La Voix de Djibouti (Voice of Djibouti)
A radio station launched in 2010, La Voix de Djibouti (LVD) is the only Djiboutian media outlet offering independently reported news to a country that otherwise has just a handful of state-owned media putting out government propaganda. To escape the persecution of journalists and media by Ismaïl Omar Guelleh’s dictatorship, LVD is based in Paris, where it relies on a network of reporters and sources in Djibouti and abroad, and on members of MRD, the main opposition party, which it supports. Initially broadcast on the short wave, LVD is now available by satellite in Djibouti. Its one hour a week of radio programming in French, Somali and Arabic includes news bulletins, interviews and debates. It is one of the few spaces for free speech and information preventing Djibouti from become a news and information black hole. The authorities systematically block the LVD website.
