Saturday, March 19, was a press-free day in Chad at the call of the Union of Chadian Journalists. This was a movement to protest the exclusion of journalists from the Doha dialogue in Qatar between the government and political-military groups on the future of the country.
This day without press was partially followed. The 2 most listened to radio stations in the capital, Dja FM and Liberté FM, did not broadcast during the day. On the news websites and television stations, the movement was more divided.
For the Union of Chadian Journalists, the day was a success. According to the union, more than 90% of the members of the URPT, the Union of Private Radio Stations of Chad, a dozen newspapers and some twenty electronic media have taken part.
The message to the authorities has been passed on, explains the vice-president of the movement André Kodmadjingar: “We want to send a strong message to the authorities that it is the private press that is the barometer of democracy, and if today democracy is anchored in Chad, it is thanks to this press and therefore we do not want certain authorities to step on us. So we initiated this movement to say beware Doha, you have dismissed us, but in Chad we want to be involved.”
André Kodmadjingar reminds us of the important role of these discussions in Doha and why it is important that the Chadian population remains informed: “The political future and stability of Chad are being played out at this moment in Doha, Qatar, so we did not want to be on the sidelines of this historic meeting. We are also Chadians, and we are also the voice of the Chadian people and we want to inform our listeners, our viewers in real time.”
