RFI and France 24, banned from broadcasting in Mali since March 17, have been permanently suspended in the country, the group France Médias Monde, parent company of the two media, announced on Wednesday. The group specifies having received this Wednesday the notification of this decision by the High Authority of the communication of Mali, that it “contest with force”. He intends to appeal.
After this suspension, the main association for the defense of the media in Mali was moved at the beginning of April from “general malaise” reigning according to her within a corporation seized by the “haunting” not being able to carry out its mission properly.
On March 17, it was a suspension “until further notice” by the ruling junta in Bamako. She criticized RFI for having given the floor a few days earlier to alleged victims of abuses allegedly committed by the Malian army and the Russian private security group Wagner.
The Malian decision to sanction RFI and France 24, two French public media, comes in a context of hostility vis-à-vis France, the former colonial power, whose ambassador was expelled at the end of January. On February 18, Paris announced its military withdrawal from Mali after nine years of anti-jihadist struggle, pushed out by the “obstructions” of the Malian junta.