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Transcript/Script(PLAYBOOK SLUG: MALI RIGHTS CRACKDOWN (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Malian Junta Cracks Down on Critics
TEASER: Restrictions of the civic space are also beginning in other countries in the Sahel
PUBLISHED AT: 8/22/23, 1:27p
BYLINE: VOA NEWS - NO NAME BYLINE DUE TO RISK OF RETRIBUTION FROM GOVERNMENT FOR THIS PARTICULAR PIECE
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: BAMAKO, MALI
VIDEOGRAPHER: Annie Risemberg
VIDEO EDITOR: Annie Risemberg
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Purnell Murdock
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, wpm
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 2:49
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG, RADIO
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[The recent arrest and conviction of a Malian TikTok influencer and other critics of Mali’s military government have raised concerns among human rights activists about what they say is a crackdown on the government’s political opponents and the suppression of press freedoms since the junta took power. A VOA reporter talked to human rights workers in Mali’s capital, Bamako, who say the trend is worrying, and likely to continue under military rule across the Sahel.]]
((NARRATOR))
On the outskirts of Bamako, Chaka Doumbia passes the morning at his sister’s home.
Rokia “Rose” Doumbia has been incarcerated since March of this year. She was sentenced this month to one year in prison on charges of “calling for revolt” and “disturbing public order” after she published a TikTok critical of Mali’s president, Assimi Goita.
Rose was widely known on social networks for speaking on the rising cost of living in Mali, where nearly half of the country lives in extreme poverty.
She was the caretaker for seven of her sister’s children, who had been orphaned after their mother’s untimely death.
Speaking from Rose’s porch on a rainy morning, Doumbia expressed anger at his sister’s detention.
((Chaka Doumbia, Activist (Bambara, 17 seconds))
“She has the right to speak in her country. She is a Malian just like all other Malians. But just for speaking, they will come and take you and say that you’re a bad citizen. That you don’t like your country, that you’re an enemy of the army.”
((Radio track: He says Rose has the right to speak in her country. She is a Malian just like all others, he says. But just for speaking, Doumbia says, they will come and take you and say you’re a bad citizen, that don’t like your country, that you’re an enemy of the army.
((NARRATOR))
Aguibou Bouare, the president of Mali’s Human Rights Commission, says charges like disturbance of public order are used as a way to arrest and charge critics.
Several government critics have been arrested or fled the country after being pursued for speaking out about perceived injustices on the part of the Malian army or the military government.
Bouare says the press plays a key role in fighting against the restrictions on freedom of expression that have plagued Mali since the military came to power in 2020. He says many journalists self-censor out of fear.
((Aguibou Bouare, Mali Human Rights Commission)) (French, 11 seconds))
“We all have an interest in this. It starts gradually, and in the end, it’s a repression that will prohibit everyone from speaking.”
((Radio track: We all have an interest in this, Bouare says. It starts gradually, and in the end, it’s a repression that will prohibit everyone from speaking.
((NARRATOR))
The junta has sharply curtailed press freedom since coming to power.
Mohamed Attaher Halidou is the director of Joliba TV News, a Malian television station that was taken off the air last year after he expressed concern in an editorial about attacks on freedom of expression by the military government.
French TV and radio broadcasts were also taken off the air last year after reporting on alleged human rights abuses.
Joliba TV is back on the air, and Halidou says he is committed to continuing to work without succumbing to pressure.
((Mohamed Attaher Halidou, Joliba TV News)) (French, 16 seconds))
“Everything we do is with a lot of responsibility, a lot of conscience, and with a sharp and clear conscience. The threats are there, the intimidations are there, they haven’t stopped. But we continue to do our work, as we have learned it.”
((Radio track: He says, everything we do is with a lot of responsibility, a lot of conscience, and with a sharp and clear conscience. The threats are there, the intimidations are there, they haven’t stopped, Halidou says. But we continue to do our work, as we have learned it.))
((NARRATOR))
Aguibou Bouare says that the shrinking of civic space is characteristic of military rule.
Since Mali’s coup in 2020, neighboring countries Guinea, Burkina Faso, and most recently Niger have also been taken over by military juntas.
Burkina Faso’s military government suspended radio station Radio Omega this month after an interview it deemed “insulting” to neighboring Niger’s military leaders.
((For VOA News, Bamako, Mali.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateAugust 22, 2023 13:46 EDT
BylineVOA NEWS - NO NAME BYLINE DUE TO RISK OF RETRIBUTION FROM GOVERNMENT FOR THIS PARTICULAR PIEC
Brand / Language ServiceUS Agency for Global Media, Voice of America - English
