VZCZCXRO3202
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0949 3561744
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 221744Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WSHDC PRIORITY 1533
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHRY/AMEMBASSY CONAKRY 0796

C O N F I D E N T I A L MONROVIA 000949 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  12/23/2019 
TAGS: PHUM ASEC PREL KJUS GV LI
SUBJECT:  PUBLISHER ARRESTED FOR SEDITION 
 
Classified by:  Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield for Reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
¶1. (U) The Government of Liberia has brought charges of sedition and 
"criminal libel against the President" against the publisher and 
printer of the Liberian newspaper "The Plain Truth" after printing an 
article on December 9, from supposedly Guinean intelligence sources, 
that the Liberian government was complicit in smuggling arms to a 
Guinean insurgency group seeking to overthrow the junta.  Both were 
supposed to appear in court December 22 to answer the charges, but 
the prosecution did not show.  The Publisher, Cyrenius Cephus, was 
arrested on December 12 for questioning at both the Ministry of 
Justice and National Security Agency, but refused to divulge his 
source.  Cephus and printer Michael Makinda (a Nigerian) were 
re-arrested on December 15 on the charges.  They were released on 
bail on December 16, after a night in Monrovia Central Prison. 
 
¶2. (C) President Sirleaf told Ambassador December 22 that what the 
editor did was "mischief" and he knew what he was doing.  She said 
she instructed the Minister of Justice to ensure that the proper 
legal steps were taken in order to charge the two.  She said, 
however, that the government had determined that the printer Makinda 
was not involved in the decision and would likely drop the charges 
against him. 
 
¶3. (C) Minister of Justice Christiana Tah told A/DCM December 17 that 
the arrest was made because the government believes that the 
information was completely baseless but could be destabilizing for 
Liberia and the region.  She said the Guinean Ambassador, Abdoulaye 
Dore, called on her personally to encourage the government to arrest 
the journalists in order to determine who the source of the 
information was.  According to Dore, the article has created a threat 
to Liberian citizens in Guinea and some Liberians have already been 
harassed.  Minister of State Edward McClain told A/DCM that the GOL 
was concerned that the junta might use the article as proof of 
Liberian interventionism.  The timing was bad, as the story came at 
the same time as the December 17 UNSC resolution easing the arms 
embargo on the GOL. 
 
¶4. (U) The government reacted publicly to the newspaper report, with 
one government official quoted in the press that the allegation was 
"beyond human imagination" and that Liberia does not have weapons to 
send.  The presidential spokesman is quoted as calling the article a 
"reckless lie" that "fails to take into account the fragility in 
Guinea" that could ultimately affect Liberia.  At the same time, the 
spokesman asserted that the President "will never do anything to 
curtail the freedom of the press." 
 
¶5. (U) The Press Union of Liberia criticized the arrest as an attack 
on free speech.  Other Liberian and international groups have also 
spoken out against the government's actions.  The arrests were 
reported prominently on BBC radio.  However, the Catholic Justice and 
Peace Commission said that the paper should have checked with the 
government before publishing the report. 
 
¶6. (C) COMMENT:  While this event needs to be reported in our human 
rights report on Liberia, we do not see this incident as an active 
attempt by the government to erode freedom of the press.  Rather, it 
is a clear demonstration of the government's unease about the 
situation in Guinea and being dragged into a conflict it wants 
desperately to avoid.  The government's response may not have been 
the best, as it could lead to further attacks on the press, but 
understandable under the circumstances.  For its part, the Liberian 
press, known for its poor newsgathering and desire to sensationalize 
stories to sell papers, needs to reflect more on responsible 
journalism.  The result, however, may be to make a hero of the editor 
of a newspaper published only sporadically and with little 
readership. 
 
THOMAS-GREENFIELD