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PRESS RELEASE/ALERT - SWAZILAND

11 April 2003

Information minister announces new censorship policy for state media

SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York

(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:

SWAZILAND: Information Minister announces new censorship policy

New York, April 11, 2003-Recently appointed Minister of Information Abednego
Ntshangase announced on Tuesday, April 8, a new censorship policy for state
media in the southern African kingdom of Swaziland.

Speaking at his first official appearance before the House of Assembly,
Ntshangase told parliamentarians, "The national television and radio
stations are not going to cover anything that has a negative bearing on
government." Ntshangase warned that those who do not support government
policies will be barred from broadcasting their views, the Integrated
Regional Information Networks, a U.N. news service, reported.

The ban on negative content will apply to Swaziland Broadcasting and
Information Services, which operates the only news-carrying radio channels
in the country, and to Swazi TV, the country's only television station. Both
outlets are state run.

Ntshangase specifically indicated that state broadcasters will no longer be
allowed to cover the controversy surrounding the government's recent
purchase of a luxury jet for King Mswati III, who has ruled Swaziland since
1986. Critics of the purchase note that it comes amid an AIDS crisis and at
a time when almost a quarter of the population faces famine.

"This new policy is outrageous," said Joel Simon, acting director of the
Committee to Protect Journalists. "The press has the right, and the
obligation, to report on matters of public interest, even if coverage
reflects poorly on the government."

State censorship of the press in Swaziland is routine. In 2000, King Mswati
III attempted to introduce a decree that would have made insulting state
officials a crime punishable by a 10-year jail term.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press
conditions in Swaziland, visit www.cpj.org.

For further information, contact Yves Sorokobi (ext. 112), Wacuka Mungai
(ext. 106) or Adam Posluns (ext. 107) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY
10001, U.S.A., tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Internet:
http://www.cpj.org/

The information contained in this press release/alert is the sole
responsibility of CPJ. In citing this material for broadcast or publication,
please credit CPJ.
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