Monrovia – The recent closure of Voice FM followed by LIB24 and Shata FM continues to raise alarm across the country making many to believe that the government of Nobel Laureate Madam, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is clamping down on the media, thereby threatening the peace of the country.
Acting on court orders, Voce FM was shut down in early July while last Saturday Lib 24 and Shata FM followed through the same process.
Benoni W. Urey owner of LIB 24 and Shata FM has already vowed to work within the confines of the law to ensure his two media outlets re reopen.
Henry Coast who headed the Voice FM and recently moved to LIB 24 before it was shut down along with a group of Liberians Tuesday submitted a petition statement to National Legislature describing the action of the Government as a threat to the democracy of Liberia.
In the statement presented to Speaker, Alex Tyler & members of the 53rd Legislature of the Republic of Liberia the group indicated that the closure of the media institutions is intended to silence critical voices.
“Our desire for sustainable peace, which has been woefully threatened by attacks on fundamental rights on all fronts, inspired this mass-based assembly of peoples’ power to call for a return to democratic sanity, a precious governance commodity long lost to escalating impunity and misrule”, the statement indicated.
According to the group, the regime of President Sirleaf is creating a turbulent political hellhole in the life of the ordinary citizen and carrying out incremental consistency of bad governance over a decade.
The period between 2006 to 2016, the statement indicated has been the most critical in the history of Liberia.
“During this grave time interval, adopted policies detrimental to the aspirations of the oppressed and misgoverned, have not only broken the spirit of a determined people in Their post-conflict resolution to nation-building, but has cruelly highjacked the inalienable inheritance of a generation, now and in the future”, the petition furthered.
The group noted that the true-life confessions of Vice President Joseph N. Boakai, that the current ‘Government has squandered a lot of opportunities’, & that the last decade of governance has been about ‘Chopping & building ourselves’, sums up the intransigent culture of impunity under the objectionable leadership of President Sirleaf.
“We have assembled here today to contend that this gross evil, which has been accelerated beyond tolerance by this merciless autocracy, cannot be condoned any further”, statement continued.
Working of senior insiders
The statement also alleged that the closure of these media institutions is the working of insiders within the current government.
“Our resolve is further strengthened by recent actions believed to be a working of senior insiders of government, implementing a long-term agenda to stifle the independence of the free press and silence critical voices; and of course, crumble the fundamental pillars of democratic governance, which is press freedom”, the statement intimated.
It described the closure as unjustified of the leading radio stations in sixty days saying it is not only a return to the dark scarring past but signifies early warnings of a defined agenda to undermine the free and fair conduct of democratic elections in a year’s time.
Added the statement “These calculated actions summon the ghost of the past, but also remind us of the closure of radio stations during the Samuel Doe democratic fiasco, the same periods that witnessed the torching of the Daily Observer newspaper, burnt to the grounds to give leverage to state-sponsored media institutions just as Voice FM and now Lib-24 have been shut down to give impetus to state-driven radios that constantly bash the opposition”.
The government has defended that the media institutions failed to regularize their status.
In a statement issued, the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism stated that the Civil Law Court has effectuated the closure of Sarafina Ventures and Communications Inc. (Love FM 105.1 and Love TV Channel 7) based upon a Petition of declaratory Judgment from the Liberia Telecommunications Authority through the Ministry of Justice.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, the closure of the station is predicated upon the fact that since its establishment in 2009, Love FM 105.1 has not regularized its status in keeping with Part V, Section 16(2) of the Telecommunications Licensing Authorization Regulations (LTA-REG-001) which says in part “ that a license issued by the LTA under the regulation is for a period of one calendar year and under terms and conditions to include renewal upon expiration, to make full payment of the license and annual registration fees to the Government of Liberia.”
MICAT further states that in addition to the station’s failure to regularize its status in keeping with the law, Sarafina Ventures and Communications Inc. (Love FM 105.1 and Love TV Channel 7) unilaterally and without prior written consent of the LTA, transferred the frequency to another corporation, LIB-24.
The unilateral transfer of the frequency to LIB24 without the expressed consent of the LTA is in violation of Part VI, Section 25(1) and Part IV Section 15(1)b of the Telecommunication Act of 2007 that states “individuals, groups, or institutions opting to own and operate any telecommunications network, or provide a telecommunications service, must be granted a License or Frequency Authorization by the LTA, in addition to a permit issued by the Ministry of Information.”
Further stated MICAT: “The government regrets that in the wake of the democratic atmosphere prevailing in the country with media pluralism at its core, a media institution like the Love FM will woefully engage in circumventing the established rules and procedures governing the communications sector, thereby defrauding the government of more than US$50,000.00 over the period of five years”.
The government said that prior to resorting to court action, there had been a series of discussions and exchange of communication over several months with the management of Sarafina Ventures & Communications Inc. imploring the corporation to accede to the requirements, pay the required fees and legitimize its operations.