Monrovia, Liberia – Julius Kanubah, the president of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), has questioned the Boakai administration on the ongoing attacks on the press by public servants.
Speaking during the Union’s 61st anniversary, President Kanubah stated that if officials’ growing attacks, intimidation, and harassment of media outlets and journalists are not stopped, the nation’s democracy may be threatened.
“The government cannot keep issuing hollow commitments to press freedom while doing nothing when journalists are assaulted.”
Kanubah describes a recent altercation between journalist Franklin Doloquee of Frontpage Africa and Information Minister Jerolinmek Piah as a wake-up call for the press and government officials.
An independent investigation found misconduct on both sides of the dispute, as well as more general lack of professionalism among some media outlets.
The PUL President reassured members that the Union is stable and no longer in crisis, stressing that the Union’s independence is unbreakable.
Regarding media sustainability, Mr. Kanubah charged that the public and commercial sectors were failing to support independent journalism.
He cautioned that press freedom and democracy are at jeopardy in the absence of sufficient financial and institutional backing.
He also emphasized that media professionals risk losing recognition if they don’t register with the Union. Kanubah made it apparent that the Union is raising its internal standards and expects members to follow suit, as accreditation is now exclusively under the PUL’s jurisdiction.
