National Communication Council (CNC) i Burundi har beordret et online debatforum på avisen Iwacu lukket. Human Right Watch er bekymret over beslutningen og kalder den unødvendig hårdhændet.
NAIROBI, 3. June 2013: The decision by the National Communication Council to suspend the readers’ forum of the Burundian newspaper Iwacu infringes on the right to freedom of expression. The government should lift the suspension and allow the newspaper to resume publication of its readers’ comments page.
On May 30, 2013, Iwacu, a well-respected and widely read independent newspaper in Burundi, received a written decision from the National Communication Council (CNC) announcing a 30-day suspension of its online readers’ forum, effective May 31.
The council alleged that readers’ comments on the Iwacu website in the preceding days had violated legal provisions on “endangering national unity, public order and security, incitement to ethnic hatred, justification of crimes, and insults to the head of state.” It did not indicate which specific comments triggered its decision.
“The CNC’s decision to suspend a readers’ forum is unnecessarily heavy-handed and punitive,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
“While people may take issue with individual comments, it is unreasonable to hold a news forum responsible for readers’ views, especially without saying exactly what supposedly posed a threat, noted she.
Iwacu has announced that it is complying with the decision, but is suspending its whole website, not only its readers’ forum, on the basis that interactive dialogue with readers is an integral part of the website and of its philosophy of encouraging democratic debate.
Thousands of readers visit Iwacu’s website every day and many post comments on a range of subjects.
