A cursory comparative review of the past and now

By Bodioh W. Siapoe

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 4, 2007 -- Many news articles were written about President Charles Taylor's dictatorship. The press was allegedly stricken of its constitutional right to free speech. The Hassan Bility story readily comes to mind. The muzzling of the press began after 1.5 years, then came the slaughter of Vice President Sam Dokie and some of his family members in 1997.

Catholic Church leaders in Liberia sued the government for banning shortwave broadcasts by church-run Radio Veritas, calling it a violation of constitutionally guaranteed free speech.

Information Minister-Designate Bropleh

Liberia's government assembled team of "crack lawyers" to fight the suit. The government wrote the station management in July, withdrawing the station's authorization to broadcast on shortwave frequencies. The move left a pro-government station, Radio Liberia, as the only one transmitting news via shortwave that could be heard outside the country.

President Charles Taylor upheld the ban and told journalists there would be no other shortwave stations in the West African country. "The use of shortwave is a privilege, not a right," he said.

The church lawsuit accused the government of violating Liberia's constitution, which states, "Every person shall have the right to freedom of expression, being fully responsible for the abuse thereof, the right shall not be curtailed, restricted or enjoined by the government."

Radio Veritas and another independent station, Star Radio, were shut down by government a year earlier on the grounds they were "preaching filth to the public about the government."

In 2007 Liberians are beginning to see a repeat of draconian and undemocratic posturing by public servants -- who should be in the service of the Liberian people, and not their masters. The press again is under attack. Information Minister-Designate Laurence Bropleh took the law in his hands and unilaterally suspended the Independent newspaper. This time, it is not Radio Veritas nor Star Radio litigating against the government. The newspaper's editor has sued the government, seeking to prohibit government's action in suspending him without going through the courts. Might the UP-led government and its colleagues in Gabon on the proverbial same page? May, maybe not.

The Gabonese Goverment has also banned a tabloid for three months. This week, The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm that authorities in Gabon's capital, Libreville, have suspended a satirical newspaper for three months, apparently after it published commentary critical of President Omar Bongo, according to news reports and local journalists. The official National Communications Council (CNC) suspended the private bimonthly Edzombolo on Tuesday for allegedly publishing "defamatory and insulting news directed at prominent state personalities," according to local journalists and the news Web site Gabonews. The CNC did not identify the allegedly defamatory coverage; CNC officials did not immediately return messages from CPJ seeking comment.

Last December, the National Endowment for Democracy based in Washington, D.C. was somewhat disappointed that Liberia in 2006 failed the test of press freedom in less than a year. The 2006 Press Rankings of 48 African countries was divided into three categories: countries that practice press freeom; those that are partly free; and the third, which does not believe in nor practise press freedom. Of the first category were 7 African nations, where Mali topped the list. Nineteen countries were said to be partly free. Nigeria was among 19 of the partly-free countries. The third category reported 22 African countries that do not practise press freedom. Liberia was placed in that category of the report.

In recent times, "competent" and democratically-minded public functionaries have created some incredible level of insecurity in Liberia, paving the way to leading the country to its sordid past.

If the Ministry of Information has been created to censor free speech, then it's about time the Liberian People and their government decide the ministry's utility in a young democracy like ours. In a wholesome functioning democracy, there is no room for dictatorship and hypocrisy. Those who follow blindly should be removed from service, without fear or favor.

Information Minister Laurence Bropleh is no exception. It's time he got the boot.

SOURCE: http://RadioFreeLiberia.Org