Gov't Denies Allegations of Muffled Press in Cameroon

The media landscape in Cameroon remains free of any government stifling influence and government is more than ever determined to promote and enhance the activities of the press. The Minister of Communication and Government Spokesman, René Emmanuel Sadi, told reporters at a press conference in Yaounde yesterday, May 05, that no journalist in Cameroon is presently languishing in prison for exercising his or her profession. Organised within the framework of this year's World Press Freedom Day, yesterday's event was occasion for the Minister to present the state of the Cameroonian press and the institutional efforts at promoting press freedom in the country. The exchange with the press represented by four media organs drawn from both the public and private sector was equally occasion for the Minister to provide government response to reports by some foreign media organs as to the fact that the press is far from being free in Cameroon. In the same vein, the government Spokesman dismissed as absurd the classification by Reporteurs Sans Frontière where Cameroon is placed at the 131st position in terms of freedom of the press. "There is every reason to doubt the expertise of this organisation in placing judgments on the Cameroonian press", Sadi said. Free press is also the ability of a nation to allow for the creation of several news organs and the incisive nature of the content therein.

According to Minister Sadi, Cameroon today boasts of over 600 legalised newspapers, 200 radio stations, 30 television channels and 150 tele-distribution cable companies. "The Cameroonian press has evolved significantly even though there are still some few loopholes in terms of professionalism, respect for ethics and quality of the material installations. Responding to the question as to whether or not there are any journalists in prison in Cameroon today, he said, if there are any, then it will not be for professional reasons. "The report by a foreign media stating that journalists were arrested and locked up in Douala during the political demonstration by a political party is false", he said, stating that it was an unauthorised demonstration and everyone who was there was arrested. "Once I realised that journalists were among...