News Story

FREETOWN: NEW PEOPLE CORRESPONDENT:

The President and members of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) Mr. Philip Neville have expressed grave concern about the APC government's refusal to actively subsidise the operations of a free press (as the SLPP did), for promoting lawlessness through vigilante Task Force groups and shielding criminals, and for dragging its feet on amending the Public Order Act of 1965 as they had conitnuously said during the campaign.

Lamenting the fact that the last, brutally repressive APC government too away the rights of Sierra Leoneans to the free expression of their view, he noted that it was with welcome relief that the SLPP government not only restored those rights, but actively supported that freedom with generous annual subventions of Twenty Million Leones (Le 20,000,000). He noted that “We know that the APC deprived the people of this nation their rights to Freedom of Expression”, as he urged the APC government to pay the subventions to SLAJ that were approved and partly disbursed by the out gone SLPP administration. Neville argued that the money had been budgeted by the former SLPP governmentand that its successor, the APC should have since honoured that payment. Unfortunately, he continued, SLAJ has not received a single cent from the current government and no support for any efforts to further liberalise press operations and laws.

The SLAJ President noted that he had pleaded endlessly with the APC government not to stifle the operations of a free press, but pointed out that the APC government does not seem interested. “We have made so many representations, written several letters to the Financial Secretary and Minister of Expenditure, Finance Minister and even the Accountant General, but all efforts have proved futile," the Secretary General of SLAJ, Mr. Ibrahim Karim Sei further confirmed. All these have been futile.

The SLAJ president also expressed concerns that the government seems to be actively encouraging vigilante task force groups that terrorise other Sierra Leoneans in the name of the APC. He told the news conference on Thursday that SLAJ condemns this violation of the constitutional freedoms and rights of Sierra Leoneans. He also noted that a restructuring of the Sierra Leone Police was in order as the force has degenerated fast under its current leadership because of its perceived ties to the APC government.

Neville also encouraged the APC to think again about its promises of a free press pledged by the APC while in opposition. He said that now that the APC is in governance, it has failed to fulfill any of those promises. In spite of the President's statements, he has failed to actively support the repeal of the 1965 (Part 5) of the Public Order Act, and that SLAJ had been forced to take legal action to force the government to fulfill its commitment to the free press and journalism in Sierra Leone.

Neville also updated SLAJ members on the status of the late Harry Yansaneh, former acting editor of For Di People newspaper with the matter set for adjudication soon. Neville also pointed out the government's failure to keep the streets of Freetown clean.