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Liberia ALERT: Nigerian journalist faces deportation

Vivian Affoah
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Immigration authorities in Monrovia have concluded deportation procedures to expel Ojima I. Davies, a Nigerian journalist working with the independent DC TV.

Ojima is facing deportation without the benefit of a court trial. He was expected to be deported today, May 22. Ojima has been in detention for the past two weeks at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), following his arrest on Tuesday May 7, for interpreting the word “Dahkpannah” to a religious group. “Dahkpannah” is the middle name of President Charles Taylor, which, in the local Kpelleh dialect, means “Chief Zoe.”

Ojima reportedly interpreted “Dahkpannah” to mean “Dark Zoe”; which interpretation President Taylor apparently considered indecorous and offensive. According to Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) Liberia sources, Ojima’s equipment was confiscated and his family barred from visiting him.

The MFWA condemns the government action, which is only the latest of President Taylor’s relentless acts of intimidation and harassment of journalists and civil society advocates in Liberia. We urge you to protest the persistent acts of abuse of freedom of expression in Liberia and in particular, the planned deportation of Ojima.

Liberia ALERT: Journalist arrested   

Vivian Affoah
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Emmanuel Mondaye, a reporter of the independent Inquirer newspaper, has been arrested by State Security forces and is currently detained at the National Police Headquarters in Monrovia.

Mondaye was arrested on Saturday May 11, 2002 in the central provincial city of Gbarnga, where he had gone to report on the alleged looting of homes and shops by government forces. According to MFWA-Liberia sources, Mondaye’s equipment was confiscated when it was discovered that he had taken some pictures of the looting scene.

Journalists and the independent media in Liberia have been victims of incessant acts of intimidation and assault since President Taylor imposed a State of Emergency in February this year, in response to rebel advances on the capital, Monrovia. The government has used those State of Emergency powers to impose restrictions on the reporting of human rights abuses and other excesses committed by State Security officers. Persons who dare to go beyond the government’s version of information are routinely picked up by security agents. It would be recalled that when the Analyst newspaper published the text of a speech made by human rights lawyer Tiawan Gongloe about democracy and peace in the Mano River Union, the government used the state of emergency laws to shut down the paper. The media was further instructed not to report on Cllr Gongloe’s incarceration and torture by State Security agents.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is concerned about the fate of media practitioners in Liberia and urges the government of President Taylor to stop the serial abuse of media freedom and human rights in the country. The MFWA appeals to you to protest the illegal detention of Mr Mondaye, as well as the distressing state of media freedom, freedom of expression and human rights under the government of Mr Taylor.

Mauritania ALERT: Newspaper seized

Vivian Affoah
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Mauritania’s Ministry of Interior, Posts and Telecommunications has seized the entire print run of the May 8, 2002 edition (Issue No. 45) of the ESSAHIVA newspaper – an Arabic Language weekly.

Although no specific item in the publication was complained about, the seizure notice, which was served on phone, cited a July 25, 1991 Law on Press Freedom in Mauritania to justify its action. Article 11 of the said law provides in part, that “The circulation, dissemination or sale … of newspapers or periodicals … likely to undermine the principles of Islam or the image of the State, to harm the public good, to compromise public order and security, whatever the language in which it is written, may be banned by an order from the Ministry of the Interior.”

According to Yahya Ould Hamoud, editor-in-chief of the paper, the Ministry’s action was probably related to a story carried by the publication in reference, about the death of a Mauritanian cross-border drug dealer. The story, which also carried an accompanying picture illustration of the corpse, alleged that the victim was killed by Senegalese customs officials on the border between the two countries.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns this use of state power to suppress press freedom and the right of the public in Mauritania to be informed. The MFWA appeals to the government of President Maaouiya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya to refrain from acts that tend to undermine media rights and freedom of expression in the country.

The MFWA is urging you to protest the seizure of the ESSAHIVA publication.

Liberia ALERT: Human rights lawyer arrested again

Vivian Affoah
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Barely three weeks after his last abduction and torture, National Security officials have, once again, detained Human Rights Lawyer Tiawan Gongloe, and are reported to be subjecting him to cold-hearted torture.

Mr. Gongloe was arrested on Sunday, May 12, 2002 at the Roberts International Airport, after he had completed check-in procedures, and was waiting to embark an aircraft en route to Sierra Leone. He was part of the Carter Foundation Election Observer Team sent to monitor the May 14, 2002 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Sierra Leone.

According to information received by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), two immigration officers informed Mr. Gongloe that he was not allowed to leave the country, and that they had been instructed to escort him to the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters, where he is presently incarcerated.

It would be recalled that three weeks ago, on April 24, agents of President Charles Taylor’s security outfit arrested Mr. Gongloe without charge and severely brutalised him, leading to his hospitalisation, ostensibly because of a speech he had delivered at a meeting of civil society groupings in neighbouring Guinea. He was released only after a writ of habeas corpus was filed against the government by human rights advocates in the country. Since his release, the government has on two occasions failed to appear in court to respond to the writ of habeas corpus.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns this latest act of blatant abuse of the rights of Mr. Gongloe to the fundamental freedoms of expression, movement and association. The MFWA calls on the government of President Taylor to immediately release (or charge) Mr Gongloe; and to stop the persistent persecution of all other perceived political opponents in the country.

The MFWA also requests you to condemn the continued detention and torturing of Mr. Gongloe.

Niger ALERT: Human rights defender sentenced

Vivian Affoah
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Marou Amadou, Secretary General of the Collectif des Organizations de Défense des Droits de l’Homme et de la Démocratie (CODDH), an umbrella organization of human rights and pro-democracy groups, has been sentenced to ten months imprisonment. A court in Niamey sentenced Amadou on May 7, 2002 and also fined him 10,000 CFA francs for ‘contempt of court’.

Amadou was held for contempt of court after he told a judge that the demarcation between two villages locked in a local land dispute was arbitrary and contrary to a court ruling. The Judge considered Amadou’s statement contemptous and an afront to his decision. The same Judge who accused Amadou, tried him and sentenced him for ten months. He was taken to a civil prison. Amadou has appealed against the judgement.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) views the court’s decision as a flagrant abuse of incumbency and a calculated attempt to silence human rights defenders and free expression in Niger. The MFWA urges the government to unconditionally release Amadou and to desist from using the court to strangulate free expression.

The MFWA requests that you make your protest about the imprisonment of the human rights activist.

 

 

 

Liberia ALERT: Government prevents journalists’ parade

Vivian Affoah
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The government of President Charles Taylor has banned a parade organized by the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) to commemorate this year’s World Press Freedom Day, which falls today, May 3, 2002.

On Monday, April 22, the PUL issued a statement outlining a week-long calendar of activities, meant to observe this year’s World Press Freedom Day. However, today’s intended parade by members of PUL (which was scheduled to culminate in an address by three personalities, including Information Minister Reginald Goodridge) was banned ostensibly because it breached the government’s recent pronouncement forbidding public gatherings in the country.

Two years ago, on May 3, 2000, police personnel disbanded a similar parade, even though the PUL had secured an official permit from the Ministry of Justice, on the pretext that some persons with “ulterior motives” had planned to use the parade to destabilize Monrovia.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) strongly condemns this habitual action of the Charles Taylor government to disrupt the annual World Press Freedom Day celebrations by the PUL. It represents the most direct affront yet on media freedom in Liberia, and infringes Articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which the Republic of Liberia is a signatory. It also contradicts President Taylor’s assurances that the “civil liberties” of the Liberian people would be respected under the state of emergency.

On this World Press Freedom Day, the MFWA appeals to you to condemn this blatant attack on media freedom in Liberia.

Togo ALERT: Newspaper editor arrested

Vivian Affoah
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Augustin Amégah, managing editor of the Le Reporter des Temps Nouveaux newspaper, who had been in hiding since April 18 2002 for fear of his life, has been arrested by personnel of Togo’s national gendarmerie. According to close family sources, Mr. Amégah was arrested in the morning of Monday, April 29, 2002 while on his way to a clinic to visit his wife who had delivered.

It would be recalled that Mr. Amégah was forced into hiding after his newspaper had published comments reportedly made by two unnamed officers of the Togo National Armed Forces. The article had implied that at least one person within the army disagreed with the habitual seizures of newspapers by General Sizing Akawilou Walla, Minister of the Interior and Security. State security authorities sought to compel Mr. Amégah to disclose the names of the unidentified army officers. (For further information on the fast degenerating situation of media rights in Togo, see MFWA’s Alerts of April 22 and 29).

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is deeply distressed by the continued wave of abuses of media rights and freedom of expression in the Republic of Togo, and urges the government to immediately free the detained
editor, respect the freedom of the media and protect the rights of journalists. The MFWA also appeals to you to condemn the arrest of Mr. Amégah, the repeated seizures of newspaper publications, and similar acts that undermine the development of a free and vibrant media culture that is necessary for genuine democracy in Togo.

Togo ALERT: Newspaper editor forced into hiding

Vivian Affoah
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Augustin Amégah, editor of the Le Reporter des Temps Nouveaux newspaper has been in hiding since April 18, 2002, following reports of a “manhunt” for him by the gendarmerie in Togo.

The Friday, April 18 edition of the newspaper (Issue No. 164), had reported that a Major in the Togolese army had confided in a Captain that “the seizures [of the La Tribune du Peuple weekly] ordered by General Walla are abusive.” (For further information on the La Tribune story, see the MFWA Alert of April 22, 2002 on Togo).

As editor of the newspaper, Mr Amégah is presumed by state security authorities to know the identities of the two unnamed officers. Although Amégah has written a disclaimer in the La Tribune newspaper, the gendarmerie is clearly determined to exact a forced “confession” from him.

The media rights record in Togo has always been abysmal. But the situation has deteriorated appallingly, since the coming into effect of a new, restrictive Press and Communication Code for the country in January 2000. Independent journalists in the country are being hounded and their newspapers routinely shut down, almost on a daily basis. Indeed, during the past two weeks, thousands of copies of more than five different newspapers have been seized using Article 168 of the new Press Code. In the latest such clampdown, the weeklies, Motion d’Information and Le Combat du Peuple were, on Monday, April 22, seized for publishing a memorandum by Dahuku Péré, Member of Parliament for the ruling Togolese People’s Rally (RPT).

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is seriously concerned about this distressing trend of official harassments and abuses of media freedom and freedom of expression generally in Togo. The MFWA, once again, urges the government of President Eyadema to repeal this obnoxious Press Code, and to allow for the development of a free and pluralistic media culture in the country.

The MFWA appeals to you to protest the continuing acts of intimidation and terror against the media in Togo.

Sierra Leone ALERT: Editor held for libel

Vivian Affoah
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Paul Kamara, editor and proprietor of the ‘For Di People’ newspaper was, on April 25, 2002, charged by the Freetown High Court for allegedly defaming the President of the Sierra Leone Football Association, Justice Tolla Thompson.

Tolla Thompson is also a Judge of the Appeal Court. Kamara was charged with a two-count libel and placed under a Le10 million bail by the court presided over by Justice Umu Tejan Jalloh. The bail is to be accompanied by two real estate sureties located in Freetown. Kamara is expected to re-appear in court on May 9, 2002.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) considers the high bail imposed on the editor by the court as a means to intimidate and gag the media.

The MFWA reminds the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Dr. Cecil Blake to keep the government’s promise that it would “create the space for the media to function without hindrance”.

Mauritania ALERT: Police attack journalists

Vivian Affoah
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Journalists from the private press in Mauritania – among them, Abdrahmane Ould Horma Ould Babana, President of the Committee for the Respect of Ethics (CRED) – were, on April 18, 2002, singled out and violently assaulted by anti-riot police.

The journalists were covering a peaceful demonstration organised by civil society groups in the country, in support of the struggle of the Palestinian people. The government has, to date, ignored calls for an enquiry into this latest attack on journalists in the country. Barely a week earlier, on April 12, 2002, Mohamed Fall ould Oumčre, editor of the independent weekly, La Tribune, was arrested and detained at the Police CID Headquarters for nine days, without charge or trial. His family were also denied any access to him during the entire period of his incarceration, in spite of concerns about his failing health.

Mr Oumčre’s detention is thought to have been related to his suspected association with the organisation, Consciousness and Resistance,” an “underground” movement which has been critical of the 18 years rule of President Maaouiya oud Sid’Ahmed Taya. A story carried in the March 25, 2002 edition of the La Tribune newspaper had reported that “Consciousness and Resistance” was due to publish its manifesto.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) strongly condemns the attacks and arrests of journalists in Mauritania. The MFWA urges the government to respect the rights of journalists and all other persons to their fundamental freedoms of speech, expression and association in the country.

Liberia ALERT: Police brutalise human rights lawyer

Vivian Affoah
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Tiawan Gongloe, a prominent human rights lawyer and ardent advocate of freedom of expression in Liberia, has been arrested and severely brutalised in Monrovia, Liberia, by policemen for speaking at a civil society movement meeting in Guinea, Conakry. He is currently hospitalised under armed police guard at the SDA COOPER Hospital in Sinkor, Monrovia.

Eleven armed officers of the Liberia National Police, led by officer Mark Dolo, arrested Mr Gongloe during the night hours of Wednesday, April 24 without warrant or charge, stripped him naked, and placed him behind bars in the company of hard-core criminals. He was subsequently taken to the basement of the police headquarters. There, after being briefly questioned about a presentation he made on “Political Activities for the Attainment of Peace and Development in the Mano River Basin,” two plainclothes policemen proceeded to severely beat and kick him through the night. The next morning, Mr Gongloe, who could hardly stand on his feet, had to be carried to the hospital upon the intervention of some lawyers, with a bloodied face, a bleeding right eye and an injured left ear.

The government and its security agencies have ordered the media in Liberia not to publish anything about the attacks on Mr Gongloe. Indeed, on the same day of Mr Gongloe’s arrest, police shut down the offices of The Analyst newspaper for carrying the text of Mr Gongloe’s speech. One staff member of the paper has been arrested, while the Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief are also currently in hiding.

Mr Gongloe, who is popularly referred to as “the poor man’s lawyer,” has often represented clients in human rights cases, and is the author of The Law and the Media in Liberia, published by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA).

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Democratic Empowerment (CEDE), a democracy/human rights advocacy organisation in Liberia founded and headed by now-exiled former president of Liberia Prof. Amos Sawyer. He is also a member of the MFWA’s journalists legal defence network.

The MFWA condemns this latest evidence of vicious intolerance and violent assault on a Liberian citizen by the Charles Taylor government and calls on him to immediately release Mr. Gongloe.

The Media Foundation appeals to you to strongly condemn these acts of lawlessness and the total disregard for the rule of law by Taylor’s state security apparatus.

Togo ALERT: Editor in hiding

Vivian Affoah
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Kodjo Afatsao Siliadin, editor of the La Tribune du Peuple weekly, has gone into hiding, following the seizure, on the orders of Interior Minister General Sizing Walla, of some 2000 copies of the pro-opposition newspaper.

Mr Siliadin is alleged to have written “offensive comments” in an article carried in the April 4, 2002 issue of the paper, contrary to Article 108 of Togo’s new Press Code. The article had criticised the assault of a blacksmith, who had been accused of theft, by agents of the Togo Armed Forces (FAT).

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) condemns this latest seizure of the two-month-old pro-opposition newspaper because it is inimical to press freedom in Togo. It is also, clearly, an attempt to stifle the development of a critical opposition in the country.

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