Global Voices » Angola

Angola: Angola's Sweet Success

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:12:07 +0000

Mark and Jana blogs about Angola's sweet success: “Around 70% of Biocom’s sugar cane is turned into sugar. The remaining 30% is used for ethanol and the production of electricity. Electric power is produced by burning sugar cane waste. The vapour released during the process is channelled into a high-pressure turbine. The energy that is generated as a result can light up a city of up to 400,000 people, Biocom says.”

Africa: Review: The Chicken Thief

Ndesanjo Macha — Wed, 09 May 2012 17:44:06 +0000

Nana reviews The Chicken Thief by Fiona Leonard: “The Chicken Thief (2011; 340) by Fiona Leonard has been described as a political thriller of sorts. Set in an unnamed African country, it provides a different take on the struggle for independence in a southern Africa country.”

Angola: Loss of a Human Rights Advocate

Sara Moreira — Fri, 04 May 2012 15:32:58 +0000

Megan Eardley, from Africa is a Country, published a translation of the condolences statement from Angolan human rights group OMUNGA [pt], on the assassination of one of their volunteers, Júlio Kussema. Eardley writes about OMUNGA's work and adds that “protesters (…) face police intimidation and alarming levels of state violence this spring”.

Africa: Calls for Transparency Over Marked Increase in Land Deals

Lova Rakotomalala — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:25:59 +0000

An international coalition of researchers and NGOs have released the world's largest public database of international land deals, reports the Global Development blog of The Guardian's (UK). This marks an important milestone in highlighting a developmental issue that has received little attention in the international news cycle.

The report states that almost 5% of Africa's agricultural land has been bought or leased by investors since 2000, and emphasizes the fact that this is not a new issue, yet points out that the number of such land deals has increased tremendously in the past five years.

Many observers are increasingly worried that these land deals usually take place in the world's poorest countries and that they impact its most vulnerable population, the farmers. The benefits seldom go to the general population, partially because of a lack of transparency in the proceedings of the transactions.

An additional report by Global Witness, entitled Dealing with Disclosure, emphasizes the dire need for transparency in the making of land deals.

World's poorest nations targeted

The Global Witness report lists that 754 land deals have been identified, involving the majority of African countries for about 56.2 million hectares.

Target countries of land deals from the Land Matrix Project

The nations targeted are usually some of the poorest in the world. The countries with the most deals in place are Mozambique (92 deals), Ethiopia (83), Tanzania (58) and Madagascar (39). Some of those deals have made headlines because they were conducted to ensure control over food imports, when the targeted regions faced major food crises.

The NGO GRAIN has already explained in detail the gist of their concerns in an extensive report released in 2008:

Today’s food and financial crises have, in tandem, triggered a new global land grab. On the one hand, “food insecure” governments that rely on imports to feed their people are snatching up vast areas of farmland abroad for their own offshore food production. On the other hand, food corporations and private investors, hungry for profits in the midst of the deepening financial crisis, see investment in foreign farmland as an important new source of revenue. As a result, fertile agricultural land is becoming increasingly privatised and concentrated. If left unchecked, this global land grab could spell the end of small-scale farming, and rural livelihoods, in numerous places around the world.

In Malawi, land deals have grown increasingly prevalent to the detriment of the local farmers. A report from Bangula explains the challenges faced by Malawian farmers, Dorothy Dyton and her family:

Like most smallholder farmers in Malawi, they did not have a title deed for the land Dyton was born on, and in 2009 she and about 2,000 other subsistence farmers from the area were informed by their local chief that the land had been sold and they could no longer cultivate there. […] Since that time, said Dyton, “life has been very hard on us.” With a game reserve on one side of the community and the Shire river and Mozambique border on the other, there is no other available land for them to farm and the family now ekes out a living selling firewood they gather from the nearby forest.

Land construction in Madagascar. Photo by Foko Madagascar, used with the author's authorization

Farmers in Madagascar share similar concerns because they do not own the rights to the land they farm and an effective land reform is yet to be implemented. The Malagasy association Terres Malgaches has been at the forefront of land protection for the local population. They report that [fr]:

Les familles malgaches ne possèdent pas de document foncier pour sécuriser leurs terres contre les accaparements de toutes sortes. En effet, depuis la colonisation, l’obtention de titres fonciers auprès de l’un des 33 services des domaines d’un pays de 589 000 km2 nécessite 24 étapes, 6 ans en moyenne et jusqu’à 500 dollars US. (..) . Face aux convoitises et accaparements dont les terres malgaches font l’objet actuellement, seule la possession d’un titre ou d’un certificat foncier, seuls documents juridiques reconnus, permet d’entreprendre des actions en justice en cas de conflit.

Malagasy families do not usually own an estate property document that enable them to secure their lands against land grab. In fact, since colonial times, one has needed about 24 steps, 6 years and up to 500 US dollars to get such documents. There are merely around 33 agencies in the country that deliver such documents for a country that is 589,000 kilometres square […] In the face of the increasing land grabs that Malagasy land is currently at risk of, this certificate is the only document that can trigger legal action in case of conflict.

The association also reports on the practices of a mining company Sheritt, in Ambatovy, which have created a buzz in the local blogosphere because of environmental concerns for the local population and business malpractices (via MiningWatch Canada):

Sherritt International’s Ambatovy project in eastern Madagascar – costing $5.5 billion to build and scheduled to begin full production this month – will comprise a number of open pit mines (..) it will close in 29 years. There are already many concerns about the mine from the thousands of local people near the facilities. They say that their fields are destroyed ; the water is dirty ; the fish in the river are dead and there have been landslides near their village. During testing of the new plant, there have been at least four separate leaks of sulphur dioxide from the hydro-metallurgical facility which villagers say have killed at least two adults and two babies and sickened at least 50 more people. In January, laid-off construction workers from Ambatovy began a wildcat strike, arguing that the jobs they were promised when construction ended have not materialized. The people in nearby cities like Moramanga say that their daughters are increasingly engaged in prostitution.

Video of a worker's testimony in Ambatovy.

Solutions for the local population?

The plight of Madagascar's farmers' plight may be slowly changing though. Land reform discussions are in progress, according to this report:

According to a paper presented at the 2011 International Conference on Global Land Grabbing, about 50 agribusiness projects were announced between 2005 and 2010, about 30 of which are still active, covering a total land area of about 150,000 ha. Projects include plantations to produce sugar cane, cassava and jatropha-based biofuel.
To prevent the negative impacts of land grabbing, (The NGO) EFA has set up social models for investors, with funding from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The goal is to help investors negotiate with the people in the area where they want to implement projects, as a way to prevent future problems.

Joachim Von Braun, formerly of the International Food Policy Insitute (IFPRI), wrote the following regarding land deals:

It is in the long-run interest of investors, host governments, and the local people involved to ensure that these arrangements are properly negotiated, practices are sustainable, and benefits are shared. Because of the transnational nature of such arrangements, no single institutional mechanism will ensure this outcome. Rather, a combination of international law, government policies, and the involvement of civil society, the media, and local communities is needed to minimize the threats and realize the benefits.

The need for transparency in land deals is further emphasized by Megan MacInnes, Senior Land Campaigner at Global Witness:

Far too many people are being kept in the dark about massive land deals that could destroy their homes and livelihoods. That this needs to change is well understood, but how to change it is not. For the first time, this report (Dealing with Disclosure) sets out in detail what tools governments, companies and citizens can harness to remove the shroud of secrecy that surrounds land acquisition. It takes lessons from efforts to improve transparency in other sectors and looks at what is likely to work for land. Companies should have to prove they are doing no harm, rather than communities with little information or power having to prove that a land deal is negatively affecting them.

Guinea-Bissau: International Reactions to the Military Coup

Sara Moreira — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:02:02 +0000

Following the military coup in Guinea-Bissau, on April 12, Angolan Foreign Policy Professor Belarmino Van-Dúnem wrote an analysis [pt] on the roles of the Armed Forces and the international community. ECOWAS talks to restore civilian rule during the weekend resulted on the decision to impose sanctions on the military junta. Former Prime Minister Gomes Junior and Interim President Raimundo Pereira were released on April 27.

Africa: African Photography Blog

Ndesanjo Macha — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:03:53 +0000

Visit Kilele, an African photography blog: “Firstly, it’s a personal blog so the majority of photos appeal to me in some way. Otherwise the blog has enabled me to discover emerging African photographers as well as see different images of Africa.”

Angola: Youth Demonstration Against Alcoholism Violently Repressed

Sara Moreira — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:59:03 +0000

According to Facebook reports, today's youth demonstration against alcoholism, prostitution and domestic violence (April 28), was violently repressed, informed [pt] the blog Angola Resistente. On April 23, an opinion article [pt] from Makuta Nkondo stated that in a year of elections, the ruling party since 1975, MPLA, organizes “food and drinks marathons” in order to please and distract the voters.

Angola/Mozambique: Emerging Platforms for Artistic Production

Sara Moreira — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:27:31 +0000

Blog of African contemporary culture Dá Fala shared a call for proposals on Emerging Platforms for Artistic Production in Angola and Mozambique, to be published on an issue of Critical Interventions that will explore “recent scenarios of art platforms as extensions and articulations of state, private, and individual power”, and “networks across media in the visual and performative arts.”

Guinea-Bissau: Coup d'Etat and the Angolan Military Mission

Janet Gunter — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:29:13 +0000

At nightfall on Thursday, April 12, 2012, dozens of military personnel took the streets of the capital of Guinea-Bissau, the headquarters of the historic political party in power, PAIGC (Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, or African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde), and the National Radio, starting yet another coup d'etat in a country that since independence in 1974 has never seen an elected president make it to the end of term.

In recent weeks, two events raised the tension levels in the military and political arenas: as Global Voices reported, there were allegations of “generalized fraud” by the opposition in the first round of presidential elections on March 18 (early elections due to the death of President Malam Bacai Sanhá in January 2012) and the announcement of the withdrawal of the Angolan Security Mission in the country, MISSANG.

Headquarters of the presidential candidate Carlos Gomes Junior (PAIGC), also known as Cadogo, during the campaign for presidential elections. Photo by Giuseppe Piazzolla coypright Demotix (12/03/2012)

The armed forces and the quest for arms

News of the military withdrawal [pt] at the beginning of the week had raised alarm about the possibility of a military coup being prepared. Guinean military personnel had taken what is considered a political stance in demanding the reinforcements of Angolan military equipment that MISSANG had received after the failed coup attempt of December 2011 - “if not, they should return it to Angola”.

The spokesman for the Guinean Armed Forces, Daba Na Walna, moreover told journalists [pt] that, two days after polls closed on March 20, the Angolan ambassador in Guinea-Bissau, General Feliciano dos Santos, had accused the General António Indjai, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, of intending to bring about a coup d'etat.

Portuguese journalist Helena Ferro de Gouveia wrote [pt] in her blog Domadora de Camalões about the “formal reasons behind the position the Guinean military men took”, and added:

[com] o afastamento dos militares angolanos, que apesar de inúmeras críticas que lhe podem ser feitas têm sido o garante de alguma estabilidade no país, a Guiné mergulharia numa nova espiral de incerteza.

Voting station for military personnel. Photo by Giuseppe Piazzolla copyright Demotix (15/03/2012)

[with] the distancing of the Angolan military, that in spite of the numerous criticisms that could be made of them have been the guarantee of some kind of stability in the country, Guinea-Bissau would plunge into a new spiral of uncertainty.

On the beginning of the 12, the National Movement of Civil Society for Peace, Democracy and Development (MNSCPDD), had announced [pt] a peaceful march “with the goal of defending the values of democracy, Peace and democracy itself,” exalting “the Armed Forces to remain neutral and non-partisan in relation to the political dispute under way in the country”.

Meanwhile, a few hours later, the coup began.

Reactions on Twitter and blogs

A little before 8pm, journalist António Aly Silva, on his blog Ditadura do Consenso (Dictatorship of Consensus), announced [pt] that “dozens of military personnel have just descended on the residence of candidate Carlos Gomes Jr (out front and out back), and also on the delegation of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and that there were “many people fleeing, running, through the city of Bissau”. Then the first shots were heard.

On Twitter, the international community did not hesitate to respond. InDepth aggregated a series of tweets and various media sources on a Storify page. A number of people, like Mel Huang (@mel_huang), mentioned the wave of rebellions that have happened in countries near Guinea-Bissau.

George Ayittey (@ayittey), economics professor and author from Ghana, vented:

Look, we are FED UP with these military brutes, bandits, vagabonds and coconut-heads: http://bbc.in/IHyHUv

To which Majaliwa (@majaliwa68), from Tanzania, responded:

yes,in the same countries…it seems they occur repeatedly in same sample of countries NOT across Africa =stereotype!

Aly Silva left an appeal to the international community:

"This is what happened to the back of the residence of Prime Minister and candidate Carlos Gomes Junior". Photo by Aly Silva

Mais de um milhão de guineenses estão reféns de militares…guineenses. Temos sido sacudidos e violentados, usurpam e tolhem-nos os nossos direitos, até o mais básico. Até quando mais a comunidade internacional vai tolerar que gente medíocre - alguma classe política, e militar faça refèm todo um povo? (…)

Nada justifica o levantar das armas, é intolerável o disparo de armas pesadas numa cidade com mais de quatrocentas mil pessoas. É criminoso, acima de tudo. Tiveram tudo para estancar a hemorragia e a orgia de violência. Sabem há muito que este é um país que nasceu, cresceu e vive sob laivos de militarismo.

(…) Não há tiros, nem feridos nas urgências e menos ainda corpos na morgue resultado de mais uma brutalidade da canalha. Não se sabe quem morreu - espero e desejo que ninguém tenha sido morto. Um país é o último, e único, refúgio seguro para o seu povo. Foi traumatizante ver mulheres e crianças a chorar; é triste ver homens e jovens a fugir de homens e jovens como eles.

More than a million Guineans are hostages of military men… Guinean ones. We have been shaken and assaulted, they have usurped and restricted our rights, even the most basic ones. How long will the international community continue to tolerate that mediocre people - some political and military class, keeps a whole people hostage? (…)

Nothing justifies taking up arms, and shooting of heavy weaponry is intolerable in a city of more than 400,000 people. It is criminal, above all else. They had all they needed to stop the bleeding and the orgy of violence. They've known for a long time that this country was born, grew up and lives in the context of militarism.

(…) There is no shooting, no wounded at the emergency room and much less victims at the morgue resulting from yet another rogue brutal act. It is not known who died - I hope and wish that nobody has been killed. The country is the last, and the only, secure refugee for its own people. It was traumatizing to see women and children crying; it is sad to see men and young people running away from men and young people just like them.

Friday 13 morning, the journalist reported that “there are more and more military on the streets, some circulating even in civilian cars. The situation has become tense again, sign that something is not right. Meanwhile, the self-named ‘Military Command' made an (unsigned) statement saying that the revolt was caused by a hypothetical 'secret agreement' between Guinea-Bissau and Angola, by the interim President Raimundo Pereira and the Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Jr.”

The whereabouts of Carlos Gomes Júnior, winner of the first round of voting for President, and Prime Minister at the time of the death of the former president, are still unknown. The second round of elections is scheduled for April 29, to be disputed with ex-President Kumba Yalá, even though he refuses to participate, having asked for the elections to be annulled and demanded that the National Electoral Commission (CNE) withdraw his name and his photo from the second round ballot in protest against alleged irregularities in the first round.

Angola: Police Confiscates Computers From the Independent Weekly Folha 8

João Miguel D. de A. Lima — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:44:28 +0000

On March 12, a police raid at the Angolan independent weekly Folha 8 resulted in about 20 computers being confiscated [pt]. Editor William Tonet points a connection with the investigation on the publication of an Internet photo montage of the president and politicians from 2011. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the raid as a “crude act of censorship”, and argues “satire is not an outrage against the state”.

Angola: Violence Against Protest for Fair Elections

Janet Gunter — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:05:09 +0000

[All links lead to Portuguese language pages except when otherwise noted.]

With the slogan: “Against Fraud in the Next Elections”, the city of Luanda was again the stage for a protest on the morning of March 10, 2012. And again, according to some reports [en], the State made its strong arm felt, repressing violently a right of all citizens.

The demonstration was supposed to protest against the ways in which the 2012 elections are being prepared. According to a note that accompanied the call to protest, the nomination by MPLA (the party in power) of its member, Suzana Inglês, to preside over the National Electoral Commission (CNE), violates Article 143 of the Law of the Elections approved in December unanimously.

Quoting the note, “The opposition has resorted to a boycott, abandoning in a block the negotiation table, in protest of the ignorant impositions of the absolute majority.”

Poster for the March 10 protest

Discontentment with the government of President José Eduardo dos Santos [en], in power since 1979, brought Angolan people to the streets again, to demand the criteria of impartiality of the Election Law, the formation of an independent National Electoral Commission, but also a more generic call to action: “Angolans United Against Corruption. Zé Du out!”

They were received with a strong police response, according to reports [en] from various people on the spot, on Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

At the end of the day, Nelson Pestana, jurist, political scientist and university researcher, summarized in a note on Facebook republished by the blog Círculo Angola Intelectual, what awaited protestors on the morning of March 10, when they met up in the neighborhood of Cazenga, in Luanda:

O bando do mal já lá estava. A Polícia Nacional estava espalha pelo percurso anunciado, colocada como se estivesse emboscada. O lumpenato nacional contava pois com o apoio e a cumplicidade da Polícia Nacional que era suposto estar ali para manter a ordem pública, garantir a segurança dos manifestantes e fazer com que a Constituição da República fosse respeitada e não fosse pisoteada por um bando de mal-feitores. O que aconteceu não foi nada disto, como teria sido, num país civilizado. Os homens do mal começaram a agredir os manifestantes, de forma inusitadamente violenta, sem mais, nem menos. Traziam barras de ferro e armas de guerra.

The band of bad guys was already there. The Police was spread out across the announced route [of the protest], positioned like there was an ambush underway. The national lumpen was then counting on the support and complicity of the National Police that was supposed to be there to maintain the public order, guarantee security of the protesters and see that the Constitution of the Republic would be respected and not be trampled on by a band of wrong-doers. What happened was none of that, as it would be, in a civilized country. The bad guys started to attack the protesters, in a gratuitously violent way, sparing nothing. They brought iron bars and the arms of war.

The blog Universal disseminated a series of updates made on location:

Luaty [Beirão, rapper conhecido como Brigadeiro Mata Frakuxz] tem a cabeça partida jorrando sangue e ainda se encontra em parte incerta; Luamba foi igualmente raptado; Explosivo Mental e Adolfo estão em situação complicada no local. Luaty Beirão foi ferido na cabeça e Mário Domingos foi levado pelos polícias. (…) Fernando Tomás, Amarildo Will Bento Tonet, Mário Domingos, organizador da manifestação voltou a desaparecer, um dos seus colegas está gravemente ferido. Segundo informações de jornalistas no local há disparos feitos pela polícia.

Luaty [Beirão, rapper known as Brigadeiro Mata Frakuxz] had his head smashed up, gushing blood and where he is still not known; Luamba was also kidnapped; Explosivo Mental and Adolfo are in tough spot there. Luaty Beirão was wounded in his head and Mário Domingos was taken by police. (…) Fernando Tomás, Amarildo Will Bento Tone, Mário Domingos, organizer of the protest disappeared again, and one of his peers is seriously wounded. According to information from journalists on the ground, shots were fired by police.

On the day before, allegedly, the government had put its plan into action. Rapper Carbono Casimiro was target of a surprise visit in his house – by a dozen individuals dressed in black, ready to attack, as its reported in the blog Central, which also published photos of the aggressors and of the victims:

"Wanted: Attackers of protesters". Image by Central 7311

A casa tinha acabado de ser invadida por uma dezena de homens trajados de preto, armados com ferros e soqueiras metálicas, que arrombaram porta, janela do quarto e que deram início a um festim de pancadaria a todos os presentes: Sampaio Liberdade, Cavera C, Santeiro, Nelito e o próprio Carbono. Chegaram numa carrinha e colocaram-se dois matulões no portão de entrada que dá acesso às três outras residências para além da do Carbono, impedindo que alguém entrasse ou saísse. Estando o único acesso à casa fechado, os jovens viram-se encurralados e foram mais uma vez castigados por pensar diferente. (…) É incrível o nível de confiança que estes homens revelam, pois em plena luz do dia e mascarados apenas com chapéus e óculos escuros, fazem tudo aos olhos de todos. Os habitantes da rua do Carbono estavam todos aglomerados lá fora assistindo, um após outro, saírem lesionados e ensanguentados os agredidos. A polícia ainda recalcitrou, resistindo, tal como acontecera com o Mário Domingos, registar a queixa. Mas os jovens não arredaram pé e essa formalidade ficou cumprida.

[Carbono Casimiro's] house had just been invaded by a dozen men wearing black, armed with iron bars and brass knuckles, who busted down the door, his room's window and began dishing out beatings to all those present: Sampaio Liberdade, Cavera C, Santeiro, Nelito and Carbono himself. They arrived in a van and put two big boys at the gate which gave access to the other houses, not letting anybody enter or leave. With the only exit sealed off, the young people found themselves trapped and were again punished for thinking differently. (…) It is incredible level of confidence that these men show, as they do everything in broad daylight with only hats and sunglasses, for everyone to see. The residents of Carbono's street were all gathered outside watching one after the other of the attacked came out injured and bloodied. The police withdrew, resisting taking a report, as had happened with Mário Domingos. But the young people did not budge and this formality was carried out.

The city of Benguela was also included on the route for freedom of speech scheduled for March 10, but police forces foiled the initiative, as one can read on Club-K:

A manifestação era organizada por um grupo de jovens da cidade capital da província de Benguela e estava marcada para acontecer no principio da tarde deste sábado, e tinha o seu ponto de partida marcado para o jardim defronte a Escola 10 de Fevereiro, com culmino no jardim defronte ao mercado municipal ” mais conhecido como jardim milionário”; mas o executivo de Benguela proibiu o evento a pretexto de não obedecer a lei. Segundo alegava na nota entregue quinta-feira aos organizadores o percurso escolhido encontravam-se duas sedes de partidos políticos, “no caso o MPLA” .

The protest was organized by a group of young people in the capital city of the province of Benguela and was set to happen in the beginning of the afternoon of this Saturday, and had as a meeting point the garden in front of the Tenth of February School, with an end-point at the garden in front of the municipal market “better known as the millionaire's garden”; but the mayor of Benguela prohibited the event on the pretext that it did not follow the law. According to the note delivered on Thursday to organizers, along the chosen route were the headquarters of political parties, “in this case MPLA [the ruling party]”.

A number of members of the Angolan association of human rights defenders OMUNGA were imprisoned as a result of police intervention in Benguela, as is explained on their blog Quintas de Debate where photos of victims were also published. The organization announced another protest for March 17, to “demand the substitution of Suzana Inglês as President of the National Electoral Commission but also in solidarity with all of our countrymen repressed, humiliated, tortured, kidnapped, discredited and insulted for wanting to construct a democratic country and to demand the end of repression, prohibition, restriction of the right to protest”.

Angola: Activists Beaten Just Days Before Protest

João Miguel D. de A. Lima — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:52:32 +0000

Two activists tell on video how they were captured by cars without license and beaten up on a remote area of the capital Luanda. Blogger Gil Gonçalves had reported [pt] on the missing men, both involved in a protest of March 10 against the nomination of Suzana Inglês to head National Electoral Commission (CNE). Elections are expected for 2012 in the country.

Angola: Gunshots and Clashes Against Demonstration

João Miguel D. de A. Lima — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:52:25 +0000

Blogger Gil Gonçalves reported about police violence [pt] during demonstration today in Luanda, based on updates of activists on Facebook. Freelancer journalist Louise Redvers tweeted, according to sources on site, that police attempted to disperse crowd with gunshots and clashes. Protesters claim the 2012 election process is strongly biased.

Africa: Interview With Africa Desk Officer at the Committee to Protect Journalists

Abdoulaye Bah — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:58:37 +0000

Abdoulaye Bah (AB): First of all, who is Mohamed Keita ?

Mohamed Keita (MK): I run the Africa desk of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which is based in New-York.

AB: What are the aims of CPJ?

MK: CPJ is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to defending press freedom worldwide since 1981. CPJ was founded by a group of eminent American journalists, including the late Walter Cronkyte and Dan Rather, to support their colleagues around the world during a period of kidnappings and murders of journalists in Lebanon and Latin America in the 1980s. CPJ cherishes its independence from any government and does not take any contributions from any state.

Logo of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Image source: http://cpj.org/.

AB: What are the African countries where freedom of expression is most at risk?

MK: Eritrea: President Isaias Afewerki brutally closed down the independent press in this Red Sea nation in a September 2001 crackdown on dissent. Since then, Isaias' information minister Ali Abdu runs and directs the propaganda machine of the state-controlled press. The government directs journalists what and how to report on. It is the African country whose prisons are holding the largest number of journalists (at least 28). All the journalists are held in secret prisons without charge or trial and without contact with their families, with many of them thought to have died in custody. Only Iran is imprisoning more journalists worldwide.

Ethiopia: In February 2011, Ethiopian police threatened to throw into prison dissident blogger Eskinder Nega if he did not stop comparing the Arab Spring uprisings to Ethiopia’s 2005 pro-democracy protests. Eskinder was arrested 9 months later on terrorism charges and faces a possible life sentence in a politicized case based on his critical online writings. Ethiopia operates sub-saharan Africa’s most extensive snd sophisticated Internet censorship infrasctructure and was ranked among CPJ’s top 10 Online Oppressors.

The government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is trailing only Eritrea in imprisonment of journalists. Almost all the journalists, including two Swedish reporters, have been charged with terrorism for reporting on opposition and rebel groups. With a series of restrictive laws, Meles' ruling EPRDF has tightned absolute grip over media licensing and regulation, the public state media and all public institutions. The independent press is limited to a handful of private newspapers and one radio station. The government also jams radio programs from Voice of America and Deutsche Welle and bans journalists’ access to the Ogaden where a rebellion is taking place. Meles' government has driven into exile the largest number of journalists in the world over the last decade.

Gambia: President Yahya Jammeh's years of intimidation of the press, a series of arson attacks on media houses, the closure of newspapers and radio stations, the unsolved murder of Deyda Hydara and the disappearance in government custody of reporter Ebrima Chief Manneh, have created a climate of terror for journalists in Gambia and forced the best journalists into exile.

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe arrested and prosecuted a man last year for posting a political comment on Facebook. President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF has allowed only a handful of independent newspapers to operate in Zimbabwe while retaining absolute grip over media licensing and regulation and national airwaves. Journalists operate under some of the world's most restrictive security and media laws.

Equatorial Guinea: President Teodoro Obiang's grip on the oil-rich nation is based on strict control of news and information. The president and his associates control all the media outlets in the country and no journalist is able to report independently about national priorities or spending or corruption.

Rwanda: Paul Kagame justifies restrictions on the press by invoking Radio Milles Collines, which in fact was a government-sponsored radio station, not an independent station. Kagame's government also abuses laws against “genocide ideology” and “ethnic divisionism” to prosecute and jail critical journalists and opinions contradicting the official version of the 1994 genocide.

Somalia: all belligerents in Somalia's conflict target journalists who are caught in the crossfire between rival militias, warlords, government and insurgents. Somalia is the deadliest country for the press in Africa: at least 40 journalists have been killed since 1992.

South Africa: President Jacob Zuma's ruling African National Congress has faced press criticism over its record on corruption, crime and poverty. To silence the critics, the government has introduced a series of legislative proposals that would criminalize investigative journalists, including the controversial Protection of State Information Bill, which critics have called the secrecy bill. Verbal and physical intimidation of journalists, particularly by the ANC’s youth league is on the rise.

Angola: President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos and his associates of the ruling MPLA control most of Angola's media outlets and enforce censorship of news and information. only 2 newspapers and 2 radio stations were not controlled by the government. Journalists reporting about official corruption are prosecuted and given prison sentences. Security forces attacked and intimidated journalists reporting on anti-government protests by youths calling for Dos Santos to step down.

Angola and Cameroon have introduced legislative measures to combat “internet crime” but the laws punish the electronic dissemination of photos and videos of public events with prison terms.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Journalists operate at the mercy of security forces, rebel groups and powerful politicians who abuse journalists in total impunity. at least 8 journalists have been murdered since 2005 with justice falling short of solving the murders.

Ethiopia's dissident blogger Eskinder Nega. Photo courtesy of Lennart Kjörling.

AB: Bloggers from North Africa have contributed significantly to the success of revolts in the countries of North Africa. Is it conceivable that in sub-Saharan Africa bloggers play a similar role?

MK: Social media tools have become platforms for the kind of dissent that is repressed offline and they are used to organize protests offline. Some governments, such as Ethiopia, Angola, and Cameroon, are beginning to crack down on this use of the Internet, by passing laws against “cyber crime” or intimidating bloggers. In addition, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube users who are posting photos and videos from the streets using their cell phones are breaking some of the biggest news in Africa these days, and traditional media is trying to keep up with them.

AB: In Mozambique, in 2008 and 2010, well before the revolutions in the Arab world, the civil society was able to organize a demonstration against the rising cost of living using SMS. In Ghana, in 2010, citizens participated massively in constitutional review by using Facebook and mobile phones. Should these examples be regarded as exceptional cases or other similar events may occur elsewhere?

MK: Social media in the hands of young citizen journalists is fueling protest movements in Angola, Nigeria and Senegal.

The cover of CPJ

AB: What role do you attribute to social media in Africa and what are the obstacles?

MK: They have democratized news and information - making it more difficult for governments and the enemies of press freedom to keep a nation into the dark. it has created a virtual bridge between Africans in the Diaspora and those in the home countries. but the users are still largely unprepared to the dangers lurking online. Zimbabwe arrested and prosecuted a man last year for posting a political comment on Facebook. and many governments regularly demand email passwords of journalists in custody. Data security is the next challenge for journalists as more of them start to mostly work online.

AB: What can we expect from the African Union?

MK: The AU has a Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression but she works only part time and lacks the resource to do her job. AU member states still lack the political will to respect press freedom and protect journalists. Regional human rights instruments like the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS) give us hope. The court issued landmark rulings against the Gambia on cases of disappearance and torture of journalists, but the problem is enforcement.

AB: The year 2011 was difficult for the press freedom in Africa, how do you see the year 2012?

MK: Each new year brings new challenges in this battle to keep the press free. The secrecy bill in South Africa has to be defeated, because South Africa is a model of democracy and free press for the continent, and this bill threatens to undo 18 years of progress since the end of Apartheid. South Sudan, the world's newest nation, is already abusing press freedom, this is also worrying. Ethiopia and Burundi's abuse of terrorism laws to prosecute and jail critical journalists is a disturbing new trend that has to be stopped. Press freedom is on the brink of extinction in Ethiopia, Angola, Gambia and Rwanda. Niger is probably the best example of a country where press freedom has advanced.

You can follow Mohamed Keita on Twitter @africamedia_CPJ and also read his articles on CPJ blog.

Angola: Documentary “Death Metal Angola”

Janet Gunter — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:23:54 +0000

New York-based producers of a documentary called “Death Metal Angola”, about the emerging metal scene in Angola and a rock festival in the city of Huambo, are raising money for post-production costs on crowdfunding platform IndieGogo. The film's tagline: “The hardest hardcore is Angolan hardcore.”