Dakar, Senegal - The 14th annual report of the human rights watchdog, Protection of human rights defence, presented on Friday in Dakar, has noted that there is tension between African governments and NGOs, and denounced the harassment of people involved in the promotion of free and fair elections. According to the report entitled 'The obstinate nature of witness', several African leaders do not uphold freedom of expression, meeting and association, and they supress any dissenting voice or arrest all those who denounce corruption by authorities.

The document also highlighted repressive acts facing human rights activists in the world.

It highlighted the Arab Spring in its report that covered the fight by human rights activists in 70 countries spread across the world.

For Senegal, the report reveals 'cases of harassment of journalists and banning or suppression of peaceful measures'.

'The relationship between the Senegalese government and the civil society has remained tense since 2000. The Senegalese government has attempted to control activities of NGO. Journalists who denounced acts of corruption have been victims of judicial harassment in 2010-2011,' the report said.

The human rights activists, citing proof of their assertion, said the secretary-general of the international league of human rights, Paul Nsapu, who was due to present the report in Dakar, was refused the entry and was held at the airport in the Senegalese capital before being expelled to France.

In addition, they say the Senegalese customs authority has since 19 October seized copies of the French report.

Pana 30/10/2011