SIERRA LEONEAN EDITOR ARRESTED IN CONTROVERY OVER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FREETOWN 000412 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO PGOV PHUM PREL SL SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONEAN EDITOR ARRESTED IN CONTROVERY OVER QADHAFI'S GENEROSITY REF: FREETOWN 404 1.(U) The June 25-27 visit of Libyan leader Col.Muammar Qadhafi to Sierra Leone has had a severe ripple effect that has unsettled the country and led to the arrest of Phillip Neville, editor of Freetown's "Standard Times" daily newspaper. A controvery erupted when President Kabbah publicly thanked Qadhafi on June 26 for providing two shiploads of rice as well as other assistance (reftel). In a country where the price and availability of rice are emotional topics, the public, encouraged by inflammatory media reports, immediately saw the gift as affirmation of government corruption since there was no recollection of it having been publicized. Neville's front page June 27 headline, "Bombshell - Col. Gaddaffi exposes Govt", made him the Government's scapegoat for irresponsible journalism, although by then the entire country had leapt to the same conclusion. 2.(SBU) President Kabbah was infuriated, according to insiders, that his carefully crafted diplomacy to elicit assistance from Qadhafi had been misinterpreted. Much of the media had already questioned the appropriateness of his inviting Qadhafi and awarding him Sierra Leone's highest honor when it was Qadhafi who had instigated Sierra Leone's gruesome conflict by funding, arming, and training RUF leader Foday Sankoh and NPFL leader Charles Taylor. Neville, who is known for rushing to print without checking facts, was an inviting target to blame. Furthermore, Neville, who is the Vice President of the Sierra Leone Association of Journlists (SLAJ),has not endeared himself to colleagues, and is being sued by the female editor of "Awareness Times" for publishing a photo of her head superimposed on the body of another naked woman and accusing her of having been Sankoh's mistress. 3.(U) Neville was arrested on June 28 and charged on June 30 with one count of publishing false informtion under the Public Order Act of 1965 for defamation as opposed to seditious libel, which was the case when Paul Kamara, editor of "For di People", was convicted in the last press trial in 2004 for inaccurate allegations about the President. (Note: Kamara's conviction was overturned on appeal.) Neville had been charged under Section 32(2) of the Act which reads: "any person who publishes any false statement, or rumour or report which is calculated to bring into disrepute any person who holds an office under the Constitution, in the discharge of his duties shall be guilty of an offense and liable to conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred leones (Note: currently equivalent to U.S. 16 cents unlike 1965) or to imprisonment not exceeding two years or both." He has also been charged under Section 32(3) which is for the same offense but "which is likely to injure the credit or reputation of Sierra Leone or of the Government" and carries the lesser penalties of 300 leones (currently about U.S. 10 cents) and/or imprisonment not to exceed twelve months. 4.(U) The Government's strong reaction reflects a genuine concern that the rice issue, if not contained, could destabilize the country. On June 29, armed youths attacked a truck carrying rice in broad daylight in Freetown and stole the entire load. According to news reports, the youths defied "Government thieves" to stop them from taking their "share of Qadhafi's donated rice." UNIOSIL reported that the rice issue has generated unrest throughout the country that could erupt into violence. 5.(U) In an effort to defuse the situation, the Government called a rare press conference on June 29 chaired by Minister of Information Kai-Kai that convoked the entire diplomatic corps and government ministers in addition to the press. Advisors to President Kabbah and other senior officials explained in excrutiating detail that the Qadhafi donation had been two consignments, not shiploads, of rice in 2001-02 that had been publicly announced and transparently sold and distributed with the proceeds being used to establish the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) program for pensions. Contrary to the "Standard Times" report, they noted, the President himself had cited the donation when thanking Qadhafi for his assistance. The officials at the press conference were emotional, clearly feeling that their efforts to be transparent had been manipulated by the press and, by inference, opposition political parties going into the elections. No official had benefited from sale of the Libyan rice, they insisted, and contrasted that with the sale of U.S. PL-480 rice that was diverted in the early 1980's by the opposition APC regime that produced a substantial debt that was only recently written off by the U.S. Government in the HIPC process. 6.(U) Although the press was invited to ask questions about the rice, journalists only made statements concerning the FREETOWN 00000412 002 OF 002 arrest of Phillip Neville, whom the officials had not mentioned at all. Oddly some journalists applauded Neville's arrest because of the national security situation, while others noted that the matter should have been handled through reasoned discussion with an opportunity for retraction of the story. SLAJ and several newspaper journals have since called for his release. Neville was granted unusually high bail of 200 million leones (approximately U.S. $67,000) the evening of July 2, and is expected to be released on July 3. 7.(SBU) Comment: The rice issue is only the latest in series of setbacks for President Kabbah and the SLPP as they head into a very competitive presidential and parliamentary election. Kabbah had hoped that the visits of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Nigerian President Obasanjo, and Libyan leader Qadhafi in the past month would showcase his own presidency as he heads to retirement. Instead, Blair would not travel from the airport to Freetown because of the condition of local helicopters (one of which subsequently crashed killing a Togolese minister among others); Obasandjo evoked repressed feelings about war atrocities by Nigerian ECOMOG peacekeepers; and Qadhafi produced outrage that he had been invited at all. Furthermore, Kabbah's three-hour long farewell speech to Parliament summarizing his accomplishements was cynically ignored by most of the country. All of these well-intended events have backfired, putting Kabbah's Sierra Leone People's Party and its presidential candidate, Vice President Berewa, on the defensive. 8.(SBU) Comment continued: President Kabbah has no one but himself to blame for announcing the Libyan rice donation without clarifying that it had been made several years ago. The press reports reflected public sentiment, and Kabbah himself compounded the problem by making Neville a martyr for press freedom. The charges against Neville are likely to be dropped after Kabbah leaves office in August, but meanwhile he has shot his own party in the foot. This being an election year, the allegations of malfeasance will have legs even if the Government's version of events is not discredited. Assuming the threat to national stability is defused, this episode may have the unintended benefit of fueling efforts to repeal the Public Order Act as an anachronistic law that violates constitutional guarantees for freedom of the press. End Comment. HULL