Liberia
Liberian press situation deteriorating

afrol News, 22 November - On Tuesday, policemen entered the premises of the private Liberian daily 'The News'. The men had no writ but ordered the members of the newspaper to leave. 'The News' and the 'Monrovia Guardian' were closed by the government. Press freedom seems further limited since the introduction of UN sanctions against Liberia.

According to information gathered by the French media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF - Reporters Without Borders), a police officer explained to one of 'The News' editors that this measure was linked to unpaid taxes. 

The media watchdog notes that Liberia is one of the last countries not to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 19 of which guarantees freedom of expression. According to independent sources, freedom of expression has been further curtailed over the last years.

Also on Tuesday, according to information gathered by RSF, policemen arrested Wilson Tarpeh, chairman of the board of directors of 'The News'. The 'Monrovia Guardian' was also banned for the same reason. The Ministry of Finance said the two publications had not paid certain taxes to the government.

- These newspapers are trying to survive and they cannot pay their taxes to the government, explained Robert Ménard, General Secretary of RSF. "The authorities know it and we fear it is a pretext to shut down two independent and very critical newspapers." The two newspapers are among the few critical voices remaining in Monrovia.

In a letter addressed to the Minister of Finance, Nathinal Barnes, RSF today called for the release of Wilson Tarpeh, chairman of the board of directors of the daily 'The News', and the reopening of this newspaper and of the 'Monrovia Guardian'.

RSF further noted that in January 2001 four journalists from 'The News' were arrested and held for a few hours after criticising the government for misappropriation of public funds.

On 17 September 2001, Monrovia police raided the offices of the private radio station DC 101.1. They demanded the staff to evacuate and stopped the broadcasting. The radio station was accused of airing "anti-American sentiments" during the program "DC Talk". Callers reacted live to the 11 September attack in United States and said. "This is time for America to suffer too for what it has been doing to other people." Another person explained that the United States "is getting a taste of its own medicine." 

Police also arrested T-max Jlateh, the presenter of the program. On 18 September, following an agreement between the director of DC 101.1 and the Minister of Justice, the radio station was authorised to broadcast again. Meanwhile, T-max Jlateh is still detained in the office of the Ministry of Justice. 

In August, Sam O. Dean, editor of the 'Monrovia Guardian', reportedly was arrested by the Monrovia police and taken to the police headquarters for publishing a critical article concerning the capital's police chief. He was charged with "criminal malevolence". In an article, he had reported that the police chief Paul Mulbah had been summoned by the House of Representatives for "explanations". A representative accused the director of police of "flogging" her. 

In one year some ten journalists have been detained in Liberia, "making this country one of the most repressive in West Africa regarding press freedom matter," according to earlier RSF statements. According to the human rights group Amnesty International, "a human rights crisis [is] unfolding in Liberia." Extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, torture and rape by soldiers, police and rebels have been documented on a wide scale. Prison conditions are harsh and sometimes life threatening. 

Also last year, the government severely restricted freedom of the press; it detained, threatened, and intimidated journalists into self-censorship and shut down two radio stations, according to US government sources. The situation of the press seems to have worsened this year, especially after the introduction of UN sanctions against the dictatorship of President Charles G. Taylor.

Source: Based on RSF, US govt. and afrol archives

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