STATEMENT BY THE AFRICAN EDITORS FORUM ON MEDIA REPRESSION IN SUDAN

STATEMENT BY THE AFRICAN EDITORS FORUM ON MEDIA REPRESSION IN SUDAN

 

This week, the repression of media in Sudan reached its climax with the arrest of 63 journalists from thirteen newspaper who were protesting against lack of freedom for media under the government of President Omar Al Bashir.

As a result 11 newspaper suspended publication for one day in solidarity with the detained journalists.

The arrests followed two weeks of hunger strike by journalists and editors protesting against heightened repression of media, leaving many publications unable to appear in the streets of Kharthoum.

These incidents of repression include:

 

• The turning of what was supposed to be a defender of media freedom,  the National Press Council and Publication Commission, into an arm and agent of the security establishment in oppressing the media.
• Arrests, intimidation, confiscation of news gathering equipment and even confiscation and burning of publications destined for circulation over the past six months. At times we are not even allowed to take pictures of the President himself.
• Journalists are only allowed to take pictures of President al Bashir, while in general they are only allowed to take pictures during public holidays and not any other times. They are not allowed even to carry a camera or even a tape recorder in public, one cannot even take photos of accident scenes without permission from relevant authorities.
• Halting of publications by a number of newspapers as the Intelligence Service personnel raid them and also confiscate newspapers. These intelligence operatives have also demanded that all articles be scrutinized and approved by themselves before being published. Some editors have opted to instead not publish rather than submit to censorship.

 

This week, in the twin city of Kharthoum known as Omdurman , a group of journalists led by Sudanese Journalists Network (SJNet),were protesting outside Parliament when trucks of police and soldiers rounded them up and arrested them. Some, including women, were molested, others physically assaulted and they are up to now still nursing serious bruises. But even this relative freedom from police cells amounts to nothing as each one of them is tailed by intelligence operatives.

 

The government of President Al Bashir, faced with an election next year, is seemingly feeling that the media is exposing too much corruption in government to the public, a situation that they apparently believe could impact negatively on them come next year's elections and referendum.

 

President al Bashir is already being sought for crimes against humanity and the country is already a pariah amongst nations for its alleged support for the janjaweed militia in Darfur whose attacks on civilians has seen thousands killed and many more uprooted.

 

But it is a member of the African Union and a signatory to its charter and protocols that guarantee the people of Sudan a free media to inform and educate them. The oppression of media in Sudan is in violation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and interim constitution, which included the Bill of Rights.

The AU provisions include:

• To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance;
• To promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; 
• In addition to the AU provisions, Sudan should establish the Human Rights Commission in compliance with the Paris principles agreed to by the government and as it is articulated in the Sudanese Constitution and CPA.

What the government of Sudan is doing is flouting these protocols that it has committed itself to and we call on the government to desist from further actions against the media, and to engage with the media in ensuring good relations and a free flow of information to the Sudanese people.

TAEF also calls on the AU Commission on Human and People's Rights presently meeting in Nigeria, and in particular the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, to immediately condemn the barbaric actions of the Sudanese government and take appropriate steps to end the harassment of the media.

TAEF will be approaching the Sudanese government for an urgent meeting to discuss this issue

Mathatha Tsedu

Président TAEF

 +27824540527…

mtsedu@media24.com

 --

Cheriff Moumina SY

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 13, 2008

  CONTACT: Dawn Arteaga, Communications Director

Telephone 202.349.7624, E-mail darteaga@icfj.org

International Center for Journalists Receives Funding to Improve News Coverage of Poverty and Development Issues in Africa

 

Three-year program, supported by a $2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is aimed at spurring better public policy
 by increasing media attention on the needs of Africa's poorest people

 

Washington, DC -- The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) has announced an innovative three-year program, the African Development Journalism Fellowships, to improve news coverage of critical development issues such as agriculture, microfinance, sanitation and employment in sub-Saharan Africa. This journalism fellowship program is funded by a $2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

The program addresses the need for increased information about rural regions, which are affected by policy decisions made in capital cities. Many news organizations in sub-Saharan Africa lack the resources and training to adequately cover rural issues that can determine whether their countries' poorest citizens begin to prosper or remain trapped in poverty.

 

ICFJ will place media development professionals from its Knight International Journalism Fellowships program into key African countries to help influential media increase coverage of development issues, especially beyond the capitals. The program will create networks of professional and citizen journalists in rural areas, using mobile technology to connect them to media in large cities.

 

The program builds on the success of ICFJ's Knight Health Journalism Fellowships, also funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Health Fellows work in Africa for a year to improve coverage of complicated health and research issues.

 

In this new initiative, media organizations will work with fellows to mentor reporters as they work on in-depth development stories in rural areas. The fellows will also develop a corps of African journalists with the skills to train colleagues to cover poverty and development issues. Additionally, fellows will help establish development reporting training programs at local journalism associations that will continue long after the program is over.

 

"Our Knight Health Fellows are mentoring African journalists to produce hard-hitting stories that are forcing governments to invest more in health care," said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan. "We believe these new fellows, using the latest mobile technology, will have similar impact in reducing poverty."

 

Alberto Ibargüen, president and CEO of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, announced the new grant at the ICFJ Awards Dinner Nov. 12.

 

Since 1994, the Knight Foundation has supported ICFJ's flagship program, the Knight International Journalism Fellowships. This program makes tangible changes that improve the quality and free flow of news around the world in the public interest. The program sends international media professionals for at least a year to countries where there are opportunities to promote reliable, insightful journalism that holds officials accountable.

 

For more information about the African Development Journalism Fellowships, please visit icfj.org/development.

About the International Center for Journalists
ICFJ is a non-profit, professional organization dedicated to promoting quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition. Aiming to raise the standards of journalism, ICFJ offers hands-on training workshops, seminars, fellowships and international exchanges to journalists and media managers around the globe.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people--especially those with the fewest resources--have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

1616 H Street, NW 3rd Floor | Washington, DC 20006 US

Liberia Transitional Justice Forum
Thoughts from Cape Town Immersion Fellowship Program

By: Lawrence T. Randall

Week 1 Continues…

Paige Arthur will return the next morning keen to meet her deliverables. She promptly reckons that the deliverables for Day 1 were unmet. Don’t forget we are discussing TJ History, Theory, Practice/Principal and Mechanism. She has just one hour and thirty minutes on hand to weave through this rather complex subject. As mentioned before, she has written a long and pretty engrossing essay on TJ History but to have effectively delivered on this, required more time than budgeted.

Nonetheless, she will attempt to make the most out of her genius. The time is fast flowing and Patricia Karim, our moderator and ruthless time keeper will keep it strict. We recap basically, the tune of the previous day proceeding-the various kinds of justice and the various kinds of transitions. Quite the same dissection we had when Dr. Boraine was on display. She brings in a more structured PowerPoint Presentation but we will have to rush this to finality, as she has another session within the session.

She will now revert to break up sessions assigning countries to four groups for the purpose of determining the right kind of transitional justice mechanism to deploy looking at the various countries contexts. This was a brilliant idea and fairly practical assignment, except that she failed to consider the factor of timing, which made it difficult to fall back on the various presentations to examine how they fitted with the appropriate justice claims and the definitions we had previously carved the day before.

As the last group ended, we were in to time. I thought we didn’t meet the deliverables and for couple for good reasons too. The subject was quite complicated and the idea to change gear without considering that there was no or limited latitude of time, further compounded the situation.

But I expect that Paige would gracefully accept responsibility for this, as combined she had four hours thirty minutes.

Helen Scanlon is a seasoned gender expert that has worked for ICTJ for a while. Her task is to lecture on Gender and Transitional Justice. She will begin by freshening up my rather obscure understanding of the gender concept, a term that has been so widely and often used in the last few years. Helen knew, from experience, that our time keeper carried out her work with ruthless determination and as such she was made to adapt a haste approach.

Sometimes limited in depth and content, she will run the lecture faster, keeping to the limits of time. I thought this was rather troublesome, as some key issues and information are left unabsorbed when lectures are fast tracked this way. Worthy of praise, was Helen choice of a semi-animated style, using audio-visual slides in her PowerPoint presentation on Gender and Transitional Justice. This was excellent. My verdict notwithstanding is reserved until Helen completes some remaining sessions on gender in prosecution, reparation etc. However, it should be said without hesitation that Helen kept the pace and fare pretty well. Let’s see what unfolds in the coming days.

Andre du Toit comes across as a very educated and highly knowledgeable man. One of the earliest scholar’s in the field, du Toit is amongst South Africa’s top intellectual elites, reading from his bio and judging by his visage. Andre as he’s called, will be given a subject (Transitional Justice in Africa) that he will eventually abandon and invite participants to map up areas of interest, which will be left largely unattended. He walks us through a replay of the fundamentals of transitional justice, quite good for starters but unwelcomed by practitioners hungry to amass multiple perspectives on the TJ subject in a relatively short period. The crew will be disappointed but in some respect, the dimensions Andre will eventually navigate were looking more visual, though obviously very theoretical. By measure of the subject matter, discussions were off tangent.

We end the day with a very inspiring documentary on Truth Commissions. See you tomorrow, when South African ‘Ambassador’ on TRC best practices, Yasmin Sooka takes to the stage.

Liberia Transitional Justice Forum
Thoughts from Cape Town Immersion Fellowship Program

By: Lawrence T. Randall

This forum is long overdue. Let me, as a matter of principle, insist that the creation of this forum is not an original idea. In fact, Aaron Weah of the International Center for Transitional Justice, ICTJ Monrovia Office and I have been tolling with the idea of bringing young practitioners working in the field of transitional justice in Liberia together in some form of informal discourse. The manner, form and shape that discourse would eventually take were left hanging in the air. Unusually swarmed with routine busy schedules, those thoughts slipped into oblivion.

An invitation from the ICTJ to attend its Cape Town Fellowship on Transitional Justice can be fairly termed the defining moment for reclaiming the imagery that buzzed through our heads when Aaron and I pondered the absence of any contemporary journal on this vast field that was unfolding in Liberia. Come to think of it, we have over a dozen young Liberians that have graduated from some form of orientation in various subjects and thematic areas under this arena, yet, there’s no dedicated intellectual space for these practitioners to review and analyze regional and global trends, new concepts and controversies, and emerging challenges and opportunities facing the sector. In this edition, we will focus large measure on the overall transitional justice debate and how our South African study has affected our perception about the subject. The journey begins.

We start by stressing that even before Immersion, we had some functional definition of transitional justice but the first day of the course has provided an array of contexts by which we are now able to mirror, analyze and appreciate the various underlying issues and debates underpinning the field’s development in the last decade.

For starters, arriving in Cape Town should be quite amazing especially with no prior visits to the developed world. And even with such experience, you are left baffled by the extent to which South Africans have made their tax dollars work. Ask those that have been here and they tell you first hand. The progress notwithstanding, it is instructive to note that sometimes the beauty of this vast and diverse country can prove deceptive. For instance, you might be inclined to believe that hunger and poverty are a media creation, judging by the chain of food stores few blocks away from you. It will be a fatal judgment to conclude that the country is so peaceful reading from your upscale apartment in downtown Cape Town. The many opposite complexions you find elsewhere are the heart of South Africa’s diversity.

It should be noted however, that South Africa minus crime and the glaring disparity in inequality, and standard of living between communities is a place worth living. Cape Town especially has a striking distinction. Cape Town is a peninsula city covered by nature’s bare beauty which descends from the overlooking mountains and provides the scenery you just can’t find in a metropolitan area. The physical, human, structural and material scar left by apartheid is all but visible. Few meters from the Airport, we are greeted by the paradox of prosperity. Two communities divided by a stretch of two lane roads heading to the city center. One very developed and the other, a shanty town typical of Monrovia’s West Point ghetto. These communities lie opposite to each other just about a kilometer from Cape Town Airport. You find this kind of disparity widespread across the country and of course in all fairness to South Africans, it will require some additional time to address these issues of structural inequalities that even very developed countries like the US are still haunted by. Katrina might have just been a tip of the iceberg.

We will probably need a more detailed essay to capture our impression of life in South Africa in general, the case of crime, silent and unspoken discrimination and the relics of the apartheid period. To begin delving in more detail would mean reinventing a discussion so widely articulated by reputed scholars and full time investigative journalists. We move on and focus the forum on the matter most pressing – transitional justice.

Day 1 should have been a basis. Was it really? In some respect, I say yes. Dr. Alex Boraine, you might not be very conversant with this soft speaking walking encyclopedia if you are far removed from the transitional justice community, but simply put, he is a TJ egghead. Dr. Boraine is founder of ICTJ and he brings enormous reputation to this fast growing organization simply based on work and merits. An astute intellectual and calmly intelligently teacher, Dr. Boraine waves through the etymology of Transitional Justice in ways no ordinary scholar would do. He brings the context closer and involves students in carving the basic fundamentals to this sometime controversial cliche “Transitional Justice” that has resonated so well since its introduction as a field of concentration. We got to understand that Transitional Justice is in fact a evolving concept which has rightly sought to claim legitimacy in the last few decades not merely for its relevance as a field but its immense ability to restore fractured societies, re-institutionalize the culture of accountability and promote as in the case of nascent democracies, tenets of good governance the absence of which has become somewhat rational pretext for perpetrators of violence to wage war and instigate social unrest. We were able to establish some historical context of the field’s emergence and how a host of issues affected its development. From Dr. Boraine‘s perspective, I would say we got a deal.

By mid-day, the base was being energized and reading from my Liberian colleague Caroline Bowah, expectations were being met. She was electrified and as a typical TJ practitioner, she was active to the roof and could be seen expressly satisfied with the deal. The base was further consolidated with the introduction of an almost informal lecture from reputed historian and writer, Dr. Paige Arthur who discussed the history, theory, principles and practice of transitional justice from the skin surface. I had actually been one of few fellows that thought to read Arthur’s electrifying thirty-five page essay on TJ history and was of course very impressed with her mastery of the subject and the energy she deployed in collating a vast array of documentations and interviews. I was in anticipation, like a thirsty student waiting to be filled from the master’s flowing fountain of knowledge. My eagerness could be detected and in fact, prior to her presentation I hitched a chat outside the main conference venue and began explaining my reading of her article and expressly indicated my expectations. She was clear and straight. She could not deliver the issues the way and depth I would have loved considering time constraints, the mix of participants and of course the course objectives were all limitations to such narrative’s eloquent delivery.

So, all said and done this was not to be. And to cause further upset to her strategy, Dr. Borain had ventured into grounds reserved for her, looking at the subjects and issues that were outlined in the course itinerary. She had to invent a delivery mode of her own. And true to her credit, she thought to make her presentation more participatory and user friendly. The lectures that I hoped for was all in summary and the bulk was shifted to the participants to carve their path. Think, think and rationalize. I was disappointed but in some measure she resonates as an intelligent instructor knowing the mood and knowing how to deploy her methodology. Half of the session was group work, laying the basis for the definition of key terms and providing the construct for the discourse, which to be honest, was already dissected by her predecessor. We were low on time, as the various exercises were involving more time than expected and then came our shuttle. Time is up. You got to go.

Was the deal complete? I asked my colleague, sensing some uneasiness and lack of gusto. “Well, lets wait for part II tomorrow” she said calmly. After all and true to Paige Arthur’s credit, we need to wait and see.

Have to check the clinic for some ear scan and see you on Day 2, when the forum returns. Good bye from sweet Cape Town.


___________________
Mr. Lawrence T. Randall is a Liberian journalist who lives and works in Monrovia, the country's capital. Mr. Randall is also Executive Director of the Liberia Media Center (LMC), Liberia's biggest local non-governmental organization that works to build the capacities of local journalists and media institutions.

Recommend Prosecution For Heinous Crimes

…US Professor Holloway Tells TRC

…Says Reconciliation in Good, But Justice Is Better

Monrovia, September 4, 2008 (TRC): The TRC must recommend prosecution for past government officials that committed the most heinous economic and political crimes against the Liberian people at a special tribunal set up to address wrongs against humanity, Professor Joseph Holloway has suggested.

Professor Holloway said reconciliation is good and necessary, but justice is always better. By justice, he said the idea of political, economic and social justice should also be considered on the road to reconciliation.

Dr. Holloway said that people who have been violated must be guaranteed their safety from state terrorism, provide them with food security. He said individuals who have committed crimes against humanity should receive justice.

He was testifying Thursday at Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) ongoing Thematic and Institutional Hearing on Historical Review at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion in Monrovia.

Holloway, professor of Pan African Studies at California State University and a prolific writer on Liberia cautioned the Supreme Court, the court systems, government officials, including the office of the president to not use their positions to protect groups that have violated the human rights of Liberian citizens.

“The mandates of most Truth and Reconciliation Commissions have been to discover and reveal past wrongdoing by the governments. In the case of Liberia, one can argued that issues of class, culture, ethnicity and land are at the roots of the historical crisis. More importantly, the people and victims of internal unrest, civil war, state terrorism have been left in a state of confusion because the new governments have established Truth and Reconciliation Commissions based on the South African model, which has been controversial because many of the individuals accused for crimes against humanity are now part of those governments, and go unpunished with impunity,” Professor Holloway said.

Holloway insisted that the government should make a public apology for past crimes against the people and should pay reparation in the form of building schools, roads, and medical centers in rural areas.

He said past economic and political crimes against indigenous peoples by the True Whig Party government should be heard by the TRC, saying that many of these issues involve land ownership.

Dr. Holloway proposed that the TRC should recommend to the government the removal of honors of individuals who abused government offices at the expense of its poor citizens.

Under the theme: “Examining Liberia’s Past: Reality, Myth, Falsehood and the Conflict”, the hearing will provide a critical review and expert perspectives into Liberia’s past not only for the purpose of understanding the historical antecedents to the conflict, but to ensure the country’s history or national narrative reflected the experiences, beliefs and aspirations of Liberians of all backgrounds.

The hearing featuring the testimonies and presentations of historians, anthropologists, journalists, lawyers, politicians, diplomats and clergymen is intended to help Liberians rewrite their history by seeking to identify the issues that underpinned our history, divided us as a people and nearly eviscerated the state.

__________________

Press Release from the TRC's media unit.

1980 Coup Created Opportunity For Disputes

…Professor Holsoe Diagnoses Liberia’s Problems

The April 12, 1980 military coup created an opportunity for disputes to flare up in Liberia, which the True Whig Party (TWP) government had difficulty quashing, Professor Svend E. Holsoe said.

Dr. Holsoe, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Delaware said the overthrow of the TWP leadership in 1980, and with the new leadership favoring people of certain regions resulted into the weakening of the overarching control by force of the central government.

As a consequence, he said, there was an opportunity for disputes to flare up, which the authorities had difficulties quashing.

Professor Holsoe, author of several publications including books, book reviews monographs, edited works, bibliographic documentation and articles on Liberia, was testifying Tuesday at Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) ongoing Thematic Hearings on Historical Review at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion on Ashmun Street, Monrovia.

“The top was off the box, and disputes spilled out, thereby allowing local warlords to arise. As a consequence, some of the patterns of violent disruption, known from the past, began to re-emerge,” Dr. Holsoe founding editor of the Liberian Studies Journal, Liberian Working Papers and Liberian Monograph Series, member of the African Studies Association and a founding member of the Liberian Studies Association said.

He said regional variations in Liberia are real and continue to exist, but recommended the need to re-impose central authority all over the country in order to return to tranquility.

He said it is necessary to acknowledge in any new political structure, that there are regional political and social differences, which any new structure of local governance will need to pay attention.

In the matter of dispute settlement, Dr. Holsoe said mechanisms need to be put in places that are appropriate. At the same time, he said a standardized legal system needs to be made operative across the country.

He said local people must be left to design within a general structure and political system that works best for themselves and not have the specifics of it imposed.

Dr. Holsoe said that Liberia has had dual legal system (the traditional and statutory) which he said had been a troubled boundary and proposed a unified legal system that would alleviate competitiveness between the two systems.

Under the theme: “Examining Liberia’s Past: Reality, Myth, Falsehood and the Conflict”, the hearings will provide a critical review and expert perspectives into Liberia’s past not only for the purpose of understanding the historical antecedents to the conflict, but to ensure the country’s history or national narrative reflected the experiences, beliefs and aspirations of Liberians of all backgrounds.

The hearing featuring the testimonies and presentations of historians, anthropologists, journalists, lawyers, politicians, diplomats and clergymen is intended to help Liberians rewrite their history by seeking to identify the issues that underpinned our history, divided us as a people and nearly eviscerated the state.


____________
Press release from the TRC's media unit.

War Crimes Court Will Undermine Liberia’s Security

…Father Tikpor

The establishment of a war crimes court in Liberia will undermine the peace and security of the country, Monsignor Reverend Father Robert Tikpor has said.

Father Dr. Tikpor said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Liberia should not recommend the establishment of a court of international justice in Liberia at the conclusion of its process. The Catholic prelate believes that such recommendation would not solve the country’s problem.

“Do not waste your time my beloved commissioners. An international court will not give us peace,” Father Tikpor said.

He was testifying Monday at Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Thematic Hearing on Historical Review in Monrovia.

He said the establishment of an international war crimes court in Liberia would ensure a return of the country to the path of confusion.

“We will not sleep if you recommend that. We will not sleep. They have their men around here. An international war crimes court will not heal the country. It will not heal the situation. We are a forgiving society. We are a healing society,” he said.

He recommended that leaders of the former warring factions be granted amnesty so that the country can remain peaceful. “Let’s ignore the heads of the former warring faction. It is God that will judge them,” he said.

Father Tikpor admonished Liberians to allow God to decide the fate of members of the former warring factions, saying, “Let God take our revenge.”

He clarified that his recommendation was personal and not the position of the Catholic Church in Liberia.

Although he said he was not against the commission recommending prosecution, he was opposed to the setting up of a war crimes court in Liberia.

Under the theme: “Examining Liberia’s Past: Reality, Myth, Falsehood and the Conflict”, the hearingwill provide a critical review and expert perspectives into Liberia’s past not only for the purpose of understanding the historical antecedents to the conflict, but to ensure the country’s history or national narrative reflected the experiences, beliefs and aspirations of Liberians of all backgrounds.

The hearing featuring the testimonies and presentations of historians, anthropologists, journalists, lawyers, politicians, diplomats and clergymen is intended to help Liberians rewrite their history by seeking to identify the issues that underpinned our history, divided us as a people and nearly eviscerated the state.

The hearings are focused on events between 1979 and 2003 and the national and external actors that helped to shape those events.

_________________

Press Release issued by the TRC's media unit.

Historical Review Hearing Opens Monday

…Expert Historians To Testify

Prominent Liberian and foreign historians have started testifying at Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) Thematic Hearing on Historical Review in Monrovia.

Under the theme: “Examining Liberia’s Past: Reality, Myth, Falsehood and the Conflict”, the hearings which will convene at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion from 1-6 September, will provide a critical review and expert perspectives into Liberia’s past not only for the purpose of understanding the historical antecedents to the conflict, but to ensure the country’s history or national narrative reflected the experiences, beliefs and aspirations of Liberians of all backgrounds.

The hearing featuring the testimonies and presentations of historians, anthropologists, journalists, lawyers, politicians, diplomats and clergymen is intended to help Liberians rewrite their history by seeking to identify the issues that underpinned our history, divided us as a people and nearly eviscerated the state.

Already, as part of the TRC’s endeavor to provide a critical review of Liberia’s past, several Liberian and foreign historians have been invited as expert witnesses to present testimonies during the hearing.

They include Dr. Joseph Saye Guannu, prominent Liberian historian; Monsignor Reverend Father Robert Tikpor, of the Catholic Church in Liberia; Professor Elwood Dunn, the Alfred Walter Negley Professor of Political Science at Sewanee: The University of the South (Tennessee, USA). Dr. Dunn is the author and co-author of numerous books and articles notably on Liberia.

Also to testify is Dr. Augustine Konneh, a professor and former Chairman of History at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Konneh also teaches at Clark Atlanta University and Agnes Scott College and his area of instructional concentration includes African, African-American, United States, Caribbean and World histories. His academic self interest is in economic history, particularly West Africa, and in conflict and conflict resolution in Africa.

Professor Svend Einar Holsoe, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at the University of Delaware will also give his historical perspective during the hearing. Professor Holsoe has authored several publications including books, book reviews monographs, edited works, bibliographic documentation and articles on Liberia. He is the founding editor of the Liberian Studies Journal, Liberian Working Papers and Liberian Monograph Series, member of the African Studies Association and a founding member of the Liberian Studies Association.

Another witness, Joseph Edward Holloway is a professor of Pan African Studies at California State University and a prolific writer on Liberia.

The TRC Historical Review Committee is chaired by Commissioner Pearl Brown-Bull. As part of the commission’s mandate to promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation following the country’s long running conflict, the TRC is required to adopt appropriate mechanisms and procedures to document the experiences of Liberians and address varying issues including the country’s historical myths that impacted the conflict.

The commission has been conducting investigations and research into cases of abuse and other violations during the conflict, as well as holding several individual, institutional and thematic hearings.

The hearings are focused on events between 1979 and 2003 and the national and external actors that helped to shape those events.

The TRC was agreed upon in the August 2003 Accra Peace Agreement and created by the TRC Act of 2005. The TRC was established to “promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation,” and at the same time make it possible to hold perpetrators accountable for gross human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law that occurred in Liberia between January 1979 and October 2003.

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Press Release issued by the TRC's media unit.

Deadline is August 29 for Knight International Journalism Fellowships

Dear Lamii, The International Center for Journalists is currently seeking applicants for the Knight International Journalism Fellowships program. As participants of the 2008 Goteborg, Sweden conference we value your regional expertise and support of independent media worldwide. The Knight International Journalism Fellowships program sends international media professionals to key countries where there are opportunities for meaningful and measurable change. If you or someone you know may be interested in applying for a fellowship, please visit our Web site: http://knight.icfj.org/apply for information about the program and current fellowship openings. The countries we are currently recruiting fellows for are: Bangladesh, Brazil, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Pakistan, Philippines, Syria/Lebanon, and Zambia. Journalists applying for a fellowship must have a minimum of 10 years of journalism experience and fluency in the language of the host country. The deadline to apply for the October 20-24, 2008 orientation is August 29, 2008. The Knight International team is also looking for ways to reach potential fellows around the globe. If you know of a job posting Web site in your country or region, particularly one that focuses on journalism jobs, please send an email to knight@icfj.org. Sincerely, The Knight International Team 1616 H Street, NW 3rd Floor | Washington, DC 20006 US

Only 3% of People Recycle Their Old Mobile Phones

Survey carried out by Nokia has reported that only 3% of people recycle their mobile phones despite the fact that most have old devices lying around at home that they no longer want. Three out of every four people added that they don't even think about recycling their devices and nearly half were unaware that it is even possible to do so.

The survey is based on interviews with 6,500 people in 13 countries including Finland, Germany, Italy, Russia, Sweden, UK, United Arab Emirates, USA, Nigeria, India, China, Indonesia and Brazil. Nokia says they carried out the survey to find out more about consumers' attitudes and behaviors towards recycling, and inform the company's take-back programs and efforts to increase recycling rates of unused mobile devices.

Markus Terho, Director of Environmental Affairs, Markets, at Nokia said, "It is clear from this survey that when mobile devices finally reach the end of their lives that very few of them are recycled. Many people are simply unaware that these old and unused mobiles lying around in drawers can be recycled or how to do this. Nokia is working hard to make it easier, providing more information and expanding our global take-back programs." He added, "If each of the three billion people globally owning mobiles brought back just one unused device we could save 240,000 tonnes of raw materials and reduce greenhouse gases to the same effect as taking 4 million cars off the road. By working together, small individual actions could add up to make a big difference."

The findings highlight that despite the fact that people on average have each owned around five phones, very few of these are being recycled once they are no longer used. Only 3% said they had recycled their old phone. Yet very few old devices, 4%, are being thrown into landfill. Instead the majority, 44%, are simply being kept at homes never used. Others are giving their mobiles another life in different ways, one quarter are passing on their old phones to friends or family, and 16% of people are selling their used devices particularly in emerging markets.

Globally, 74% of consumers said they don't think about recycling their phones, despite the fact that around the same number, 72%, think recycling makes a difference to the environment. This was consistent across many different countries with 88% of people in Indonesia not considering recycling unwanted devices, 84% in India, and 78% of people in Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Finland.

The survey revealed that one of the main reasons why so few people recycle their mobile phones is because they simply don't know that it is possible to do so. In fact, up to 80% of any Nokia device is recyclable and precious materials within it can be reused. Globally, half of those surveyed didn't know phones could be recycled like this, with awareness lowest in India at 17% and Indonesia at 29%, and highest in the UK at 80% and 66% in Finland and Sweden.

Mr Terho said, "Using the best recycling technology nothing is wasted. Between 65 - 80 percent of a Nokia device can be recycled. Plastics that can't be recycled are burnt to provide energy for the recycling process, and other materials are ground up into chips and used as construction materials or for building roads. In this way nothing has to go to landfill."

Many people interviewed for the survey, even if they were aware that a device could be recycled, did not know how to go about doing this. Two thirds said they did not know how to recycle an unwanted device and 71% were unaware of where to do this.

Responding to the survey findings Nokia is developing a series of campaigns and activities to give people more information on why, how and where to recycle their old and unwanted devices, chargers and mobile accessories. The company is also expanding its global take-back program by adding many more collection bins and promoting these in store to raise greater awareness.

Posted on Cellular News website on 8th July 2008.

The Monrovia City Court at the Temple of Justice on Friday formally cleared Journalist Bill K. Jarkloh of Rape/Sodomy Charges. The City Court’s “Clerk’s Certificate” clearing Mr. Jarkloh of the charges forbids him from further answering to the charge of rape/sodomy.

The court document indicates that the case was been dismissed by the court after careful perusal in Mr. Jarkloh’s without prejudice, totally discharging him from further answering to the charge of Rape/Sodomy.

Mr. Jarkloh was on May 13, 2008 charged with Rape/Sodomy based on the complaint of one Ruth Samuels who alleged that he had raped her eight-year-old daughter Love Samuels. But Mr. Jarkloh at the time challenged his accusers to use the law prove the criminal charge against him instead of using extrajudicial methods.

The journalist who was detained at the Monrovia Central Prison for over three weeks by the court strongly protested his innocence and claimed that the charges against him were masterminded by people whose intend was to destroy his reputation.

Jarkloh noted that "the Chief Justice of Liberia, Cllr. Johnny Lewis, perfected the plot when he personally ordered the Monrovia City court to disregard police investigation into the Love Samuels situation and go ahead to prosecute Mr. Jarkloh in the absence of police investigative report and charge sheet as required by the New Penal Law of Liberia."

The journalist said the Women and Children Unit of the Liberia National Police was investigating the Love Samuels situation based on the intervention of a local NGO, ZODWOCA, Inc. through its Women and Children Coordinator Korpo Kortimai who is also Mr. Jarkloh’s spouse when the court arrested him on the Chief Justice’s orders.

The journalist further explained that Love Samuels was found on the streets of Monrovia in a state of abandonment. The journalists states that at which time the little girl told ZODWOCA and the Police that she was raped by a fellow known as Lincoln.

The journalists also said the police attested little girl on several prior occasions for vagrancy. The kid told police investigators at the Women and Children Unit that she was raped by this Lincoln person in a video cinema. “She earlier related the same information to ZODWOCA, and thereafter told the Safe Home to which police sent her for rehabilitation. She is said to have further confirmed this same information to the Court and even the Chief Justice in the presence relief workers and journalists.

Mr. Jarkloh has meanwhile indicated his intension of seeking legal redress against the people behind the conspiracy for the "very serious damage" the Rape and Sodomy allegation have done to his character and reputation. He then expressed his gratitude to all those who stood in his cause during his ordeal.

Liberia Media Center Releases 2nd Media Monitoring Report

After nearly three months, the Liberia Media Center today released its second media monitoring report on the coverage of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process and the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor.

The exercise, follow up on the center’s previous monitoring of the TRC coverage by the local media is meant to technical and editorial advice to the country’s media for the improvement of news content and programs being delivered to the general population.

According to an LMC release, the monitoring also seeks to build a culture of professional accountability amongst media houses. The center noted that the Liberian media has generally shown strong interest in the coverage of the TRC and the Charles Taylor trial, in spite resource and editorial constraints.

The release extolled the outstanding works done by the Daily Observer, New Democrat, Star Radio and Radio Veritas for their coverage of both processes, though overall the broadcast media provided more coverage than the print. The LMC also flagged The Analyst Newspaper’s persistency in notably keeping a number of issues, especially the appearance of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf before the TRC on the front burner.

All media institutions combined produced far better quality stories than the previous review. But the report berated the National Chronicle for what it called its troubling pattern of reporting. It strongly admonished the paper clearly delineate its news articles from its opinions.

The study stated that coverage of the TRC process declined since the issuance of the first monitoring report. This, the report noted is in part due to lack of access by reporters, and the movement of the hearings further away from the capital city Monrovia.

According to the report, the print media published a total of 182 articles dropping from a monthly average of 95.5 in the preceding period to 60.6 articles. While the broadcast media aired 126 articles which accounted for a 1.93% reduction on the previous monthly average of 65.5 to 42.0 news stories.

The monitoring found that coverage of the Charles Taylor trial is almost evenly divided between the print and broadcast outlets, though the broadcast sector relied rather heavily on Talking Drum Studio and the BBC World Service Trust syndicated reports from the trial taking The Netherlands.

In a related development the LMC has recommended that the TRC should to reconsider its approach to issues regarding media. The center said the commission’s media unit is acutely under-resourced and requires concrete support to carry out its functions and that support for local media coverage of the process should be provided if and when necessary.

The center also noted that a mechanism needs to be instituted for providing print media houses access to resources on the Charles Taylor trial. It says institutions like the ICTJ, LMC, BBCWST and TDS should explore the possibility of forging partnership as well as other creative ways to narrow the information gap, especially within the print media.

The LMC is expected to release its final report on its media monitoring project in the coming months.

HIGHWAY AFRICA CONFERENCE

2008 Theme: Citizen Journalism, Journalism for Citizens

CALL FOR APPLICATION TO ATTEND THE HIGHWAY AFRICA CONFERENCE, 8 – 10 SEPTEMBER 2008, RHODES UNIVERSITY, GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

Highway Africa, a programme of the School of Journalism at Rhodes University, will be hosting the 12th edition of the Highway Africa Conference from 8-10 September in Grahamstown, South Africa.

Highway Africa has a limited number of scholarships for practising African journalists who are keen on learning and using digital media. PLEASE NOTE THE EMPHASIS ON PRACTISING JOURNALISTS. WE DO NOT HAVE SPONSORSHIP FOR ANY OTHER INTERESTED PARTICIPANTS OUTSIDE THIS CATEGORY.

Interested PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS should submit the following information:

· a curriculum vitae with 2 contactable referees
· a 300 word statement on why they are interested in attending the Highway Africa and what will be done with the skills and information acquired
· a letter of support from your Editor or Publisher

Please submit the above by the 30th of June 2008. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL BE DISCARDED. SEND THROUGH ALL DOCUMENTS AT THE SAME TIME.

Shortlisted candidates will be required to complete registration and indemnity forms supplied by Highway Africa.

The decision of Highway Africa on the selection of candidates is final.

Applications should be submitted to Luthando Kiti on:

L.Kitit@ru.ac.za and copied to dirtyharry70@gmail.com

Please do not phone to inquire about your application. We will respond to e-mail correspondence ONLY.

LMC Participates in ICFJ Conference

News Release

Monrovia, May 30, 2008: The Coordinator of the Liberia Media Center’s community radio project, Mr. Lamii Kpargoi has left the country to attend an International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) seminar.

The seminar is been held in the Swedish city of Goteborg under the theme “Toward an International Network of Independent Journalism Training Organizations: Partnerships and Mentoring, Innovation and Multimedia, Sustainability and Money.”

The ICFJ seminar, which is been held on the sidelines of the 15th World Editors Forum and the 61st World Newspaper Congress is the beginning of a year-long initiative that is geared towards building a new network of independent journalism training organizations around the world.

The four-day program will bring together over 50 participants from various media training institutions around the world, and is also expected to discuss topics on essential web tools, the use of digital resources, models for sustainable successes, etc in the work of the media.

According to a Liberia Media Center release, the ICFJ seminar is to culminate in a mentor/mentee pairing exercise of the participants whereby the skills and experiences of individual participants would be matched to ensure long term successful collaborations.

The LMC release stated that the seminar would end with the Knight Foundation and ICFJ Newsmakers Cocktail Reception at which time the winners of the 2008 Knight International Journalism Award would be announced.

From VOANEWS.COM

Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Hears Public Testimony

By Naomi Schwar

Dakar

15 January 2008

Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has entered its final phase: public testimonies by victims of civil war and by those they accuse. Many Liberians say airing the crimes will help the country heal from the psychological wounds of war and instability. But others say Liberia should focus on moving forward and not look back. Naomi Schwarz has more from VOA's regional bureau in Dakar.

Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created by the accord that ended the civil war in 2003. It has collected more than 20,000 written testimonies covering the period from 1979 when Samuel Doe seized power in a coup, to 2003 when a large force of U.N. peacekeepers arrived in the country. The testimonies tell of widespread rape, massacres, and children forced to be soldiers.

Now victims have begun testifying in public hearings.

James Makor of Liberia's non-governmental organization Save My Future says the public statements still contain surprises.

"One musician around here, I had never knew that he was a general, but during the public hearing we got to know that he was a general," said Makor. "So in that case now, most of his songs he had always won public sympathy that he was victimized, instead people now know that he was one of the guys that had a lot of power to himself."

Makor is referring to Michael David, known as Sundaygar Dearboy. Witnesses have accused David of rapes and beatings. One of Liberia's most popular stars, he sang the campaign song for Liberia's president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf when she ran for office in 2005.

Makor says it is good for Liberians to know the truth about what happened.

"It is necessary that we get to know some of the people, what they did. For us to have the past information, so we can know how to interact with them," added Makor.

But some Liberians say the information could be dangerous.

Lamii Kpargoi of Liberia's Media Watch says he feels it is too soon to stir up these wounds.

"There are a lot of people walking the streets in Liberia that committed heinous crimes that have never owned up to their mistakes. Hearing some of the testimonies that have come out over the past few days, it may well just make people become rowdy and try taking things off on these people, especially if they come out and they deny these things when everybody knows that they actually did them," said Kpargoi.

He says there is no statute of limitations on war crimes, so the issues can be addressed later.

"I think this TRC thing has come a little bit too soon. I think what Liberia needs presently is to get political and economic stability," he added. "Then when we are stable, then we can go after these people who have committed crimes and try to see how we can best forgive each other and move on."

The Commission will hear from victims first and then allow the accused to respond and apologize. When it finishes hearing testimony, the commission will give its recommendations to the government on how to use the information to foster reconciliation.

This is not enough for some Liberians.

"Crimes against humanity are not pardoned by amnesty or whatsoever form of saying sorry," said Boakai Jalerba, the secretary general of an organization that pushed for a war crimes tribunal, with power to prosecute. He says the country cannot move forward while people who committed atrocities remain free and, sometimes, hold powerful positions.

One man who will likely not face Liberia's TRC or prosecution in Liberia is former president Charles Taylor, whose attempt to overthrow the government in 1989 instigated the worst phase of violence.

Taylor is currently on trial for crimes against humanity in neighboring Sierra Leone's civil war, in which he is said to have participated in exchange for diamond money. The trial, in The Hague in the Netherlands, is being held by a special court for Sierra Leone.

Jalerba says Taylor should be extradited to Liberia and face charges there.

But Steve Marvie, acting chairman of the Youth Empowerment Program, a pro-democracy organization, says most Liberians are content to let the Sierra Leone special court handle that prosecution.

"We, Liberians, we are moving along with our lives, we are generally happy with our situation, and we do not think we want to turned back into our crisis days," said Marvie.

Media Watch's Kpargai says bringing Taylor back to Liberia could lead to greater instability. And Kpargai says, as a former head of state, Taylor benefits from amnesty under Liberian law for any crime committed after he became president.


----------
Lamii Kpargoi actually works for the Liberia Media Center (LMC) not Liberia's Media Watch as is stated in this account.

110 journalists killed in 2007: WAN Congress Reports

Goteborg, June 4, 2008: The 61^st World Newspapers Association Congress and the 15^th World Editors Forum have successfully concluded in the Swedish City of Goteborg with an upbeat report on the future of world press.

Presenting the World Trends in the Newspaper Industry: An Update, the Chief Executive Officer of WAN, Mr. Timothy Balding said that contrary to persistent reports of the imminent demise of the newspaper, the industry was still in a state of vibrancy.

According to the report, the world newspaper industry experienced an overall growth of about 2.5 percent over the past year.

Performing the opening ceremony, King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden said that while a free press is a necessity, it must be tampered with a level of responsibility.

He noted that WAN is the global guardian of press freedom and must continue in its advocacy work on behalf of the world’s media. He said that Sweden’s long history of press freedom, stretching as far back as 1766, when the Scandinavian country first enacted laws for the protection of press freedom, would continue.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr. Gavin O’Reilly, President of the WAN extolled Sweden for its continued support to issues of free press, stating that the Nordic nation is an ideal example of press freedom around the world, although there was nowhere on earth that total press freedom existed.

Mr. O’Reilly went on to state that the picture of press freedom in the world since January 2007 remains of serious concern to WAN. He noted that there were some 110 journalists killed in the line of duty, more than 1000 arrested, while about 100 are still been held in detention.

For his part the Chairman of the Swedish Newspaper Association enjoined media practitioners to make global warming an issue of importance in the coming year.

Mr. Tomas Brunegard noted that the climate was in real danger if governments are not spurred into actions to avert the looming disaster.

During the opening event, Mr. George Brock, President of the World Editors Forum presented the 2008 Golden Pen of Freedom Award to jailed Chinese Journalist Li Changqing, the Deputy Director of Fuzgou Daily in China.

Neither Mr. Li nor his wife was able to attend the presentation ceremony because they were allegedly prevented by Chinese authorities and was thus deputized by fellow dissent Chinese journalist Gi Yu herself a Golden Pen Laureate in 2006.

Mr. Li was given the award for a story he broke on an outbreak of the deadly dengue fever disease in China a few years ago, when officials in the area were denying the outbreak. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

In another development, the US based International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) conference on Financial Sustainability of independent media training institutions around the world was concluded on Wednesday, June 4.

The ICFJ program was held on the sidelines of the WAN and WEF activities and brought together over 50 participants from various media training institutions around the world.

The Liberia Media Center participant at the conference, Mr. Lamii Kpargoi says the gathering was a very useful opportunity of sharing experiences and establishing relationships with other training organizations around the world.

Mr. Kpargoi indicated that the issues discussed on essential internet tools, the use of digital resources, models for sustainable successes, in the work of the media were extremely useful.

Meanwhile the ICFJ, as a means of ensuring the success of its mentor/mentee relationship has established a secure website through which the participants of the conference can continue their involvement and resource sharing over the next year.

In another development, the ICFJ has announced that Belarus editor and free-press champion Aliaksei Karol and Ugandan human rights reporter Frank Nyakairu are the winners its 2008 Knight International Journalism Award.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Knight International Journalism Awards, given by the Knight International Journalism Fellowships program. The Fellowships are designed to create lasting, tangible improvements in the way journalism is practiced around the world. The program is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The International Center for Journalists, a non-profit, professional organization, promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes journalism excellence worldwide and invests in the vitality of the U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Since 1950 the foundation has granted nearly $400 million to advance journalism quality and the freedom of expression. Knight Foundation supports ideas and projects that create transformational change.