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Seychelles Information Media
During the rule of René and the SPPF through 1991,
political
expression was tightly controlled. The only daily
newspaper was
the government-owned Seychelles Nation, which had
an
estimated circulation of 4,000. Published by the
Department of
Information and Telecommunications, it has a government
bias and
does not present independent views. L'Écho des
Îles, a
Roman Catholic weekly that touches on current events, is
not
subject to censorship and often carries views critical of
the
government. Its circulation is about 2,000. After the
political
liberalization of 1992, several opposition journals
appeared and
were allowed to publish without government harassment.
Foreign
publications are imported and sold without interference.
The state-owned Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation
(SBC),
previously closely controlled, was granted autonomous
status in
1992. Television and radio continued to show a pro-SPPF
bias but
began to broadcast material critical of the government in
their
news. Party political broadcasts were permitted, and SBC
coverage
of the campaigns and constitutional deliberations was
followed
closely.
Data as of August 1994
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