Burkina suspends French reporters for terror interview
2 Min Read
Burkina Faso orders correspondents from France's Le Monde and Liberation newspapers to leave the country,
-
An office of French broadcaster France 24 is seen in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, in April 2019. (AFP)
Burkina Faso has ordered correspondents from France's Le Monde and Liberation newspapers to leave the country, the newspapers reported on Sunday.
"Our correspondent in Burkina Faso, Sophie Douce, has been expelled from the country... at the same time as her colleague from Liberation, Agnes Faivre," Le Monde said on its website.
According to Le Monde, the two women arrived in Paris early on Sunday after being expelled late Saturday.
Burkina's military junta suspended all broadcasts of the France 24 news channel on Monday after it interviewed Yezid Mebarek, a militant leader affiliated with the terror organization AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb).
Because it broadcast a "message of intimidation" from a "terrorist chief," the Burkina junta suspended Radio France Internationale (RFI), a radio station that is a part of the France Medias Monde network along with France 24, in December.
Both RFI and France 24 were also suspended in the neighboring country of Mali.
Late last month, government spokesperson Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo said, "The government has taken a responsible decision in the higher interest of the nation to suspend sine die the broadcasting of France 24 programs in the entire national territory."
Providing a platform for extremist organizations is not only equivalent to "acting as a communications officer for these terrorists but, worse, it is providing a space for the legitimization of terrorist actions and hate speech," as exemplified by France 24's actions, according to Ouedraogo.
The broadcaster, on the other hand, rebuked the government's accusations and condemned the decision to suspend the channel without due notice.
