On the evening of the presidential election on Sunday 24 March 2024, when radio stations, television channels and online media were relaying the data and figures, the results that brought Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye to power, not a single Senegalese citizen, a politician in the current team at the helm of Senegal, could badmouth the press. Newspapers, radio stations, television channels, news websites, relayed the results to the four corners of Senegal, in one swoop.

How many ere tracking down the figures, polling station by polling station, in search of the right information? Hundreds of journalists, sent into the field by their media outlets to report the results live and point out the slightest malfunction, often even serving as a warning to the authorities, without any public assistance? How many millions of people were glued to their mobile phones or radios and TVs, drinking in the results given by these « brave journalists » in the field?  And how many jumped for joy when the results were published, even before the legally authorised commissions and institutions had done so? How much did it cost them to savour such a « delight »? How much did it cost us?

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Just imagine for a moment what this election of 24 March 2024 and the others that preceded it during this politically highly charged quarter of a century in Senegal would be like without this mechanism for relaying information and monitoring almost the entire national territory? Can you imagine what might be going through the minds of certain forces lurking in the shadows, if no information accompanied the act of voting? The press, we were told, did a good job in the aftermath of this much-dreaded election because of the major risks to our country’s stability and the visible or hidden stakes involved. Twenty-four years (24 years) after the 2000 presidential election, which marked the end of 40 years of socialist rule, the press was once again on hand for this great moment in history. Good Job! A compliment like an echo in the night! It’s all very well to caricature, manipulate and falsify history, The media cannot be denied the vital role they have played in recent decades in strengthening democracy by sensitising citizens and giving them access, especially in local languages, to the tools they need to sharpen their civic awareness.

We have indeed experienced crucial moments in the history of our young democracy, when the cursor has often turned red, but the press has always responded, meeting the challenges with professionalism, without needing any guide other than its sense of ethics and the internalization of professional ethics and responsibility, in accordance with the legacy of our elders, most of whom rest in peace, for eternity. Had we acted otherwise, the face of this country would have been changed. But as the Fulani saying goes, « the milk of the cow that flows daily in abundance, ends up having no flavour ». Senegalese like us, accustomed to seeing the press perform at these major historical events, forget the major role that the media play in stabilising the institutions of the Republic and above all in safeguarding the rule of law. If one of the founding fathers of the American nation was able to say that he preferred a state without government to one without a press, it was because he knew that the press is one of the pillars of democracy.

For nearly three months now, the Senegalese press has been going through one of the darkest periods in its history. A campaign of demonisation has been waged to portray the media, and those who run them, as lawless citizens who do not meet any of their obligations, especially tax obligations. At the same time, a campaign has been waged to undermine the relationship between media owners and their colleagues, by creating a gulf between the so-called « press bosses » and their staff.

The Senegalese press cannot accept this smear campaign, deliberately orchestrated to undermine its credibility. We have the experience of previous governments to understand what is going on. The aim is to blacken the scenery and then proceed with an artificial selection and liquidation of private press companies, according to its immediate political interests. The aim is nothing other than to control information and domesticate media players. Put simply, press freedom is under threat in Senegal.

In view of this situation (freezing of bank accounts, enforcing writs of execution for the seizure of production equipment, unilateral and illegal breach of advertising contracts, freezing of payments, formal warnings, refusal of consultation), we are organising a DAY WITHOUT PRESS on Tuesday 13 August 2024 to raise national and international awareness.

Regimes come and go, the press stays!

The Council of Media Owners and Publishers of Senegal (CDEPS)

Dakar, 11 August 2024.