VOA常速英语2007-Niger Crackdown Against Journalists Continues

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
12 October 2007

In Niger, police continue to detain journalist Ibrahim Manzo Diallo, who ran the only newspaper in a region where there is an on-going rebellion against the government. Phuong Tran has more from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Police have transferred Manzo Diallo back to his hometown of Agadez, where he published the province's only newspaper, Air Info.

Leonard Vincent, of the Paris-based journalist rights group, Reporters Without Borders, says the journalist's transfer to the town, which is under military occupation and a government state of alert, makes it hard to track his case. "Which one will be next?" he asks. "Which journalist will be taken in custody¹ and accused of extravagant² charges? It raises a lot of concerns for us, because it will be difficult for us to visit him. It will be difficult to get information."

Manzo Diallo's family has said he was arrested late Tuesday when trying to leave for three months of training in France. They say authorities are accusing him of working for Radio France International, whose detained correspondent Moussa Kaka faces accusations³ of plotting with the rebels against the government.

No formal charges have been filed against Manzo Diallo.

Reached shortly before his arrest, Manzo Diallo said his only job was as editor of Air Info, a newspaper with a circulation of about 1,500 subscribers, that re-opened last week after a three-month government suspension. Diallo says Air Info was closed for three months, during which time he was not working. He says it was difficult to provide for his family, and that he also felt responsible to his employees who were out of work.

Government officials said the paper was suspended because its coverage⁴ of the Tuareg rebellion could incite⁵ violence and endanger security.

The paper had published a photo of a dead government soldier following a rebel attack in late June, as well as a list of 20 arrested Tuaregs suspected of having ties with the rebels.

Manzo Diallo was also arrested in July when he tried to launch another newspaper.

The ethnic⁶ Tuareg rebels took up arms eight months ago, complaining of government neglect and demanding more profits from uranium mining in the northeast. Niger President Mamadou Tandja refuses to negotiate with the armed nomads⁷, dismissing them as bandits and drug traffickers hiding behind a political front.

The government's High Council on Communications has warned journalists to report carefully on the rebellion to avoid inciting⁸ violence. Journalists say the warning is, effectively, a media blackout.

Agadez newspaper owner Manzo Diallo is just the latest journalist to face problems after reporting on the rebellion.

Libya's President Muammar Gadhafi is suing three Nigerien newspaper owners for $200,000 each for publishing reports saying he funded the current Tuareg rebellion.

Radio France International's Moussa Kaka faces life imprisonment⁹ if found guilty of colluding against the state.

Last week, Niger authorities expelled independent French journalist, Francois Bergeron, who had been under a one-month investigation¹⁰ for his reporting on the rebellion.

1 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

2 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

3 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

9 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。