status 27,F 26,F 25,F 24,F 24,FStatus change explanation: Mali declined from Free to Partly Free due to the repression of themedia in the south as a result of the March military coup, and the near-complete suppression offreedom of the press in the north, which was taken over by Islamist militants for most of 2012.This included a temporary suspension of the constitution, arbitrary arrests of journalists, thetakeover of the state broadcaster, and restrictions on reporting on the coup in the south; theclosure or takeover of nearly all outlets and the imposition of Islamic law in the north; andharassment and attacks on journalists in both regions.Mali’s political and media environments have long been among the freest in Africa. This statuswas severely damaged in 2012 due to the combined effects of a militant takeover of the north ofthe country beginning in January, followed two months later by a military coup that overthrew itsdemocratically elected government based in the south. In January, a predominantly Tuareg rebelgroup, the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad (NMLA), and local and foreignIslamist groups—Ansar Dine and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO),respectively—took control of the towns in the north and declared the region’s independencefrom the government in the capital, Bamako. In March, soldiers led by Captain Amadou Sanogo,accusing President Amadou Toumani Touré of mishandling the northern rebellion, led a coupdeposing the president just one month before the next scheduled election. Meanwhile, theIslamist groups gained the upper hand in the north and imposed Sharia (Islamic law). Theseevents had a devastating impact on Mali’s traditionally free press, bringing reporting restrictions,intimidation and arrests of journalists, and the closure of several outlets. By the end of 2012, the10 percent of Mali’s population living in the north remained under a severely restricted media261