African Media and Conflict
By Abiodun Onadipe and David Lord
Part Four - In Their Own Words
The New Private Media in the Upheavals for Democracy - By Gabriel Ayite Baglo
Since the re-emergence of private media in Togo in 1990, political harassment and economic problems have made their survival precarious and sometimes even dangerous.
Independent/private newspapers which existed in Togo after independence in 1960 were very politically oriented, a situation overhauled by the military coup three years later. With the military regime of General Gnassingbe Eyadema taking over in 1967, the environment within which journalists worked became less favourable and press freedom literally died in Togo. However, in the midst of popular agitation for democracy in 1990, attended by riots and general turmoil, newspapers got a new lease on life, serving as instruments for the attainment of democracy and the rule of law.
Journalism training is non-existent in the country. Togo has no school of journalism. But the state media were staffed by journalists trained by the government in France, Senegal, Cameroon and in Togo between 1978 and 1983. State-owned news organisations such as Togo-Presse, Radio Lomé, Radio Kara, Television Togolaise and Agence togolaise de presse (ATOP) had enough qualified journalists. Meanwhile, journalists who managed independent newspapers in 1990 were graduates with law, economics or arts degrees. This set the stage for the harsh and uncompromising positions taken by the independent newspapers in their relations with the government.
To counter these upstart media, the government initiated a very repressive bill that became law in November 1990, passed by the one-party assembly. Under this law any libel or defamation against the president attracts a five-year jail sentence and a $6,000 US fine. This law took effect in 1994. Journalists started to be arrested and jailed from April 1994 under this law. For instance, Martin Dossa Gbenonga, Katakpaou-Toure Moudassirou, Fulbert Amegan Attisso,
Basile Agbo, Lucien Djossou Messan spent days, months or even a year in prison or in custody until a presidential pardon was obtained in each case. In addition to the use of this repressive legal instrument, media houses and printing presses were ransacked or bombed and journalists shot in retaliation for publishing stories that offended government officials or soldiers.
Faced with these situations, private media practitioners created, what they called, the Union of Independent Journalists of Togo (UJIT) in November 1993, mainly because the two state-owned journalists’ unions that existed were very inactive and ineffective. Also in September 1993, private radio stations started to emerge, though the law had no provision for such initiatives. So far, eight private radio stations have come into existence and have started to comply with the new press law promulgated in February 1998. There is one private television station, Media Plus, which rebroadcasts programmes of international broadcasters such as CNN, TV5, FR2.
Besides the unending political harassment of the press and the fact that government does not encourage the development of private newspapers, the media in Togo faces many problems, such as problems of lack of training for journalists and media managers, lack of appropriate printing presses for the print media. All these make journalism in Togo a very precarious profession. Newspapers have high mortality rates, with many disappearing a few months after they are launched. The average monthly salary of a reporter is about US$60. Private radios which invest much more money to get established are very reluctant to broadcast news for fear that their materials will be seized or destroyed by government agents. Instead, their programming consists of music and advertisements.
Despite the new press law, considered to be the most liberal in the sub-region, journalists are very cautious. In fact, the government has already broken this law. Elias Hounkanly, an editor, said to have published a libellous article against the first lady, was arrested in August 1998 and spent 18 days in custody. He has been jailed without trial since August 25, though the law provides for a three-month prison term with remission and a fine of between US$ 2,000 to 4,000 for such an offence. A government minister has threatened to have the new press law changed because it is too liberal.
Meanwhile, the Media Commission, which was established in November 1997 and supposed to be an independent facilitator protecting and promoting press freedom, rather works as a government agency.
The young independent sector of the media in Togo has not developed as it should. Reporters who want to make it a career cannot do so because the financial rewards of the profession are grossly inadequate: the question of economic and political independence of the journalist remains a dilemma for the media in Togo.
Gabriel Baglo is Editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper, Crocodile and is also Secretary-General of UJIT, based in Lome, Togo
Top | African Media and Conflict contents
