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“I escaped being kidnapped in Douala last Sunday (August 11). The next day, they tried another strike near the Equinox,” denounced Aristide Mono in Meta, Saturday, August 17. The Cameroonian columnist essentially claims that he is under constant surveillance. A year ago, May 29, 2023, Master Fabian Kennelawyer CameroonianWhen leaving the Equinoxe office building in Douala, he was brutally arrested by an agent of the Military Security Service (Semile) and then subjected to rigorous interrogation. Common ground: These two people have close ties with the opposition and are often invited to the stage.
Does the spring equinox bring bad luck? This Douala-based chain, founded in 2006 by Séverin Tchounkeu, is one of the few that does. media His position is somewhat awkward in confronting power. Two weeks ago, the government regulator, the National Communications Commission (CNC), ordered the debate show to be suspended. Right of reply for “professional misconduct”.
The show is one of the most popular shows in the country and airs every Sunday from 12 noon to 2 pm and is recognized for its content. Your liberal and uncompromising tone towards the government. Duval Fangwa, the publishing director and program host of Equinoxe Television Group, has been suspended for one month by the CNC for allegedly making unfounded, innuendo-filled and offensive remarks during his July 7 show.
Shadow Madeline Thunter
The suspension follows three complaints to the CNC, some of which were filed last January. The first concerned the moderator’s failure to regroup a panelist who had made potentially defamatory remarks, and the second Madeleine Tchuente, Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation (Minresi)The content of the third remains unknown. If the council members unanimously admitted “professional misconduct” related to the first complaint and postponed the third indefinitely, their opinions on the request filed by Madeleine Tchuente were more divided.
She believes she has been unfairly accused of embezzlement. COVID-19 Gateproposed by the panelists in January. even For months, Minresi exercised his right of reply in accordance with broadcasting rules during the incriminating broadcasts. However, out of dissatisfaction, Tchuente personally contacted the CNC about the same facts. According to anonymous sources, the Council should not approve the channel again because it has complied with the legal requirements.
Censorship and social media
As an alternative, Equinoxe TV has launched a new show called 237 Debate, Proposed by Pierre Laverdure Ombang, it uses a format similar to Right of reply. However, on August 12, CNC President Joseph Chebonkeng Kalabubse issued a press release ordering the CEO of Equinoxe Television Group to immediately suspend the broadcast of CNC programs. 237 Debate, He thinks this is a Right of reply Disguised. The following Sunday, when the audience was mobilized to watch the new program, the channel played a song with the slogan: “Equinoxe Télévision, beyond images, we report”, accompanied by a red stamp that read “censorship”. In solidarity, thousands of Internet users expressed their support on social networks.
Regarding this new suspension, the source denounced it as a serious violation of the professional rules of the body responsible for assisting public authorities. A suspension decided by the National Council should not be based on the decision of one person, even if that person is the President. Such a decision should be made by a full court. However, in this specific case, Chairman of CNC Acting alone, through and Simple communication. In fact, it is the freedom of expression enjoyed by the media that has brought it into the regime’s sight, said the Mandela Center, an international non-governmental organization with special consultative status with the United Nations. “The managers of the Cameroonian private television channel Equinoxe TV in Douala are facing serious threats,” the NGO stressed in a press release.
Historic resistance
Tensions between Severin Toncu’s media and those in power are not new. In February 2008, then Communications Minister Emmanuel Biyiti Bi Essam suspended the channel, which is based in Douala, a city often seen as a bastion of the anti-Biya rebellion, for not paying its dues. million CFA francs (about 150,000 euros) needed to obtain an operating license. The decision came a few weeks after Equinoxe aired the images. Political demonstrations against constitutional amendments in Cameroonwhich has allowed President Paul Biya to remain in power after 2011, even though his term is coming to an end. The connection between these events was not lost on the large number of demonstrators who gathered at the channel to show their support.
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Most recently, in March 2020, the channel retweeted Human Rights Watch’s Waste Massacrethus leading to accusations wait Threat Paul starts drinking waterMinister of Territorial Administration. Séverin Tchounkeu defended himself vigorously. He specifically refuted accusations that he runs a non-republican “Radio des Milles Hills” station that incites hatred. The governor of the Littoral Province, Samuel Ivaha Diboua, also stepped up the pressure, accusing the channel of “inciting popular rebellion.” Faced with these accusations, the CNC received direct instructions from the president to shut down Equinoxe TV, a decision that could mark the end of the channel.
Tragic incident
Recently suspended Right of reply It’s part of an increasingly tense political climate marked by increased government control over public space. strength nearPresidential ElectionA few days before the National Committee’s decision on August 8, 2024, a meeting of top national leaders was held, including Ferdinand Wu Wuthe Secretary General of the Presidency, the Minister of Communications, René Emmanuel Saadi, and the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Ngi.
At a press conference, authorities warned the media not to publish any statements that could threaten “public order.” of Mfoundi, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent believed them. On July 16, he signed a An order prohibiting one from staying within the jurisdiction of his command “Anyone who calls for rebellion against government institutions this Republic, dangerously insulting these institutions or their representatives, or promising of Behavior that may seriously disrupt public order.”
Equinoxe TV, which first had viewers in Cameroon in 2020, ahead of TV Novelas and TV5 Monde, is part of a wider context of media repression in the country. This climate is marked by tragic events, such as Assassination of journalist Martínez Joko in January 2023Many other journalists have been arrested, intimidated or forced into exile. This systematic repression puts Cameroon in the “red zone” for press freedom, according to the Journalists Innocence Rankings. boundary (RSF).
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