In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain
the voice of the multitude. – George Washington
Africa
Niger
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| IREX Score: 1.94 | [IREX Methodology] |
| {Higher is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 4.00} |
IREX Description:
The government's repression of the media persisted over the past year, in response to the rebellion raging in the northeastern regions since 2007. Cracking down sharply on the press, the Niger authorities showed a continued reluctance to allow journalists to do their job. In this country, violations of the freedom of the press are common, and sometimes perpetrated by the nominally independent Higher Communications Council (HCC)—the very agency tasked with protecting the freedom and independence of the media.
Following the government's decision to close down the Press House in June 2008, relations among the media organizations and the authorities have grown even tenser.
Additionally, censorship of the public media has grown increasingly overt, especially affecting journalists attempting to cover sensitive topics, such as food insecurity and security issues related to the conflict in the north. It has grown very difficult for political actors and civil-society organizations to access these media; as a result, the pluralism of opinions, essential to any democracy, has been suppressed. The public media have become the mouthpiece of the government, in discordance with the law.
Despite all these deficiencies, access to the Internet is in no way controlled or restricted in Niger; costs is the primary barrier to connectivity. However, according to some panelists, the government has started to monitor e-mail and the online distribution of data. The developers of Tamtaminfo, an informational website on Niger, were pressured to withdraw a number of articles the government considered upsetting.
| Freedom House Score: 59 (Partly Free) | [Freedom House Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100} |
| RSF Score: 28.50 | [RSF Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to ~120} |
| Committee to Protect Journalists Description: | [What is the Committee to Protect Journalists?] |
Top Developments
• Tandja tightens grip on power, media through constitutional changes.
• Journalists reporting on corruption face government reprisals.
Key Statistic
3: Years beyond his elected term that Tandja can serve, according to a constitutional change.
In an audacious bid to maintain power, President Mamadou Tandja pushed through constitutional amendments repealing presidential term limits and tightening his control of the state media regulatory agency. Facing heavy criticism in the run-up to an August referendum on the constitutional changes, the Tandja administration silenced dissent by imprisoning critics, intimidating news media, and issuing an emergency decree dissolving both the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court. Official results showed that the amendments passed with 92 percent approval, but opposition politicians and their supporters had boycotted the vote, which they called a mockery of the constitution.
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