The Malian authorities have announced the suspension of broadcasts by a television channel for a period of two months, just weeks after the publication of an editorial on acts against freedom of expression in the African country.
The decision was notified by the High Authority of Communication (HAC) to the television channel Joliba TV, which indicated in a statement on its Facebook account that the sanction starts from Thursday, the date on which it was transmitted to the medium.
«We take note of the HAC’s decision and have already filed an appeal. From now on, our programs will be suspended on our usual platforms. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience caused and we hope to see you again soon,» he added.
One of the channel’s executives told French radio station Radio France Internationale that the decision «does not come as a surprise». «They want to bring us down,» he denounced, before adding that HAC «is under orders» from the military junta that has ruled the country since the coup d’état of August 2020.
Joliba TV demanded in an editorial published at the end of September that the HAC break its silence in the face of the dangers threatening freedom of expression in the country, after which the agency has denounced «the use of expressions with a strong pejorative connotation» against the military authorities.
The junta’s leader, Assimi Goita, led in August 2020 the uprising against the then Malian president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, and subsequently led a second coup d’état in May 2021 against the transitional authorities–at which time he overthrew the president and the prime minister, Bah Ndaw and Moctar Ouane–and rose to power.
