Prez Sirleaf: 'Leadership Has Nothing to Hide'

Prez. Sirleaf: 'This leadership has nothing to hide'

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf late Monday evening told the Liberian people that her leadership has done nothing for which it is ashamed. It has absolutely nothing to hide, she added in her December 2, 2013, statement delivered in Monrovia. 

"We have only been the victims of a warped and criminal mind who, to divert attention from her crime, has rendered evil for good," added the Liberian leader.

The President's statement was triggered by the release of a series of embarrassing secret recordings linking some of her top lieutenants to high-level scandal in government and a subsequent gag order placed on media outlets, banning them from reporting on the unfolding event, by the court.

On November 29, Criminal Court "C", under the directive of Judge Blamo Dixon, ordered media outlets “to refrain and desist from publishing and/or broadcasting directly or indirectly,” activities of Ms. Ellen Corkrum, former Managing Director of the Liberia Airport Authority, who is needed by government to answer to corruption charges. The Liberian government is seeking the extradition of Ms. Corkrum, a United States service woman, on charges of “Economic Sabotage and Theft of Property.”

After fleeing the country reportedly with the help of state security personnel, Ms. Corkrum has been releasing in piecemeal, series of information including secret recordings of senior government officials containing straggling revelations. Already, recordings with the voices of Defense Minister Brownie Samukai and Police Director Chris Massaquoi, have been released to the media, compelling Minister Samukai to apologize to the President. He described the conservation on the tape as “gossip.” 

Ellen Corkrum, a Major in the US Army, who appears to have been on a mission in Liberia, has given notice that she will shortly release more recordings of other officials, which apparently prompted the gag order by the court.  

    

  Ellen Corkrum has given notice that she will shortly release more recordings of other officials.

But President Sirleaf wants the gag order retracted without delay: "We understand the tangential impact of gag orders on free society. Therefore, well-intentioned as it is, I am concerned that the timing of this gag order would have offered a contrary impression and risk posing serious questions to our continued commitment to the exercise of free speech in the country."

The President said prosecuting lawyers sought and obtained the order from the court to minimize what appeared to be attempts to provoke a trial in newspapers and on the radios rather than in the courts.

“We have been made to understand that were we to continue to do this, not only do we risk undermining the ongoing court trial, but also such public discussions as have been cited, locally as well as internationally, as a basis for accused persons to not benefit from a free and fair trial. The possibility, or lack thereof, of accused persons benefitting from free and fair trials is an important condition for extradition,” the President said.

The President also alarmed that national security information about the Roberts International Airport has been grossly distorted and leaked to the press, ostensibly to influence political discontent in the country and distract from the actual criminal charges and allegations of the violation of the public trust which are the subjects of the indictments. To counter this wicked ploy, Sirleaf said, her administration revealed what really amounts to national security information about ongoing procedures and practices at the International Airport.

“We understand what the lawyers are trying to achieve, and appreciate their efforts to bring all accused persons to properly answer the indictments in the courts of competent jurisdictions. However, this is not just the duty of the lawyers. It is a shared duty of all Liberians to act in ways that will enable our courts to remain the proper venues for the conduct of free and fair trials of all accused persons. We expect that we will continue to do so.”

Added Sirlleaf: “We also understand the tangential impact of gag orders on free society. Moreover, this leadership has done nothing for which it is ashamed. It has absolutely nothing to hide. We have only been the victims of a warped and criminal mind who, to divert attention from her crime, has rendered evil for good.  Therefore, well-intentioned as it is, I am concerned that the timing of this gag order would have offered a contrary impression and risk posing serious questions to our continued commitment to the exercise of free speech in the country.”

The Justice Ministry, according to the President, has concluded the necessary proceedings with the relevant courts to lift the order. “Moreover, I have directed that efforts be multiplied to bring all of the accused persons to trial. And in that light, government responses, whenever necessary, will be measured to avoid undermining the administration of justice in our country, and of equal importance, if not more important, the security of the State.”

'A State of Emergency' 

Condemning the gag order issued  by Criminal Court “C”, the parent body of the Liberian media, the Press Union of Liberia, termed the restriction as a declaration of a state of emergency.

In a statement issued in Monrovia last Sunday, the Union said the court order was a state-sponsored attack on press freedom and citizen’s right to the free flow of information. It also curtails free expression, the Union insisted.

"We urge the government to withdraw this order, because it is unsustainable and only seeks to validate whatever Ms. Corkrum’s hypothesis were of the government,” Press Union president, Peter Quaqua said. "It is almost impossible for the government to prevent the tapes from getting into the public because they are already stuck on the internet. To insist on the repressive order, is to amplify whatever damage the recordings seek to inflict on the government."         

The Union further observed that the order gives credence to the secret recordings, in contradiction of an earlier pronouncement by the Justice Ministry that the recordings were not admissible in the court of law.  The Union  then warned government against manipulating the courts into instruments to suppress fundamental rights.

A gag order, also known as a gagging order or suppression order,  is a legal order by a court or government, restricting information or comment from being made public, or in some cases, passed onto any unauthorized third party.