Newspaper suspended in Ivory Coast for describing Gbagbo as ‘President’
A privately owned newspaper in Ivory Coast has been suspended for describing deposed Gbagbo as ‘President’.
According to a media release by the NGO, Media Foundation for West Africa, citing its correspondent, “The National Press Commission (CNP), the print media regulatory body has suspended ‘Notre Voie’, a privately-owned pro-opposition daily newspaper for four publications. The suspension takes effect from May 19, 2012. ”
The suspension it said follows the publication of material that the commission says amounts to distortion of facts.
The release said, the newspaper in its May 12-13, 2012, edition published an article headlined “It is more than a year now since the regime imprisoned them; let us not forget them for genuine reconciliation to take place, they must be freed!!!”
The newspaper it said illustrated the article with photographs captioned “H.E Laurent Gbagbo, President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, overthrown by the UN-French coalition on April 11, 2012”.
The regulatory body in a swift response described the article as containing “distorted facts,” the release noted.
The commission therefore, invoked Articles 47 and 70 of a 2004 media legislation, to impose the sanction against the pro-opposition newspaper, it said.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi