RSF expresses concern for safety of journalists

he media watch-dog, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), has asked Sierra Leone's President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah to "confirm publicly" his commitment to press freedom and to take concrete measures to ensure that journalists can work freely and safely.

"Journalists cannot do good work in a context of fear and incessant threats," RSF's general secretary Robert Menard said in a statement on Thursday.

"It is the duty of the authorities to ensure the security of journalists in order to maintain the diffusion of pluralistic and independent information," he added.

The organisation pointed out, among other incidents, that on 8 October 2001, two journalists were assaulted in the street of the capital Freetown.

One of them, Alhaji Jalloh, was punched by policemen at a police station when he tried to get more information about a road accident, while Joseph Vandi was manhandled by agents from the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) who attempted to control a group of former rebels who were demanding their benefits from the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR). RSF quoted a spokesman from UNAMSIL as saying that an inquiry has been launched into the affair.

Also on 14 September, seven journalists from the private press received a death threat letter signed by an unknown "Danger Squad". RSF quoted the letter as saying that these journalists "write nasty articles", and if they don't stop, the group will "put an end to their earthly existence".