VZCZCXRO7143
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHKI #0086/01 0251557
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251556Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0072
INFO RWANDA COLLECTIVE
SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000086 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OEXC OPRC KPAO KWMN SCUL SOCI PREL PGOV PHUM PINS CG
SUBJECT: New Congolese press law signed but not yet on the books 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  President Kabila signed a new law on December 
31, 2009, regulating the media and press in the Democratic Republic 
of the Congo (DRC).  The law establishes a new media regulatory 
body named the Conseil Sup????rieur de l'Audiovisuel et de la 
Communication (Governing Council of Broadcasting and Communications 
or CSAC), which will replace the transitional Haute Autorit???? des 
Medias (Federal Media Authority or HAM).  Since the law was signed, 
it has not yet been published in the official gazette, and many in 
journalism and civil society either do not know about the law, or 
are unclear about its provisions.  Some observers have expressed 
concern that the majority coalition seeks to control the process of 
nominating CSAC board members, and thereby manipulate the new law 
to their advantage.  End summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (U) A long-anticipated change to the government structure 
regulating the media finally took place when President Kabila 
signed a new law establishing CSAC, which replaces HAM (established 
in 2003 by the transitional constitution).  The HAM played an 
important role in monitoring and sanctioning the media during the 
2006 elections, registering more than 800 complaints of violation 
of press laws or social norms, and establishing an ethics 
commission to respond to irresponsible news reporting during that 
period.  The 2006 Constitution stipulated that a permanent media 
regulatory body be established, which this new law does.  PAS 
Kinshasa spoke with a wide range of working journalists, officials 
of media organizations, and civil society leaders.  All were 
satisfied with the law as written, but many expressed concerns that 
the law might not be applied in a non-partisan and democratic 
manner. 
 
 
 
"Guarantee freedom of press" 
 
--------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) According to the new law, CSAC's responsibilities are: 
"guarantee the freedom and protection of the press as well as all 
mass communications media according to the law; oversee the respect 
of journalistic ethics; and oversee equal access to official 
information and communications to political parties, organizations 
and individuals."  CSAC is responsible for monitoring the content 
of media communications and sanctioning violations, while the 
Government of the DRC (GDRC) maintains responsibility for 
regulation and licensing.  CSAC will have an advisory role 
concerning any new laws regulating the media and communications 
technology. 
 
 
 
Governing Board makeup 
 
----------------------- 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) The new media regulatory commission will be governed by a 
board of directors, consisting of 15 members, nominated in the 
following fashion:  one by the president; two by the national 
assembly; two by the senate; one by the government (prime 
minister); one by the Council of Magistrates; three by professional 
media organizations; one from the advertising sector; one by the 
national bar association; one by the national organization of 
parents of students; and two by press freedom organizations.  The 
nominees from the national assembly and senate are to include one 
each from the presidential majority and the opposition.  The 
nominees from the professional media organizations are to include 
one representative from television, radio and the printed press. 
Upon confirmation by the parliament, all board members are required 
to refrain from any business, professional or political activities 
that might present conflicts of interest. 
 
 
 
Funding in doubt 
 
 
 
---------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Board members are supposed to be remunerated for their 
 
KINSHASA 00000086  002 OF 003 
 
 
work, and the organization is to be supported by government funds, 
although some press observers express skepticism that funds will be 
available for either salaries or operating expenses.  The law 
includes a provision for CSAC to solicit funds from outside 
sources; officials from the press freedom NGO Journalists in Danger 
(JED), among others, hope that international donors will contribute 
to CSAC's budget, particularly during the elections.  (Note:  The 
HAM recently approached PAS Kinshasa with a proposal for funding of 
their media monitoring center, which was severely under-resourced. 
With 82 television stations and 280 radio stations across the DRC, 
effective monitoring is probably beyond the capacity of even a 
robustly funded operation.  End note.) 
 
 
 
On the books, or off the record? 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) While the law was signed on December 31, 2009 and read 
aloud on GDRC television station RTNC on January 2, it has yet to 
be published in the official record.  Several attempts by members 
of the press, political opposition, and civil society to obtain a 
copy of the signed law have been unsuccessful.  Donat Mbaya, JED 
president, spoke with the RTNC journalist who read the law on 
television, and was told that it could not be distributed until 
published in the official record.  The law itself states that it 
will take effect upon promulgation, but there is ambiguity 
concerning whether or not a law needs to be published in the 
official record before it is considered promulgated, and therefore 
questions about this new law's statutory authority.  Mbaya told 
emboff that without publication in the official record, the law is 
not yet in force, and he believes that the president's allies feel 
the promulgation requirement has been fulfilled by the RTNC 
broadcast, even if the law remains unavailable to the press and 
public. 
 
 
 
Strategic dysfunction 
 
---------------------- 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In conversations with emboff and PAS local staff, several 
leading editors, journalists and members of professional 
organizations have expressed concerns that the law has not been 
made public.  Very few journalists attending the MONUC press 
conference on January 13 were aware of the bill, and once informed 
about it by PAS local staff, were very interested in learning more. 
Donat Mbaya of JED fears that the presidential majority is 
maneuvering to control the nomination process of board members, and 
he is not alone.  Another JED staffer sees a certain "strategic 
dysfunction," where lack of legal clarity serves the purposes of 
presidential power.  Polydor Muboyayi (strictly protect), editor of 
the newspaper "Le Phare" and president of Observatoire des M????dias 
Congolaises (Congolese Media Monitoring Group or OMEC), an 
ombudsman organization of professional journalists, told PDO on 
January 13:  "The media are now subject to this law, but they don't 
know what the law says."  Muboyayi sees this as "a trap," where the 
presidential majority will wait until the nomination deadline 
(unspecified in the draft legislation in PAS Kinshasa's possession) 
expires, and then nominate friendly or malleable candidates to the 
Board.  At least one candidate, Jean-Chr????tien Ekambo, former dean 
of the journalism school IFASIC, is already lobbying for presidency 
of the CSAC board, and has asserted to JED President Mbaya that he 
will be nominated to the seat reserved for the presidential party's 
National Assembly selection.  Note:  End note. 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment:  CSAC will play an important role in the 
national elections scheduled for autumn 2011, and the selection of 
its leadership will, to a large extent, determine how its 
responsibilities will be fulfilled.  Modeste Mutinga, owner of the 
newspaper "Le Potentiel," served as president of HAM during the 
2006 elections, and while some criticized him for being harsh or 
partisan, "media professionals admit, almost unanimously, that HAM 
played an important role in ensuring that the elections went well," 
wrote Marie Soleil Frere, a Brussels-based expert on the DRC media, 
in 2008.  If CSAC is governed by a responsible and non-partisan 
board, and receives sufficient resources, CSAC could significantly 
 
KINSHASA 00000086  003 OF 003 
 
 
contribute to a free and responsible press in the DRC.  On paper, 
the law codifies the new media regulatory apparatus and guarantees 
certain press freedoms, yet its application is vulnerable to 
political manipulation.  PAS Kinshasa will monitor the situation 
and work with contacts in the international, journalistic, 
political and civil society communities to support efforts to 
ensure that the law is first officially disseminated and then 
applied justly.  Embassy Kinshasa will participate in a January 26 
meeting of international donors to discuss the CSAC and other 
relevant press issues.  End comment. 
GARVELINK