Burkina Faso: The government suspends RFI until further notice for broadcasting false information.
The transitional government of Burkina Faso has decided to suspend RFI programmes throughout the country. The news came in the afternoon of Saturday 3 December.
In the press release announcing the suspension of Radio France Internationale, the authorities claim that RFI is willing to serve as a relay channel for armed terrorist groups. Indeed, RFI has published false information on Burkina, which could worsen the security situation to which the government is committed.
“In a report broadcast on Saturday, December 3, 2022, Radio France Internationale relayed a message of intimidation of the population attributed to a terrorist leader,” the Burkinabe government statement said. For the transitional authorities, RFI contributes to undermining the morale of people who have committed themselves as Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland. In the rest of the statement, the government said it was outraged on Friday, December 2, by the information shared by the media that highlighted some of the comments made by Captain Ibrahim Traore during his meeting with civil society organizations.
The Burkinabe government points to a passage that appeared in the RFI press: “the President of the transition, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, assures that an attempted coup d’état has targeted his power. The Burkinabe government spokesman returned to the remarks made by Captain Ibrahim Traoré during the meeting with civil society organisations and religious and traditional leaders to make corrections. Captain Ibrahim Traoré confirmed “destabilisation attempts” and not an “attempted coup d’état”,
It should be noted that, on 3 November, the government of Burkina Faso had already called to order the French media on the dissemination of information on the recruitment process of terrorist fighters on Burkinabe soil.
Miss OLY
