25 journalists displaced, robbed, tortured in Monrovia

At least 25 Liberian journalists have been displaced from their homes by recent fighting in the capital, Monrovia, while others have been robbed, abducted and tortured by government fighters and rebels of the Liberian United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the Media Foundation of West Africa (MFWA) said on Tuesday. "Following the recent incursions of LURD rebels into Monrovia, residents of the Duala and New Kru Town suburbs [were] subjected to a reign of terror, alleged to be mainly perpetrated by government forces," Professor Kwame Karikari, Executive Director of the Accra-based press freedom group said in a statement. "Journalists and human rights activists in Monrovia have been the worst victims of what appears to be the targeted and systematic looting, arson and rape of residents caught up in the raging conflict," he added. Independent journalist Lyndon Ponnie narrowly escaped death when armed men attacked his home on 12 June and robbed him of every possession. "He now passes the night at his office in central Monrovia. The whereabouts of his family are not known," the MFWA said. It said the former editor of The Concord Times newspaper had been a constant victim of harassment and death threats for allegedly campaigning to discredit the government of President Charles Taylor. The Concord Times was banned in 2000 for publishing stories about corruption in government. The MFWA also reported that LURD rebels had abducted three journalists on June 12, but had released them several days later. It named them as Bobby Tapson and Bill Jarkloh, investigative reporters of the independent newspaper The News, and Joe Watson of the state-owned Liberia Broadcasting System. The statement said Stanley McGill, another reporter with The News was assaulted on June 5 by armed men, who confiscated his laptop. He had also been attacked a week earlier by three armed men wearing uniforms of the government's elite Anti Terrorist Unit (ATU). The MFWA said they had robbed him and promised to "get back". The MFWA said the homes of three other journalists had been looted and set ablaze. They were Philip Moore, editor-in-chief of the Independent newspaper, Charles Asumana of The Inquirer and Kaba Williams. Others suffered the loss of close relatives. The mother of Patrick Wolokpor, a reporter with the independent Inquirer newspaper was shot and killed by ATU soldiers when she protested that they had killed her dog, the MFWA said. Three nieces of Ishmael P Campbell, a human rights advocate and Vice President of the Liberia Bar Association, were meanwhile assaulted and sexually abused. Campbell's home was also looted, forcing him to go into hiding. "The Media Foundation is deeply concerned about the safety of journalists and other media workers in Liberia," Karikari said. "We urge the government and all fighting forces to guarantee and protect journalists and innocent civilians, particularly women and children, caught in the fighting." On 4 June, the MFWA protested against the government's decision to close six local FM radio stations in central Liberia without proffering specific charges against them.