VZCZCXRO3483
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0610/01 0681222
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091222Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4520
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 0163
RUEHLC/AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE PRIORITY 0857
RUEHLI/AMEMBASSY LISBON PRIORITY 0712
RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA PRIORITY 0366
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO PRIORITY 0399
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAKAR 000610 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/PDPA, AF/W, AF/RSA, INR/AA AND DRL/PHD 
AID/W FOR AFR/WA 
ACCRA ALSO FOR WARP AND IBB - LUCAS 
LISBON ALSO FOR DAO 
PARIS FOR POL - D'ELIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SCUL KDEM KPAO PU
SUBJECT: BISSAU-GUINEAN MEDIA ON LIFE SUPPORT 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Government and private media in Guinea- 
Bissau barely function and rely heavily on the 
international donor community to survive.  Nonetheless, 
editors have a solid grasp of the role of independent 
media in building a pluralist democracy as well as 
advancing national reconciliation and reconstruction.  The 
average "daily" appears weekly with a print run of 1,000 
copies at a street price of about USD 1, and the estimated 
monthly salary of a journalist is USD 75.  Like other 
sectors, the media has suffered from brain drain. 
Poverty, low wages and the absence of advertising markets 
make the media vulnerable to corruption and inclined to 
practice self-censorship.  Irregularities in the 
electricity supply remain a serious impediment to 
communications and production.  While most elite speak 
Portuguese, radio broadcasting in indigenous languages 
appears to be the most effective means of communicating 
with the general public.  Media are overwhelmingly 
concentrated in Bissau, with the notable exception of an 
estimated 42 community radio stations in the country.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U) February 7-8, Information Officer and FSN 
Information Specialist visited Bissau to assess the media 
landscape in Guinea-Bissau. 
 
STATE SECRETARY SAYS PRESS FREEDOM "GUARANTEED" 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶3.  (SBU) An experienced journalist trained in Lisbon, 
State Secretary for Social Communication Joao de Barros is 
also the owner and director of the independent newspaper 
Diario de Bissau.  Barros claims to have been arrested and 
imprisoned more than ten times during President Kumba 
Yala's regime.  He asserted that under President Vieira, 
press freedom is "guaranteed" and that the Government does 
not pressure or otherwise seek to control the media. 
Barros noted that not a single journalist is in jail ("or 
will be," he added). 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Barros believes the fundamental obstacles facing 
media in Guinea-Bissau are a lack of resources and 
training/education.  He said there has been an "invasion" 
of young journalists in Bissau who lack any relevant 
training, education or experience.  He lamented that this 
cohort cannot fill the void left by the exodus of 
experienced journalists from the country during the 1998- 
99 civil war.  He characterized government support for 
media as "minimal" -- limited to fully subsidizing ten 
print runs for three private newspapers to help them 
regain their financial footing.  Barros shared a hand- 
drawn floor plan of a new facility to house a new School 
of Journalism.  A site has been identified for the school, 
but no project timeline or detailed budget currently 
exists.  Barros said the European Union has "committed" to 
providing technical equipment for the school's classrooms, 
studios, and production facilities.  He plans to submit a 
proposal to Embassy-Dakar's Office of Defense Cooperation 
to fund construction. 
 
STATE MEDIA AS WEAK AS PRIVATE MEDIA 
------------------------------------ 
¶5.  (SBU) According to General Director Lamine Djata, 
Guinea-Bissau's state-run National Radio is the country's 
"radio of record" and provides a credible counterweight to 
private stations prone to "impartial" reporting. 
Broadcasting in 13 languages, the station has found it 
impossible to air all of its material within its current 
18-hour daily broadcast.  Djata outlined plans to expand 
to a 24-hour programming schedule with a format devoted to 
general news and politics, followed by the establishment 
of a second frequency devoted to "youth and women's 
issues," but he admitted that these plans are completely 
dependent on additional funding.  Technical Director 
Porfirio da Costa said that while the station's staff is 
paid in full and on time, the station receives no funds 
for maintenance, equipment upgrades or supplies.  He noted 
that several of the station's computers had recently been 
 
DAKAR 00000610  002 OF 003 
 
 
disabled by a virus, and that the station cannot afford 
the software necessary to fix the problem or prevent 
future incidents.  He also noted that he does not have a 
single working vehicle for his maintenance staff to 
service antennas and transmitters outside of Bissau. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Established in 1989, Guinea-Bissau's state-run 
National Television has ten journalists and only three 
cameras.  Deputy Director Luis Melo said his station airs 
programs only in Portuguese and Kriolu, and while it has 
offices in the provinces, they are closed due to lack of 
funds.  It broadcasts only sporadically and must negotiate 
informal agreements to arrange for electricity at a 
desired time to broadcast the news.  Personnel receive 
only 50 percent of their salaries, and the total staff of 
100 will be trimmed to 60 by the end of the year.  Melo 
echoed other local sources in estimating the average 
salary of a journalist in Guinea-Bissau as USD 75 per 
month. 
 
LOCAL AND FOREIGN BROADCAST MEDIA 
--------------------------------- 
¶7.  (SBU) The private radio station Bombolom has a staff 
of 12 journalists and covers more than 90 percent of the 
country.  It broadcasts in Portuguese, French, Kriolu and 
Wolof.  Currently broadcasting programs from BBC and 
Deutsche Welle, Director Agnelo Augusto Regalla expressed 
interest in pursuing an agreement with VOA.  He painted a 
gloomy picture of the media landscape and said that 
despite relative calm in Bissau, the political situation 
is a "powder keg."  He did note, however, that there has 
been a lessening of tensions in government-media relations 
since President Vieira's October 2005 inauguration. 
Regalla ascribed this to the current government's 
understanding that encroachment on media freedoms could 
adversely affect flows of foreign assistance.  He added 
that a lack of human and financial capital, combined with 
meager media and advertising markets, make journalists 
vulnerable to self-censorship and corruption (Regalla 
complained that Pindjiguiti has been "bought off" by 
Vieira). 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Marta Jorge, a Portuguese national and General 
Director of RTP-Africa in Bissau, wryly noted that she has 
had to "educate" several governments on the role of 
independent media by refusing to accept strong-armed 
"invitations" to cover their speeches and events.  She 
gave accounts of intimidation during the 2005 presidential 
election season but agreed that overt pressure on media 
has subsided since Vieira's inauguration.  Jorge expressed 
interest in receiving USG statements and materials from 
Embassy-Dakar that touch on not only Guinea-Bissau but 
also West Africa and the continent as a whole. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Established in 1995, Pindjiguiti is a private 
radio station that covers approximately 60 percent of the 
country's territory.  Its founder, Jose Rodrigues-Santy, 
currently devotes his considerable energy to other 
business pursuits and has delegated station management 
responsibilities to his Belgian wife, Mariska Meert.  The 
Pindjiguiti Group also includes the now-defunct newspaper 
Fraskera, but Meert said she plans to revive this 
publication.  Santy described morale in the media as low 
but agreed that press freedoms are largely respected in 
the current environment.  He added that journalists are 
keenly aware of their role in contributing to national 
reconciliation and reconstruction.  Santy complained that 
Barros should not be able to serve as Minister of Social 
Communication while maintaining a business interest in a 
private newspaper.  Without a trace of irony, Santy noted 
that his other sources of revenue include serving as a 
media consultant to Armed Forces Chief of Staff Baptista 
Tagme Na Wai. 
 
PRINT MEDIA ALSO IN DIRE STRAITS 
-------------------------------- 
¶10.  (U) The print sector is also in dire straits, with 
the country's 5-6 newspapers unable to print on a regular 
basis due to chronic shortages of material inputs and 
 
DAKAR 00000610  003 OF 003 
 
 
electricity.  The average "daily" in Guinea-Bissau is 
printed once a week with a print run of 1,000 copies at a 
street price of 500 CFA francs (CFAF)(USD 1).  Major 
newspapers include the state-run No Pintcha, which is co- 
located with the country's only printing facility (also 
owned by the Government) and the independent newspapers 
Diario de Bissau and Gazeta de Noticias. 
 
LOCAL MEDIA NGOS EAGER TO RAISE STANDARDS 
----------------------------------------- 
¶11.  (U) A new Union of Journalists was formed in May 2005 
to take the place of several dormant and dysfunctional 
predecessors.  Most key players in the local media see the 
value of a single umbrella organization to defend 
journalists' interests and support their development.  The 
Union's President, Mamadu Cande, painted a bleak picture 
of the media in Guinea-Bissau and said local media are 
"starting from zero."  He admitted that the Union does not 
even have reliable statistics on the number and location 
of journalists in the country.  Cande is interested in any 
available U.S.-based expertise, exchange opportunities, or 
training workshops co-sponsored by Embassy-Dakar that 
could serve to strengthen the Union and its members. 
 
¶12.  (U) The Union has a good relationship with the 
leadership of the Press House, a non-governmental 
organization established in 2000 to provide a venue for 
meetings, training sessions and access to 
computers/Internet.  Led by Executive Director Domingos 
Meta Camara, the Press House has a limited but significant 
track record in managing grant funding from the UNDP, the 
EU, and several NGOs.  Camara presented a request for 
grant assistance totaling USD 26,000 to secure one year's 
worth of Internet access for the House's common-access 
computer room, miscellaneous office equipment and 
supplies, and two workshops focusing on the role of 
journalists in democratization, peacebuilding and national 
reconciliation. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶13.  (SBU) Due to severe economic hardships and a lack of 
human capital, Bissau-Guinean media face a daunting range 
of challenges.  That said, local journalists are eager for 
training, and editors have a solid, even sophisticated 
grasp of the role of independent media in building a 
pluralist democracy, facilitating national reconciliation 
and advancing the country's reconstruction.  While most 
elite speak Portuguese (and to a lesser extent, French), 
due to a dearth of televisions and widespread illiteracy, 
radio broadcasting in indigenous languages (Kriolu, 
Balanta, Fula and Mandinga) appears to be the most 
effective means of communicating with the general public. 
Embassy-Dakar's presence and resources in Guinea-Bissau 
may be limited --but it is clear that in such an 
environment, even modest support can have a major impact. 
END COMMENT. 
 
JACKSON