H.E. Lansana Conté
President
Office of the President
State House
Conakry
Republic of Guinea
Your Excellency:
On behalf of the Overseas Press Club of America, we are writing to protest your Government@quot;s refusal of permission for distribution in Guinea of two issues of the news weekly, Jeune Afrique L@quot;Intelligent .
Our non-partisan organization, which represents more than 600 members with broad international experience in journalism, has supported press freedom around the world for more than 65 years.
We are informed that the May 2-8 and the May 9-15 issues of this internationally respected weekly newspaper were not allowed distribution in Guinea. The editor believes the publication was censored because of an interview it published with François Lonsény Fall, who had just resigned as Prime Minister after policy disagreements with your Excellency.
This is not the first time that the Government of Guinea has interfered with distribution of this publication. Another instance took place last December after the publication had carried an article about secret arrests of army officers suspected of planning a coup.
Suppression of a publication because the Government does not like a newspaper@quot;s news reports violates international standards of freedom of expression and freedom of the press. We respectfully and earnestly request that you disavow these actions against established press media — and allow the return of freedom of expression in Guinea.
Respectfully yours,
George Bookman
Norman A. Schorr
Freedom of the Press Committee