Opposition call for end to Star radio ban

Eleven opposition parties joined a protest on Monday against the closure of Star Radio and called on the government to lift its ban against the private broadcaster, news organisations reported.

“Reopening Star Radio would be a positive response to Liberian voters who need to exercise their constitutional right to be informed fully and to instruct their government as to how it should govern,” PANA quoted the parties as saying in a statement.

Star Radio was closed on 15th March but the Roman Catholic Radio, Veritas, which had its broadcasts suspended at the same time, has since been allowed to resume transmission.

The opposition warned that prolonged closure of Star could discourage donors from giving aid to Liberia.

“We must remember that these are the same governments and their international institutions that came to Liberia recently as a multi-donor team and gave our country very strong support by declaring the security environment is no longer an obstacle to economic development,” PANA quoted the parties as saying.

Meanwhile, the Press Union of Liberia lifted its weeklong boycott of government news last weekend, in an effort to ease the strained relations between privately owned media and the government.