The government of Cameroon has granted a new broadcasting licence to Radio Veritas, a Roman Catholic radio station, which was taken off air in November.
Based in the port city of Douala, Radio Veritas was set up by Cardinal Christian Tumi, the head of the Roman Catholic church in the country and an outspoken critic of the government.
The Ministry of Communication closed down Radio Veritas last month, claiming that it had not received proper authorisation, but it issued a new licence to the station on 12 December.
The French pressure group Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) had condemned the silencing of Radio Veritas as a political move, noting that it followed speculation that Cardinal Tumi would stand as an opposition candidate against President Paul Biya.
The widely respected churchman has since made clear that he does not plan to run for political office.
Radio Veritas is not the first private broadcaster to fall foul of the government's stringent media laws. Earlier this year, RSF highlighted the closure of two privately owned television stations, RTA and Canal 2, and of another radio station, Freedom FM. It said these moves were designed to dampen media criticism of Biya and his government in the run-up to presidential elections due in October 2004.
Felix Zogo, a spokesman for the Ministry of Communication, told the government newspaper Cameroon Tribune that the government had allowed Radio Veritas to resume broadcasting following a telephone conversation between Tumi, the Archbishop of Douala, and Communication Minister Jacques Fame Ndongo.
The new licence of Veritas, which was printed in full in the newspaper, says the remit of Radio Veritas is to provide religious programming for "the social and cultural education of the Catholic community of Douala".
However, the station has been established by a man who is renowned and respected for his frequently outspoken views on corruption, misrule and human rights abuse in Cameroon.
Earlier this year, the cardinal said in a newspaper interview that he feared that the growing exclusion of the Cameroonian people from the democratic process could result in a violent backlash. The government responded with a rebuke by Ndongo in the Cameroon Tribune which. This did not name Tumi directly, but it accused "a dignitary of the Catholic Church" of "jeopardising peace, stability and cohesion".
Tumi insisted at the time that he did not want to see unrest in Cameroon, but had spoken out because "the ingredients of war keep accumulating". He warned that growing poverty, a disenfranchised youth, a widely criticised electoral system and public perceptions of tribalism in government could lead to to grave repercussions.
Tumi told IRIN in September that he was concerned about the forthcoming presidential elections. He demanded reforms to the electoral system, expressing fears that a large part of Cameroon's 15 million population would be excluded from the ballot.
"Those who can vote" he said "should be at liberty to vote. There should be no moral pressure to vote one way or another and no physical pressure to abstain," Tumi said.
The National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon described the June 2002 legislative and municipal elections as flawed. Its monitors reported "corruption through vote buying, bogus polling stations, selective registration and issuing of vote cards".
International monitors also denounced the elections deeply flawed and the US state department was scathing of the system in its annual report on human rights.
Despite pressure to stand against Biya in next year's election, Tumi told IRIN that the Pope would not allow him to do so.
"Many people have come to visit me at the cathedral and asked me to stand - even a delegation of Cameroonians from the United States" Tumi said. But he added: "I am a priest, I cannot be a candidate".
The 73-year-old cardinal added: "My superior is the Pope and he says that bishops cannot take part in conflict. If I fought against the government in an election I would be in conflict".
However, Tumi said he would not rule out another significant role in the electoral process. "If all the parties came together, they could ask a bishop to be an election referee. I must be faithful to my principles as a priest - I will not be allied to any one party." he said.
Tumi's repeated denials of plans to run for the presidency have not stopped opposition newspapers from suggesting that the achrbishop may retire soon to clear the way for his name to appear on the voting card next October.
Meanwhile, music blares from the speakers at the small but well equipped Radio Veritas studios next to the cathedral in Douala, as its staff prepare to get its programmes back on air before Christmas.