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Zaire The Media
Control of the mass media has long been a central
element of
Mobutu's domination of Zairian political life. Indeed,
control of
television and radio in particular has been critical to
Mobutu's
ability to survive and retain power in the early 1990s. In
order to
assert his authority and undercut the viability of the
Tshisekedi
government, Mobutu deployed military forces loyal to him
to seize
control of state radio and television broadcast facilities
in
Kinshasa, surrounding the buildings with tanks and troops.
Throughout 1992 and 1993, the military also systematically
attacked
the offices of newspapers critical of Mobutu.
During the 1980s, "restructuring" of the press reduced
the
number of newspapers being issued. In the early 1990s,
there were
three dailies: L'analyste, Elima, and
Salongo,
all of Kinshasa. The Lubumbashi and Kisangani papers,
formerly
dailies, had become weeklies after financial problems.
In the aftermath of Mobutu's speech of April 24, 1990,
the
situation of the press changed dramatically. While
Salongo
retained its pro-MPR position, Elima became sharply
critical
of
the regime. Although Elima's editor-publisher spent
some
time in jail early in 1991, there can be little doubt that
his
courage opened the field to an independent press. A number
of other
papers and news magazines appeared, mainly weeklies, and
vied with
one another in criticizing the government. Because more
than half
of the population does not speak French, there are
periodicals
appearing in African languages as well as in French.
The only domestic news agency is the regime-controlled
Agence
Zaïre-Presse (AZAP). Some foreign agencies, including
Agence
France-Presse, Xinhau, and Reuters, also have bureaus in
Kinshasa.
The regime also practices censorship of foreign media,
e.g., by
forbidding sale of the issue of Jeune Afrique, in
March
1990, which carried the text of the memorandum of the
Catholic
bishops on reforms needed in Zaire. Mobutu virtually
conceded that
this ban had been ineffective, however, by referring in
his April
24 speech to having taken into account "even" the bishops'
memorandum.
It should be noted that newspapers and magazines serve
mainly
educated Zairians. The electronic media reach many more
among
Zaire's population of some 39.1 million. The
government-owned radio
station, the Voice of Zaire (La Voix du Zaïre), and
regional
stations could be received on approximately 3.7 million
radio
receivers, as of 1990. The government-operated, commercial
station
Zaïre Télévision broadcast from Kinshasa, and service was
relayed
by satellite to the cities of the interior. In 1990 there
were
approximately 40,000 televisions in Zaire.
Throughout the Mobutu regime, the content of radio and
television news broadcasts has been tightly controlled.
Television
news follows the official order of protocol, meaning that
all news
of President Mobutu, however routine, comes before any
news of the
prime minister, which in turn precedes any news of other
ministers.
At the height of the cult of personality in the late 1970s
and
early 1980s, each television news broadcast began with the
president's face appearing, godlike, in a bank of clouds.
However, the events of 1989-90, when political change
swept the
communist states of Eastern Europe and reform occurred in
many of
Africa's party-states, made it clear that the efforts of
the
Zairian regime to control the flow of information to the
public
were ineffective. When Mobutu told Zairians that
perestroika
was not needed in their country, and people in Kinshasa
made jokes
about "Mobutu Sesesescu," it was clear how capable the
Zairians are
of following international news. The role of Brazzaville
television
and radio, easily picked up in Kinshasa, and of various
foreign
radio stations, also heard elsewhere in Zaire, seems to be
crucial
in this respect.
Data as of December 1993
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