African Central Media News Republic
Central African Republic
There were no reports of political prisoners. f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence The law prohibits invasion of homes without a warrant in civil and criminal cases; however, on occasion police used provisions of the Penal Code governing certain political and security cases that allow them to search private property without a warrant. Security forces continued to carry out warrantless searches for guns and ammunition in private homes. The increase of banditry in Bangui has become a pretext for the police to carry out warrantless house searches. During the fighting prior to and during the coup, troops from both sides illegally entered, searched, and looted homes, in some cases killing the residents, and in other cases causing them to flee. Ministries and residences of former dignitaries were looted and destroyed. Hundreds of vehicles belonging to t ... [Read More]
Central African Republic
Africa Number One, a private radio station in Bangui, broadcast national news coverage. Radio Notre Dame, which was owned and operated by the Catholic Church, broadcast national news, debates, legal counseling, and human rights education. The private radio station Radio N'Deke Luka broadcast domestically produced national news and political commentary and rebroadcast international news throughout the country, with assistance from foreign governments and the U.N. Radio-France Internationale (RFI) also broadcast domestically; its programming included some national news coverage by a correspondent based in the country. ... [Read More]
Central African Republic
The Government owns and controls three newspapers, the Centrafrique Presse, which the Government created in March and reflects the views of the ruling MLPC, the Agence Centrafricaine de Presse (ACAP) bulletin, which appears sporadically, and Be Africa Sango, which was not published during the year due to lack of finances. Echo de CentrAfrique, a private daily newspaper, is close to the ruling party. More than a dozen private newspapers were published over varying intervals; eight were published on a regular basis during the year. These newspapers often were outspoken in their criticism of the President, the Government's economic policies, and official corruption. Le Citoyen, Be Afrika, and Le Democrate are the most widely read private newspapers. In 2000 both the President and Prime Minister threatened local journalists with sanctions if any newspaper transgressed the media code and went beyond journalistic propriety. ... [Read More]
Congo, Republic of
A local FM radio station rebroadcast Radio France International, VOA, and the BBC. Radio and television broadcasts from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were received in Brazzaville. The private independent radio station, Radio Liberte, continued to broadcast as well as the new privately owned radio station DR-Radio. Local rebroadcasts of the Gabon-based Africa Number One also continued during the year. A Christian missionary group in Pointe Noire broadcast during daylight hours; it voluntarily provided its material to the Government prior to broadcast. Government broadcast media primarily focused their attention on the activities of government officials, but also provided news on other activities by international and local NGOs. During the year, the broadcasts included airing of alternative political views of some opposition members in talk show format, but overall opposition political parties did not have access to the governme ... [Read More]
Congo, Republic of
Most citizens obtained their news from the radio or television broadcast media, primarily government-controlled radio in nonurban areas. There was one privately owned radio station and one privately owned television station. There were two government-owned radio stations, Radio Congo and Radio Brazzaville and one government-owned television station, Tele Congo. There were several satellite television connections available, which permitted viewing of a range of news and entertainment programs. The news coverage and the editorial positions of the state-owned media reflected government priorities and views. A number of Brazzaville-based journalists represented international media, such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France Presse, Voice of America (VOA), Canal France International (CFI), and TV5. ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries Q through Z
The union of Serbia and Montenegro is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls trafficked internally and internationally for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking of ethnic Roma children for forced begging continues to be a problem. Victims identified in Serbia and Montenegro came from Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia, and from the former Yugoslavia. In Serbia, more than half of victims that are trafficked internally originate in the northern province of Vojvodina. Foreign destinations for victims from Serbia and Montenegro include Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Western Europe (principally Italy), as well as the UN-administered province of Kosovo. The Governments of constituent republics Serbia and Montenegro, to which most authority has devolved, do not fully comply with the minimum st ... [Read More]
The United States Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria: Abuja To Host Regional Food Security MeetingDecember 11-12
President Obasanjo of Nigeria will host the meeting for Presidents Ghaddafi (Libya), Bouteflika (Algeria), Wade (Senegal), Nguesso (Congo-Brazzaville), Patasse (Central African Republic), Muluzi (Malawi), Bashir (Sudan) and Prime Minister Zenawi (Ethiopia), who will be attending (or represented) as chairpersons of Africa's regional economic organizations. ... FAO Media-Office ( Media-Office@fao.org) ... [Read More]
Government Policies and Documents - Economy and Trade: InfoUSA
Overview of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, signed May 28, 2004. In August 2004 the Dominican Republic also signed the agreement. ... This U.S. International Trade Commission report, the fourth in a five-year series, is intended to assist the president in developing a comprehensive trade and development policy for 48 African countries. The report provides information on total U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa trade and investment flows, economic activities within individual African countries, and regional integration in Africa. ... [Read More]
U.S. Embassy, Seoul, Information Resource Center - In The News
1 ... ... [Read More]
FY 2003-2004 Human Rights and Democracy Fund Projects
Europe and Eurasia Political Party Development in Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic ($450,000 + $437,000) – Foster the development of alternative political voices by providing political skills-building programs to local levels Uzbek groups, that are independent of the government and support political reform. In the Kyrgyz Republic, additional funds provided through this grant will build on an existing political party development program, which was funded with FY 2002 HRDF. Kyrgyz Republic Printing Press ($600,000 + $193,000) – Additional funding to continue supporting the establishment and operation of an independent printing press in the Kyrgyz Republic.Civic Coalition Against Tor ... [Read More]
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