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Congolese journalist Modeste Mutinga evaluates his professional accomplishments
with a telling set of standards: "I'm glad that I haven't been
thrown in jail this year, only harassed."
Mutinga, publisher of the Le Potentiel, has been jailed regularly
for his paper's criticism of Congolese president Laurent Kabila. Yet
despite arrest, detention, intimidation and confiscation of his passport,
Mutinga has continued to publish the only independent daily newspaper
in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) -- a war-torn nation
at the heart of a war-torn region.
 Kabila
came to power in 1997 after his rebel army ousted dictator Mobutu Sese
Seko, who had ruled for 32 years. Since then, Kabila, aided by troops
from Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, has himself fended off rebels backed
by eastern neighbors Rwanda and Uganda. In October the warring nations
agreed to retreat to positions held when a 1999 peace agreement was
signed in neutral Zambia, but both sides have breached the cease-fire.
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has described the fighting
-- in an area roughly the size of Western Europe -- as Africa's first
world war.
Mutinga says the harassment he faces stems from this turbulence. He
told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he is targeted because
of "the general political situation in my country: the occupation
of parts of the country by foreign armies, the stranglehold of the regime
on the democratic process and the ban on political activities."
The media, Mutinga argues, is the only outlet for government criticism
in this intolerant environment. Therefore, the ruling powers are eager
to target the pro-democracy and independent Le Potentiel: "All
the arrests and harassment are the expression of their desire to silence
us."
Mutinga says Le Potentiel is basically an informational daily,
but readers are most interested in political news because of Congo's
democratic and economic shortcomings. Accordingly, Mutinga says Le
Potentiel has "an agenda" of fostering democracy and economic
development. He sees the press as "the voice of the voiceless"
and as the source of uncensored speech. He vehemently opposes its involvement
in war propaganda.
Mutinga acknowledges that political pressure and intimidation threaten
objectivity in Congolese journalism. He says arrests, torture and other
threats often lead journalists to censor or retract controversial reports.
Some give in to government pressure out of fear of losing their jobs.
Still, "be it political terror or poverty, I believe that there's
no pretext strong enough to excuse the cheapening of journalism,"
Mutinga told CPJ in a recent interview. "I recommend that journalists
who sense they cannot resist corruption change profession."
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