A senior military official at the Presidency of the Republic, recently, urged authorities of the Cameroon Radio and Television, CRTV, to ban the Sunday morning radio programme, "Cameroon Calling", CC, for being too critical of government.
A CRTV source that asked not to be named, told The Post that the official (names withheld), was incensed by the critical commentaries that journalists run on the programme. The official, who is one of the senior aides to President Biya, is quoted to have told CRTV authorities that "Cameroon Calling" harbours a nest of rebels.
He reportedly said anti-establishment comments the journalists run show that they are rebels who can overthrow government if given the least opportunity. CRTV authorities reportedly said they could only caution the journalists to tone down and not proscribe the programme.
When the military man insisted on a ban, CRTV authorities asked him to suggest what will be broadcast in place of the programme if they proscribe it. The official did not make any suggestion to that effect. Of late, journalists who produce and present Cameroon Calling" have been under fire from government officials.
Some journalists who are regular contributors to th they usually heave a sigh of relieve whenever the programme is fully broadcast without a menacing phone call from a government official or management.One young journalist, who presented a critical paper on the programme recently, was reportedly intimidated and queried by the authorities.
His paper was hinged on the ideological deficiency of some members of government.
Even though the journalist did not name names, he said there are some Ministers who lack basic ideas to pursue their noble missions and should better throw in the towel instead of deceiving the Head of State.
The Post learnt that some Ministers claimed that the journalist insulted the whole government.The Minister of Communication reportedly complained to the authorities of CRTV, and they, in turn, queried the young man and intimidated the presenter of the programme.
The young journalist was told to refrain from criticising government or face the music.
Despite the intimidation, some journalists have continued to maintain the critical spirit of the programme.
It would be recalled that the former presenter of "Cameroon Calling", Tehwi Lambiv, was fired from the programme when he was accused of asking a critical question that did not only embarrass the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, but also cast doubts over the country's electoral process.
Since the birth of the programme, it has never had a cosy relationship with government conservatives.The climax of the programme's confrontation with government came on May 6, 1990, when the journalists defied the statusquo and broadcast a programme on multiparty politics.
The entire CC crew was bundled to Kondengui.In their book, "Prison Graduate", former CRTV journalists, Herbert Boh and Aloysius Ntemfac Nkong Ofege, quote the erstwhile Director of ASMAC, Jacques Fame Ndongo, as saying that all the journalists who participated in the programme could be killed for him to train loyal journalists in a few months.
Recently, a senior official at the National Assembly called on the General Manager of CRTV to sanction one senior journalist, Guy Roger Eba, for broadcasting a controversial story about him.
While condemning the mean-spirited manner in which government treat journalists in Cameroon, the President of the Cameroon Association of Commonwealth Journalists, CACOJ, Randy Joe Sa'ah Azeng, regretted that journalists are merely toys in the hands of politicians.
© 2009 Postonline Newspaper
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