The government of Burkina Faso resulting from a coup d’état announced on Sunday the lifting of the suspension of Radio Oméga, one of the most listened to in the country, whose broadcast had been interrupted a month ago, after the interview of an opponent of the military regime in Niger.
The government announced “the lifting of the measure suspending the broadcast of Radio Oméga programs from September 11” , indicated in a press release the Minister of Communication and government spokesperson, Rimtalba Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo .
He “examined with great attention the request made by the OBM (Burkinabe Media Observatory) at the request of Radio Oméga and heard the argument according to which the radio team has learned the lessons of this sanction from which it was the subject ,” he says.
According to Mr. Ouédraogo, “the government remains committed to freedom of opinion and of the press as well as to the responsible exercise of the profession of journalist” .
The minister, however, called on “professional media organizations to demand a media discourse that does not compromise the chances of our collective victory against the forces of evil and domination of the peoples of the Sahel.”
Burkina Faso has been plagued by jihadist violence since 2015.
The Omega media group, owner of the radio owned by journalist and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Alpha Barry , had contacted the Council of State to contest the suspension which occurred on August 10 “in the name of the best interests of the nation” .
This suspension followed the broadcast of an interview with the spokesperson for a recently created movement in Niger, which wishes to restore President Mohamed Bazoum , overthrown by a coup d’état on July 26.
The transitional authorities of Burkina Faso, who came to power in a coup a year ago, very quickly displayed their solidarity with the soldiers who took power in Niger.
Several media outlets have been suspended in Burkina in recent months, including the French LCI , RFI and France 24 . At the beginning of April, the correspondents of Libération and Le Monde were expelled.
Source : AFRICANEWS
