August 25, 1999
Lt. Col. Chris Olokulade
Chief Military Press Information Officer
ECOMOG Headquarters
Freetown, Sierra Leone
Dear Lt. Col. Olokulade,
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-partisan organization committed to the defense of press freedom worldwide, is deeply concerned about a number of attacks on the press in Freetown in recent days. An ECOMOG officer was directly involved in one attack. In another case, an ECOMOG officer stood by and did nothing to intervene.
On August 20, 1999, an ECOMOG officer calling himself Major Anthony threatened Jonathan Leigh, managing editor of the Freetown-based Independent Observernewspaper. The officer apparently told Leigh, over the telephone, “If you get into ECOMOG’s net again, you won’t come out alive.” This threat came in response to a satirical article in the Friday, August 18 edition of the newspaper that questioned ECOMOG’s ability to keep the peace in Freetown, in light of an increase in armed robberies in the city’s East End.
Also on August 20, three commanders of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF)–Mike Lamine, Dennis “Superman” Mingo and “Brigadier Five-Five” (otherwise known as S.P. Kanu)–stormed the offices of the For Di Peoplenewspaper in Freetown. The three men assaulted the paper’s publisher and owner, Paul Kamara, who is still unable to walk properly after an assassination attempt in 1996. Lamine, who was reportedly drunk at the time, hit Kamara in the face and smashed his glasses. An ECOMOG officer stood by and did nothing to prevent the assault.
During the assault, the RUF commanders complained about an article published in For Di Peoplethat same day which claimed that the rebel commanders in Freetown were demanding fancy cars and daily allowances from the government. A photograph showed some of the commanders in question drinking at a Freetown bar. The three commanders said such reports endangered them and sent the wrong signal to RUF fighters still in the bush.
There have been several other reports of harassment and intimidation of the press by members of both the RUF and the former ruling junta of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), sometimes in the presence of ECOMOG officers. Earlier this week, an ECOMOG soldier escorted two former AFRC officials to the offices of the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) in the New England area of Freetown, where they demanded air time (which was not granted) in order to brief their fighters in the bush about the peace process
CPJ strongly urges the ECOMOG command in Sierra Leone to ensure that journalists are given adequate protection to carry out their jobs freely and without fear of attack or reprisal, in accordance with their rights under both national and international law. In the absence of properly functioning security forces in Sierra Leone, ECOMOG peacekeepers are effectively responsible for upholding law and order in the country. It is within their powers to provide such protection. And since ECOMOG peacekeeping troops have an essential role to play in consolidating the still fragile peace process in Sierra Leone, it would be a failure on their part if they stood by and allowed that peace to be threatened.
We would warmly welcome your response on these matters.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Join CPJ in Protesting Attacks on the Press in Sierra Leone
Send a letter to:
Lt. Col. Chris Olokulade
Chief Military Press Information Officer
ECOMOG Headquarters
Freetown, Sierra Leone