The ruling junta in Mali has suspended broadcasting of the French-speaking channel TV5 Monde for three months, which it says failed “balance” in the treatment of information, according to a decision noted by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday, September 11.
The High Authority for Communication (HAC) accuses him of having reported, in his newspaper Africa, widely read in Mali, the death of at least fifteen civilians in drone strikes in Tinzaouatène, in the north, without reporting the Malian army’s version of events.
the chain “He regrets this situation and in particular not having been contacted by the HAC and not having been able to give explanations about the facts of which he is accused”The channel responded in a press release. It also stated that at the time of the broadcast of the information on its channel, the Malian army had not yet given its version of events, despite its requests. The army’s version was communicated by the channel in a letter dated 26 August.
The colonels who overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in 2020 broke with France and its European partners two years later, turning militarily and politically towards Moscow.
TV5 Monde, official operator of the OIF
Since then, France 24 and Radio France Internationale (RFI), which are very popular in Mali, have been deprived of airtime. France 2 was also suspended in early 2024, before LCI suffered the same fate at the end of August. Correspondents from several foreign media outlets were forced to leave or remain silent.
Domestically, the junta also banned media outlets from covering political party activities in April, prompting strong reactions abroad and numerous comments on social media, although the opposition was largely silenced. In Mali’s neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger, the military has also seized power by force, in 2022 and 2023, and has also cracked down on the foreign press.
TV5 Monde, which aims to promote Francophone culture and creation in all its forms, is the official operator of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF). Its capital is shared by French (including France Télévisions), Belgian, Swiss, Canadian and Quebec public audiovisual companies.
