Cameroon or Cameroons

In a country where there is no future for the minorities, where their very presence is not recognised, even despised, where a machinery has been put in place to subjugate, assimilate and efface their identity, isn't it time for checks and balances?

Friday, February 22, 2008

What a Shame!

It's been a while since I posted anything on my blog. Let's consider this a come back. I had to anyways. What with the never-ending news of the politics of shame at home. I'm back with a very touching article by The Post newspaper of a government minister threatening to ban a radio program because it is too critical! At what age are we living? When is this ever going to stop? Slaves in ancient Athens had freedom! Cameroonians in the 21st century don't! Read for yourself:

Communication Minister Threatens Ban On 'Morning Safari'

The Post (Buea)

NEWS
21 February 2008
Posted to the web 21 February 2008

By Kini Nsom
Buea

The Minister of Communication, Jean Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam, has warned that he would ban CRTV's talk show programme, "Morning Safari" if CRTV management does not take hard measures to douse its critical spirit.

In a meeting with CRTV management recently, the Minister reportedly complained that Morning Safari was too critical of government and public authorities.

A CRTV source told The Post that each time the journalists handle a critical topic on Morning Safari, the Minister would call the audio-visual house management to complain. As a result, management has continued to intimidate and threaten Morning Safari journalists with dismissal from CRTV.

The Post learned that the Director of Programme at the CRTV radio, Celestin Boten, has been chairing a series of meetings, attempting to cow the critical journalists into submission.

In one of such meetings last week, Boten said by producing programmes that were critical of government, the journalists were putting the hierarchy in serious problems.

"We will rather cut off your heads first before the powers that be cut ours," he reportedly said.Matters reportedly came to a head when one of the Morning Safari teams led by senior journalist, David Chuye Bunyui, rebroadcast a programme on the ongoing manoeuvres by the ruling CPDM party to amend article 6.2 of the Constitution. Guests on the programme and callers launched vituperative attacks on the constitutional amendment bid

In reaction, the Director of Programmes issued a service note on February 12, accusing Morning Safari journalists of treating a critical topic in an amateurish and irresponsible manner. The service note No.003/CRTV/DP-R that was pasted at the entrance to the broadcasting house, claims that the Morning Safari journalists were very contemptuous of public authorities in their programmes.

The service note also accuses the journalists of reading SMS messages in the programme (some of which have nothing to do with the topic of the day) without control. The journalists were equally charged with threatening peace and national unity, by taking telephone calls in the programme that are very critical of government.

"Even their choice of music on the programme is hazardous and provoking to certain people," partly reads the note. Consequently, the reading of direct SMS messages on the programme has been banned. The journalists on the programme now have to write out SMS messages and submit them to hierarchy before they are read out.

By that same token, the journalists would have to identity callers to the programme, record their reactions and edit them before broadcast. The service note states that the editorial policy of the public media must be respected at all costs, insisting that the choice of invited guests to participate "live" on the programme must be approved by the hierarchy.

According to the Director of Programmes, the choice of music on the programme must be in tandem with social peace, unity, love and progress. He warned that the Morning Safari coordinators and members of the team must bow to the above prescriptions or face the music.

Journalists of the programme wondered what crime they have committed because each time they are handling a critical topic, they invite a guest to defend government position as well as people with contrary views.

Since the appointment of Jean Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam, whom many describe as a conservative, censorship seems to have fully returned to CRTV. The Post learned that the Editors-In-Chief of TV now have been compelled to always brief the Minister as to what they have in the news before it goes on air.

Meanwhile, many journalists are said to be still suffering from the malaise of the last appointments. Journalists of the Northwest origin are said to be screaming against marginalisation. Of the ten managers of CRTV Provincial Stations appointed recently, none of them is a Northwesterner. No Northwesterner was appointed Director with a budget.