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To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), [email protected]

MISA Communique (Press Statement)
June 6, 2003
Press Statement on the Accra Peace Conference on Liberia

* The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and the Media Foundation of
West Africa (MFWA), as a joint activity, will henceforth issue alerts,
statements and appeals to highlight media freedom and wider human rights
violations in West Africa. See www.misa.org and www.mediafoundationwa.org
for more information.

PRESS STATEMENT
THE ACCRA PEACE CONFERENCE ON LIBERIA

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is issuing this statement in
solidarity with all journalists, media practitioners and human rights
advocates who have been the worst victims of the campaign of repression,
predation and mayhem that have institutionalised the culture of impunity as
an instrument of rule since President Charles Taylor came to power in
Liberia on August 2, 1997.

Since then, the MFWA has engaged in the advocacy work of monitoring,
investigating, petitioning and raising alerts about the routine violations
of the human rights of journalists and other citizens of Liberia.

In 1998 and 1999, the MFWA, in collaboration with the Centre for Democratic
Empowerment of Monrovia, the Press Union of Liberia, and the Carter Center
held a series of roundtable discussions with representatives of all the
security agencies of President Taylor's government. The aim was to stop, by
appeals, the brutalisation of journalists by security agents of that
government.

However, by July 2002, the MFWA had documented over 70 instances of some of
the most atrocious cases of human rights violations, mostly perpetrated - or
superintended - by President Taylor and members of his government.

In July 2002, the MFWA hosted an international meeting in Accra, Ghana, to
work out a plan to initiate an international campaign to put pressure on the
government of President Charles Taylor to improve the horrific situation of
human rights abuses by his security personnel. Since that meeting, which was
attended by 52 representatives of national human rights commissions and
civil society organisations of human rights activists, lawyers, journalists,
media institutions, and other pro-democracy advocates, the MFWA's efforts at
keeping pace with the rate and spate of media and human rights abuses under
Mr Taylor has produced 135 cases (and still counting) of the vicious and
arbitrary use of state force to oppress the war-stricken people of Liberia.
Nearly every week we have continued to send out Alerts concerning one
violation or the other in that country.

The MFWA believes that the situation of armed conflict between the forces of
President Taylor and the rebel groups fighting to oust his regime not only
exacerbates the terrible human rights abuses in the country, but has also
created grave humanitarian and other consequences for the fabric of civil
life in Liberia and the West African sub-region. Unless the current Accra
Peace Conference succeeds, this dire situation will persist. That is why
the MFWA will like to encourage the stakeholders and guarantors of the
AccraConference to prevail upon the factions to surrender their sectarian
interests to the clarion call of the people of Liberia for peace in their
country.

We urge the President of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor, who is also Chairman of
the ECOWAS, to use his offices to secure a lasting peace for the oppressed
people of Liberia and help improve the horrible human rights conditions in
the country. This call is also in the larger interest of the countries of
the Mano River Region and West Africa in general. Mr. Taylor's acts and
policies of destabilizing countries in the region are well documented and
known all over the world.

There is a mass grave in a suburb of Monrovia called Bardnersville. It
contains the bodies of Ghanaians massacred by Taylor's NPFL. The Ghanaians
were killed and thrown in there when the Ghana ECOMOG contingent arrived
during the civil war.

In October 2001, two Nigerians were tortured to death, on the orders of the
Deputy Minister of Labour, Simpson Bedell Fahn, by four officers of the
presidential elite guard, the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU). The trials ended in
August 2002; Mr Fahn walked out of jail one month later.

Harassment and attacks on ECOWAS citizens in Liberia by Mr. Taylor's
security personnel are a regular occurrence.

Indeed, the United Nations Special Court investigating the human rights
abuses in Sierra Leone has, today, June 4, 2003, announced the indictment of
Mr Taylor, accusing him of "bearing the greatest responsibility for war
crimes, crimes against humanity, and serious violation of international
humanitarian law within the territory of Sierra Leone since November 30,
1996."

We urge the government of Ghana to act on the arrest warrant in accordance
with international law.

We urge all ECOWAS leaders to assist in bringing Charles Taylor and his
cronies to justice.

Bringing Mr Taylor and his associates to justice is a victory for human
rights in Africa.

We urge human rights organisations and advocates throughout Africa to
support the arrest and trial of Taylor and his agents. Impunity must end in
Liberia.

The people of Liberia and West Africa need and deserve an end to the cycle
of violent repression and carnage that has plagued them for so long.

Enquiries:
Media Foundation for West Africa
Prof Kwame Karikari
Executive Director (MFWA)
P. O. Box LG 730
Legon, Ghana
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: 233-21-24 24 70
Fax: 233-21-22 10 84
Web: http://www.mediafoundationwa.org

Media Institute of Southern Africa
Zoe Titus
Program Coordinator: Media Freedom Monitoring
21 Johann Albrecht Street
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek, Namibia
Tel: +264 61 232 975
Fax: +264 61 248 016
Web: http://www.misa.org

Ends

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of MISA**