EU expresses concern following Tanzania's ban on 'The EastAfrican'

The European Union says it has raised “concerns about freedom of the press in Tanzania” after authorities in Dar es Salaam stopped the circulation of TheEastAfrican newspaper in the country.

In a statement issued on Monday evening, the EU Delegation in Dar es Salaam said the ban of a “long-established regional newspaper” reflects dwindling freedoms of the media that the Tanzanian government must urgently reverse.

“It is the duty of the media to work within the law and to make every effort to adopt and adhere to professional standards. But press freedom and freedom to express opinions are fundamental rights of the people, which call for circumspection and proportionality in the application of the law,” the EU said in a statement that was also supported by the Canadian High Commission and the Swiss Embassy in Dar.

“The Delegation of the European Union calls upon the government to make every effort to preserve the freedom of expression in Tanzania and it urges all stakeholders to prioritise constructive dialogue as the primary means to resolve differences.”

The EU said Tanzania must commit to supporting and promoting media freedom “as a shared value of the EU partnership with Tanzania”.

SURPRISING AND UNWARRANTED

On Friday last week, Tanzania barred TheEastAfrican from circulating in its market, twenty years after it was launched to provide coverage of the region.

According to a letter sent to the paper’s bureau chief in Tanzania, the decision was ostensibly taken because the paper “has been circulating in the country without being properly registered, contrary to section 6 of the Newspaper Act number 3 of 1976”.

The move prompted the management of the Nation Media Group (NMG), which owns the publication, to describe the decision as surprising and unwarranted.

“Surely they can’t just wake up now and declare us illegal. If it were an issue of regularising files, that would not require such a draconian measure of banning a newspaper,” NMG chairman Wilfred Kiboro said.

“Last year, the same government shut down our other publication — Mwananchi — for two weeks for reasons that have never been made clear.

“We can only assume that this decision is in the same vein. Such unfair and undemocratic actions are what undermine our governments’ claims to being democratic, believing in press freedom and pro-business.”

Independent media regulators in Kenya and Tanzania also criticised the decision as excessive.

“That was very extreme and unwarranted. Tanzania has a media industry regulator and if the government felt the paper had gone to the extreme there is the due process to be followed,” said Victor Bwire, the deputy chief executive of the Media Council of Kenya.

Media Council of Tanzania (MCT) Executive Secretary Kajubi Mukajanga said it was curious that the paper had run offices and employed people in Tanzania for two decades without anyone raising a finger.

“This matter raises more questions than answers. If the paper has been operating for 20 years illegally, then something is wrong with the Ministry of Information, Youth, Culture and Sports,” said the MCT boss.

“I’m not sure if all international newspapers and magazines that are being circulated in the country are registered in Tanzania, the ministry must tell us about this.”

BUREAU CHIEF SUMMONED

The government's letter, dated January 21, 2015, directs an immediate stop to the publishing, printing and circulating of The EastAfrican in Tanzania ‘’until it has officially been registered by Registrar of Newspapers, Tanzania Information Services”.

Before the letter was issued, the newspaper’s bureau chief, Christopher Kidanka, had on Wednesday been summoned and interrogated by the Director of Information Services, who also doubles as the government’s spokesman, Assa Mwambene.

During the session, the government also expressed discontent with the newspaper’s reporting and analysis, including the opinion pieces it publishes.

Mr Mwambene accused it of having a negative agenda against Tanzania. He singled out a recent opinion piece that criticised the Dar es Salaam administration’s stance on FDLR rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a case in point.

Mr Mwambene also took exception to the cartoon in last week’s issue of the paper that he said demonstrated bad taste and disrespect for the person and office of the president, Jakaya Kikwete.

On Monday, the EU said: “The Delegation of the European Union expresses its concern that modern media legislation in Tanzania, including on the citizens’ Right to Information, has not yet been promulgated despite the longstanding requests of the media profession and the repeated commitments of the government.”

It recalled that in October 2010 the EU's independent election observation mission recommended expediting modernisation of the media laws, taking into account stakeholders' views.

NMG, through its subsidiary Mwananchi Communications Ltd, also publishes Mwananchi, The Citizen and Mwanaspoti newspapers in Tanzania.