Ivory Coast Media Suppression Forces Newspapers' Shutdown

Image via WikipediaLe Nouveau Reveil, Le Patriote and Nord-Sud are among nine Ivory Coast newspapers that have suspended publication in the face of violence, intimidation and onerous fines from supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo, according to an article in today's online edition of The Guardian.

Citing growing concern about press freedom by international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (see "TUOL" post 2/11/11), the Guardian article reports on the heightened violence between supporters of Gbagbo and backers of Alassane Ouattara, who defeated Gbagbo in last November's presidential election, though the incumbent has refused to step down. Examples include the recent lynching of a pro-Gbagbo journalist in Abidjan and vandalism at the transmission center of RTI, the state-run broadcast network. Meanwhile, the nation's media regulatory agency has been levying oppressive fines against newspapers critical of Gbagbo.