Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2006 - Central African Republic
| Publisher | Reporters Without Borders |
| Publication Date | 3 May 2006 |
| Cite as | Reporters Without Borders, Reporters Without Borders Annual Report 2006 - Central African Republic, 3 May 2006, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/46e6908e18.html [accessed 5 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
If proof were needed that de-criminalising press offences were beneficial to democracy, this country provided it. Under pressure from local journalists and international organisations, the Central African Republic, land of coups and guerrilla conflict, did just this at the end of 2004 and is better for it. The presidential election took place against a tense but responsible climate. The media were both protected and under surveillance. There were none of the abuses that often occur in the region. Judicial procedure was observed in defamation cases and editors of newspapers stopped working when they were threatened with imprisonment.
However political hatreds have a way of lasting and Central African journalists were sometimes targeted by "short-tempered" elements within the army.
