Congo has taken significant steps to restrict the operations of the Al Jazeera news network, officially prohibiting its activities on Thursday following the network’s recent interview with Bertrand Bisimwa, the leader of the M23 rebel group. This group has recently gained control of several areas in eastern Congo, leading to heightened tensions within the region.
In a related development, the country’s justice minister made alarming comments regarding the media, threatening that anyone reporting on the activities of the M23 rebels or associated Rwandan forces could face the death penalty. Despite this, there is currently no legislation in place that explicitly forbids media coverage of insurgent factions.
Al Jazeera, a prominent satellite broadcaster based in Doha, has not immediately responded to the news of the ban. According to Patrick Muyaya, a spokesperson for the Congolese government, the decision to revoke the broadcaster’s press credentials was based on claims of an unauthorized interview with a figure deemed a leader of a “terror organization.” The controversial interview aired Wednesday, wherein Bisimwa contended that the Congolese government had violated a ceasefire agreement established in August and described the conflict as an “existential war” for his group.
The M23 movement, comprised of one of over a hundred armed militias operating in the mineral-rich eastern region near Rwanda, has the distinction of being one of the most prominent. It is reported that more than one million individuals were displaced due to the fighting last year, a situation reminiscent of a decade earlier when M23 captured the border city of Goma and gained substantial territorial control in late 2021.
Muyaya publicly condemned the Al Jazeera interview, labeling it as an implicit endorsement of terrorism and referred to it as “totally unacceptable.” He urged reporters to refrain from providing coverage that could unintentionally favor terrorist organizations. Meanwhile, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba expressed on social media that those who report on the rebel group and its connection with the Rwandan military would experience severe legal repercussions, asserting that such reporting undermined state security.
In response to the minister’s remarks, Muyaya attempted to clarify that his statements were merely reflecting the gravity of the situation and that they specifically targeted those misusing information to promote enemy propaganda.
Voicing resistance to the government’s actions, opposition spokesperson Hervé Diakiese articulated the necessity of free expression, emphasizing that it encompasses the right to express both agreeable and disagreeable viewpoints. He asserted that national loyalty should not translate to obligatory government endorsement.
Moreover, Congo’s media regulatory organization issued warnings to three French broadcasting outlets concerning their coverage of the ongoing conflict involving the M23 insurgents. Activist Jacques Issongo also condemned the Al Jazeera ban, insisting that a diverse range of perspectives is crucial to an informed public. He stressed the importance of having access to varied narratives in a democratic society, affirming, “We can’t live in a country where we can’t hear another side of the story.”
