Le Monde's January 31 story reported on French investigations into the private luxury Parisian residences acquired by five leaders of oil-rich African nations, including Omar Bongo. The report triggered a public row between Gabon and former colonial power France, according to international news reports. The council also accused Tendance Gabon of "plagiarism" by reprinting the report, which ran with the name of the original author on it, according to local journalists.

The Gabonese state run National Communication Council in their report accused the Tendance Gabon, a semimonthly, of spreading a campaign of denigration against the President after a nine hour questioning hearing of Director Edwige Anyouzoa according to CPJ.

Anyouzoa told CPJ she was summoned to the council shortly after Monday's edition hit the newsstands with Le Monde's story, which she headlined "Omar Bongo busted by French investigators." The decision to ban the paper for three months was final and could not be appealed under Gabon's laws, legal expert Francis Nkéa told CPJ.

In their release the Executive Director Joel Simon of CPJ said: "Suspending a newspaper for a report critical of President Omar Bongo has become the norm in Gabon," Joel Simon called on the government to abandon such heavy-handed tactics to silence critical journalism. “We urge the council to lift the suspension against Tendance Gabon immediately”, Mr Simon said.

According to Anyouzoa, the ruling was also linked to a critical editorial in Monday's edition that raised questions about disparities in the council's treatment of media affairs, according to CPJ research. Critical coverage of Bongo or his family usually triggers a suspension or a ban from the council, local journalists explained, but scrutiny of top officials and close aides of the president are rarely reprimanded.

The Gabonese Media according to report remains weak by a combination of censorship, political and financial pressures, and internal divisions, CPJ research has found.

Keywords: gabon bongo media democracy