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Central African Republic

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62 out of 179 in the latest worldwide index

• Area: 622,980 sq km
• Population: 4,950,027 (July 2011)
• Language: French, Sango
• Head of state: François Bozizé, since 2003 (coup then elected in 2005 and 2011)

The Central African Republic’s media are like the country itself, abundant but precarious, because they lack resources and are badly run. Provincial and religious radio stations censor themselves to avoid angering local despots.

Dogged by military coups and rebellions, the Central African Republic continues to be a weak state that has porous borders with several countries in crisis. President François Bozizé, who seized power by force in 2003 and won elections in 2005 and 2011, has tried to stabilize the country, which has been buffeted by economic, institutional, military, humanitarian and social problems.

The past decade under Bozizé has seen significant changes. In 2005, a media freedom law was promulgated, media offences were decriminalized and the High Council for Communication was created. Intimidation and arrests of journalists have declined considerably since 2003, while relations between the government and media, which were terrible from 1993 to 2003, have improved. But journalists still suffer at the hands of an obsolete judicial system. Old political hates die hard and journalists are often the target of “irritable” elements within the army.

Consisting largely of low-circulation newspapers and often isolated radio stations, the media continue to be fragile. There are many privately-owned print media that denounce cases of corruption and cover the military revolts and the weariness of unpaid state employees, but their impact is limited because of their price and the high illiteracy rate. Their ancient infrastructure and the irregularity with which they appear raise questions about their future. There is no real provision for training journalists aside from a new course at Bangui University which is not adapted to local needs. Journalism continues to be a second job, one learned by trial and error. In the search for funding, many publications adopt partisan editorial practices, to the point that some become the tools of business or political interests.

Radio is the most popular medium but it barely covers the entire country. Aside from state-owned Radio Centrafrique and TVCA, the broadcast media consist entirely of radio stations that just broadcast in the Bangui area, and religious and provincial stations based in about a third of the interior, which are subject to the whims of local despots. Relations between the media and local authorities are extremely tense and radio stations have to censor themselves. Ndéké Luka, a privately-owned radio station that is funded by the Swiss foundation Hirondelle and supported by the UN, provides quality reporting. The state’s aging infrastructure results in frequent power cuts and acts as major brake on Internet development.

The editors of two weeklies, Faustin Bambou of Les Collines de l’Oubangui and Emmanuel Cyrus Sandy of Média Plus, were arrested in May and June 2011 respectively for reporting that defence minister Jean-Francis Bozizé, the president’s son, had misused European Union funds earmarked for retired soldiers. Charged with inciting hatred and violence, they were finally freed in July after weeks of procedural irregularities. Prior to their release, four newspapers, Le Confident, Le Citoyen, Le Démocrate and L’Hirondelle, suspended publication for a day in solidarity.

Alexis Remangaï, a reporter for the privately-owned daily Le Confident, had a similar experience in September 2010, when he was held for three days as a result of a libel complaint by an official at the ministry of mines. In 2009, L’Hirondelle and Le Citoyen were temporarily suspended for allegedly endangering the country’s sovereignty.

Updated in October 2011