Amid Othello’s Declaration of War:

Liberian Journalists Must Never Despair

Since the “declaration of war” against Liberian Journalists by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s Chief of security and Director of her executive Protective Service, Othello Warrick, condemnations seem not to be overwhelming. Except for a few individuals and organizations including Cllr. Dempster Brown of the Center for Human Rights Protection, Senator Prince Y. Johnson and Congress for Democratic Change, reactions by the larger Liberian society appear to be either on the surface or behind the scene-something which should not be, given the gravity of such dangerous and uncivilized utterances of the President’s Chief security.

Unfortunately, in the media and among journalists against whom Othello made the anti-democratic and authoritarian statement on Friday, May 3, World Press Freedom day in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, there’s a great deal of complacency and weakness in holistically responding the way we must as done in the past to discourage recurrence. While we hail the few of us who have and continue to uncompromisingly consider the war against the Liberian media and democracy by EPS Director Othello Warrick as a serious danger, we must never despair, but to continue to persevere in resisting attempts by EVIL FORCES  to silence the media as an integral sector of societal progress.

For some of our colleagues who choose to “play the hide-and-see” or conspiracy game in this matter for whatever reason they think, it must be made understandably clear that Othello’s deviant anti-democratic posture against modernity is not about a single journalist, a group of journalists, a media institution or group of institutions, but Liberian Journalism in its entirety. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us all-no matter what it takes, even though the President’s Security Chief has chosen to use their GUNS against us to settle scores, to institute collective action(s) the best professional way possible to ensure that we do not relive the dark days here.

Since Othello seems not to be understanding the essence of democracy despite being brought back home from the United States by the “love of Liberty” and has chosen to pray to the GUNS as his god as civility, we must not relent in professionally utilizing the power of our PENS and MICROPHONES in placing Director Othello Warrick and other anti-democratic elements in the current administration democratically upright and arranged for the betterment and growth of Liberia’s emerging democracy.

We must use our PENS in countering the use of the GUNS by Othello and his likes, to ensure the protection of our hard-won freedom 0f expression and freedom of the press; we must use the power of our PENS to say no to authoritarianism and terror or against the good people of Liberia; and we must use the power of our PENS to write the wrongs of democracy now being perpetrated by President Sirleaf’s Director of the Executive Protective Service, formerly the Special Security Service.