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DE RUEHKI #1090/01 3500804
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 160804Z DEC 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0429
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1315
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 2976
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0169

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 001090 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR, RRU, IIP/G/AF, IIP/T/GIC, AF/C, AF/PDPA 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KPAO OIIP PREL PHUM CG
SUBJECT:   CONGOLESE MEDIA AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THEY 
           OPERATE; PART ONE IN A SERIES ON THE DRC'S 4TH ESTATE 
 
REF: (A) Kinshasa 448; 
      (B) Kinshasa 969; 
     (C) Kinshasa 1044 
 
KINSHASA 00001090  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The media environment in the Democratic Republic 
of the Congo (DRC) is unusually problematic and complicated, even by 
African standards.  This is the first in a series of reports on the 
DRC press and mass media designed to help USG readers better 
understand the constraints and challenges we face as we in the field 
endeavor to promote freedom of the press and to identify 
opportunities for capacity building and professinal and ethical 
training for Congolese journalists.  This goal becomes more urgent 
as the nation prepares for local and national elections in 2011. 
This installment provides background data and focuses on political, 
economic and cultural constraints to a more meaningful application 
of press freedom.  End summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
¶2.  (SBU) The DRC has 10 daily newspapers (all published in 
Kinshasa), 82 television stations, and some 280 radio stations.  Due 
to the diversity of the media, the country's physical size, cultural 
and linguistic differences, as well as a severe lack of development 
and technological infrastructure, the DRC is a challenging 
environment in which to communicate with the public.  More than 65 
million people are spread across nearly 1.5 million square miles 
(lack of an official census means much demographic data are 
estimates).  French is the official language, and there are four 
officially recognized indigenous languages (Lingala, Kiswahili, 
Kikongo and Tshiluba), as well as 250 other languages and dialects. 
The adult literacy rate is about 65.5 percent in a local language 
and approximately 30 percent in French.  Cell phone usage is common, 
mostly in the larger cities, with 68 percent of Kinshasa residents 
having access to a cell phone, and more than 6.5 million cell phone 
users in the entire country, according to one survey. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) All media are hampered by poor telecommunications and 
transportation infrastructure.  Only one television station and five 
radio stations broadcast to all eleven provinces, and their signals 
do not reach the entire population.  The DRC does not have a 
land-line phone system or a functioning postal service.  Internet 
penetration is among the lowest in Africa (0.4 percent) and even 
where available bandwidth is very low.  Surface transportation is 
extremely limited between major cities.  In urban areas, electricity 
is unreliable, while in rural areas it is often non-existent.  There 
is a severe lack of published reading material.  Newspapers and 
magazine publication is restricted to the capital and a few larger 
cities, with circulation of the Kinshasa dailies between 500 and 
2,000 copies.  Paper is imported, and printing costs are 
prohibitive, particularly in the provinces, leading to a periodical 
cover price that most Congolese cannot afford. 
 
Press freedom 
------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In the 1990's, under pressure from the international 
community, restrictions on the Congolese press were lifted first by 
Mobutu and then, to a greater degree, by Laurent Kabila.  Private 
radio and television stations emerged, and daily and weekly 
newspapers began publishing at a rapid rate.  Still, both the 
written and electronic media suffered from official harassment and 
Qwritten and electronic media suffered from official harassment and 
repression by the GDRC.  The military courts and different security 
forces were particularly hostile to the media and attempted to 
influence it through intimidation. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Today, the DRC media can be characterized as somewhat free 
in the sense that there is a broad range of different print and 
broadcast media, operating with relatively few formal constraints. 
Article 24 of the 2005 Constitution states:  "Every person has the 
right to information.  Freedom of the press, free access to 
information and broadcasts by radio and television, the printed 
press and all other means of communication are guaranteed within the 
limits of the respect of public order, social norms and the rights 
of others." 
 
Government hostility to press freedom 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Despite constitutional guarantees, political and economic 
pressures severely limit press freedom.  While DRC journalists might 
have statutory rights to freedom of expression, in reality powerful 
forces compel them to exercise self-censorship or to modify their 
news reports to please the government or other powerful interests. 
 
KINSHASA 00001090  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Freedom House's 2008 Freedom of the Press survey rates the DRC as 
"Not Free," commenting:  "Statutes provide for freedom of the press, 
but the government continues to sharply restrict the work of 
journalists through a variety of means."  These include political 
pressure, financial incentives, and sometimes intimidation and 
threats.  Specific acts restricting press freedom are pursued by 
officials at nearly all levels of government, from local police and 
internal security agents to government ministers.  The lack of a 
properly functioning judicial system, absence of a balance of powers 
between different branches of government, and widespread corruption 
render the existing laws concerning press freedom almost meaningless 
in terms of practical application. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Joseph Kabila's first years as appointed president 
(2001-2006) saw relative stability in terms of press freedom.  Since 
Kabila's election at president in 2006, however, acts of violence 
and intimidation against journalists are on the rise, including the 
murders of four reporters in the past three years, and death threats 
against many others.  While some of these threats are credible, and 
indeed have been acted upon, others are simply crude attempts at 
intimidation.  The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(GDRC) has repeatedly said that it takes these threats seriously and 
is investigating both the previous murders and the new threats.  Yet 
many in the international and journalistic communities believe that, 
even if the government leadership is not behind the violence and 
threats, their silence has condoned the behavior.  In addition, the 
GDRC has undertaken several actions to sanction and censor 
journalists and news organizations.  The most dramatic of these acts 
was cutting off the signal of Radio France International (RFI) 
throughout the DRC on July 26, 2009 (ref A and previous).  Even when 
such actions are consistent with the law (and this would not seem to 
be the case when RFI was silenced), they frequently target media 
that support the opposition, or, as in the case of RFI, are 
perceived as overly critical of the GDRC, particularly in matters 
perceived to be related to national security. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) On September 29, 2009, Minister of Communications and 
Media Lambert Mende sent foreign journalists based in the DRC a 
letter informing them that they were now subject to the military 
penal code, and exposed to prosecution if their news reports are 
determined to be "damaging to military morale." (ref B and 
previous.)  Mende has also made several public statements and even 
published a "white paper" critical of NGOs reporting on human rights 
violations.  In one press interview, Mende suggested that NGO 
representatives be accredited as journalists and subjected to the 
same legal restrictions and professional sanctions as members of the 
fourth estate.  Most of the news reports from the conflict zones in 
eastern DRC originate from Radio Okapi or human rights NGOs.  (Note: 
 According to a sample study conducted by PAS Kinshasa, 75 percent 
of news stories about conflict in eastern DRC during the period of 
one month originated from Radio Okapi, while the rest were provided 
by NGOs.  End note.)  Without these sources, there would be little 
Qby NGOs.  End note.)  Without these sources, there would be little 
or no news from the conflict zones.  Many in the diplomatic, 
international and journalistic communities fear that is exactly what 
the GDRC wants.  On November 27, Mende met with U.S. and other 
Western diplomats to discuss press freedom, and while Mende did not 
offer any specifics addressing the diplomats' concerns, his tone and 
manner was uncharacteristically conciliatory (ref C). 
 
Economic challenges to press freedom 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Overall, the economy is under-developed, with annual per 
capita GDP at $100 (the dollar is used as an unofficial second 
currency, alongside the Congolese Franc).  The vast majority of 
economic activity is informal.  Salaries in the formal sector are 
low and frequently in arrears.  Journalists often go unpaid, and 
lack reliable internet access, books and other publications, and 
training in professional techniques and ethics. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Lack of economic development and diversity render it 
difficult -- even impossible -- for a business model where news 
media can rely upon advertising for revenues.  And those few 
companies (mostly in the telecommunications and beverage industries) 
that can afford advertising support entertainment programming rather 
than news broadcasts.  Paid advertising in the printed press is 
extremely limited. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) The absence of commercial revenue opportunities forces 
all media to rely on some form of patronage.  The GDRC funds 
(although inadequately) the public television and radio broadcast 
system known as the Radio Television Nationale Congolaise (RTNC). 
Private news outlets are financed by political figures and business 
 
KINSHASA 00001090  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
leaders seeking to influence policy and public opinion.  Between 
2004 and 2008, bi-lateral and multi-lateral partners have 
contributed more than $60 million to support Congolese media.  These 
funds have gone toward capacity building in training and education 
of journalists, as well as supporting organizations and institutions 
concerned with the media.  While this participation is vital to 
encouraging a free and responsible press, it also creates a 
dependence on outside support that will require transition to 
sustainability in the near future, particularly with elections 
planned for 2011.  During the last elections, Radio Liberty, owned 
by opposition candidate and International Criminal Court defendant 
Jean-Pierre Bemba, was used to incite violence. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The legally mandated minimum wage for a journalist is $3 
per day, for a monthly salary of $78.  Yet, most journalists do not 
work under contract, and while some media organizations pay their 
employees regularly, many do not.  Unpaid reporters are left to rely 
on remuneration for story placement, known as "coupage."  All those 
who work in or with the DRC press know about "coupage," and no 
efforts are made to hide or discourage it. Without the revenues 
generated by "coupage," many journalistic enterprises could not 
survive.  The standard price is $50 for a newspaper article or radio 
emission and $100 for a television report (more if a full camera 
crew is required).  "Coupage" can be paid either to reporters or 
editorial directors, and is expected to be shared.  Disputes over 
the distribution of "coupage" are often a source of conflict in the 
newsroom. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) Sometimes "coupage" can become regularized, as 
journalists are put on retainer by government officials, while 
continuing to report on stories in which their patrons are involved. 
 Journalists in the "private" press who enjoy political patronage 
join their colleagues in the government-run television and radio 
network RTNC in the ethical netherworld between journalist and press 
agent.  Another consequence of "coupage" is that the editorial line 
of a press organ can be wildly inconsistent.  A newspaper might be 
harshly critical of an official one day, and publish a "puff piece" 
the next.  In a form of public blackmail, some journalists will 
write a hatchet job on a public figure in order to get paid for an 
article that makes amends.  Broad knowledge of "coupage" also 
contributes to public cynicism toward the press.  Yet as detrimental 
as "coupage" is to journalistic objectivity and credibility, no 
other viable alternative business models presently exist. 
 
¶14.  Comment:  While enjoying great diversity and certain legal 
guarantees, the DRC press faces enormous political and economic 
challenges, which reduce its ability to report the news 
independently and responsibly.  End comment. 
 
GARVELINK