The African Editors Forum (TAEF) has condemned troubling deterioration of press freedom by military authorities in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.
In a statement signed at the weekend by its President, Churchill Otieno, TAEF said it observed a troubling resurgence and intensification of repression of the media in the three Sahel countries.
It said the military authorities in the aforementioned countries had effectively shut the media space, snuffed out freedom of expression and the press and had become increasingly hostile to journalists
In particular it urged the military authorities in Burkina Faso, to free and allow the media to operate and ensure the safety of all journalists in that country.
It also raised alarm that several international media outlets including , BBC, VOA, RFI, TV5, Deutsche Welle, Radio Vatican, Le Monde, Libération among others as well local media such as Radio Omega and l’Evènement have either been closed or suspended in Burkina Faso.
It said that under the watch of President Traore, an aggressive nationwide campaign to silence critical journalism and freedom of expression,and kidnapping of journalists and human
rights defenders had been reported.
TAEF said that it had become common for reporters covering protests in these countries to be threatened or subjected to violence.
It would be recalled that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger had announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following the creation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) in response to ECOWAS suspending the three countries after the military takeovers, which occurred in August 2021 in Mali, September 2022 in Burkina Faso and July 2023 in Niger.
According to TAEF the deterioration of the political and security environment had brought an increased pressure on journalists and self-censorship, worsening the environment for journalism and access to plural media, compelling news organisations fearing for their safety to resort to the publication of news and information favourable to the military leaders, an atmosphere that has gradually overshadowed critical reporting.