Burkina Faso has suspended Voice of America (VOA) for three months and temporarily banned the relay of international broadcasts by local media.
The media regulator, Conseil supérieur de la communication (CSC), announced the suspension of VOA on October 7, 2024, citing a September 19, 2024 interview broadcast by the American channel. The CSC accused the VOA of demoralising the troops of Burkina Faso and neighbouring Mali in the said broadcast, titled Washington Forum. It also said the said broadcast “condoned terrorism.”
The CSC also deplored what it termed the dissemination of “malicious and biased information” by national outlets from international media reports. Local media outlets have consequently been barred by the government from relaying international media programmes. The interview that led to the suspension for VOA was rebroadcast by Omega FM/TV, a private local broadcast station.
The VOA has shut down its FM transmitter in Ouagadougou in compliance with the CSC’’s orders, but says it disagrees with the regulator’s view.
“But, while VOA respects the regulatory framework within Burkina Faso, we do not agree with what we believe are incorrect assertions made by the CSC,” the media organisation’s news website quoted a spokesperson, Niger Gibbs, as saying.
“Our goal was to approach the topic in a fair and impartial way. We are sorry that the CSC did not agree,” Gibbs added.
This is the second time in six months that the VOA has been suspended in Burkina Faso. The American news channel was one of several foreign media outlets suspended in April 2024 over their publications on a report by Human Rights Watch that accused the Burkinabe army of massive human rights violations against civilians.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is deeply concerned about the sanctions meted out to the VOA and censorship of local news outlets. The activities of terror groups have a direct impact on the lives of the people of Burkina Faso. Similarly, the anti-terror operations of the defence and security forces are a matter of national and international interest which the media are supposed to highlight in order to inform the population. The MFWA therefore finds the attempt to censor reporting on the subject as unfortunate and unhelpful.
We urge the authorities in Burkina Faso to reconsider their suspension of VOA as well as their ban on the local media from using foreign reports.
