The fight against Ebola has been hampered by new rules regarding journalists, the Press Union of Liberia says. UPI/FILE/EC/ECHO/
MONROVIA , Liberia, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Liberia's journalists' union has told the government to stop constraining the press and concentrate on fighting the Ebola virus.
A statement by the Press Union Liberia was critical of an order by the country's Ministry of Health and Social welfare, calling for journalists and photographers to receive written permission to conduct interviews at an Ebola treatment center. Prior to the order, the government allowed the union to accredit journalists in Liberia.
"We find it very offensive. There are two things we are noticing here. Firstly, the government functionaries probably don't understand the context of free expression. They are actually working in contempt of the media, which is not in the best interest. It (the new policy) doesn't recognize the partnership that the media have been developing in fighting this Ebola virus in our country," said Abdullai Kamara, president of the Press Union, adding many people believed to carry the Ebola virus are not in treatment facilities.
The order was declared on Sept. 30, Deputy Information Minister Isaac Jackson announcing journalists required to have permits, valid for one year, from the Ministry. A Press Union statement, issued after a weekend of emergency meetings of media executives, said that in 2012 Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf promised to repeal a number of laws hindering free press in the country.
The statement said, in part, the Liberian government "has not only failed to implement domestic and international promises, but is now undermining the free press, censoring the media, and slipping into attitudes that led the country to more than 14 years of brutal civil war."
