J. Nathaniel Daygbor
3 July 2009
Reacting to public outcries relative to the reticence of the Liberian Government on the detention of Sekou Conneh in Guinea, former leader of one of the warring factions in Liberia, Information Minister Dr. Laurence Bropleh has set the record straight, saying that the detained Conneh is being treated as Guinean national and not a Liberian citizen.
Saying that the Government of Liberia was concerned about his condition, he indicated that they (government) cannot do much because the former warlord is prominent citizen of Guinea.
Apart from saying that he is a Guinean national, the Information Minister in the same vein noted that the Liberian government has not received any formal communication from the military government of Guinea, neither Ambassador E. Sumo Jones who follows the activities of all Liberians in that country.
According to him, the situation with Mr. Conneh’s imprisonment is something that needs much required information before any action is considered by the government.
Reports of Conneh detention in Guinea, his native land, have since flooded the media landscape for reasons yet unknown to the Liberian populace.
Since then, there have been incessant calls by Liberians, especially his tribesmen for President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf-led government to speedily intervene.
In other developments, Information Boss has threatened to demolish every video club in the city that does not meet the minimum requirement set by the government of Liberia.
The Information Minister said his ministry is about to inspect all video clubs throughout the country beginning next week, adding that any video club that does not meet the necessary requirement will be demolished.
“Early next week, inspectors from the Information Ministry will carry out intensive inspection of all video clubs, especially those ones that are built in allays, those without proper toilet system and video clubs that do not have copy right license to film movies,” he said.
Addressing his regular Thursday press briefing at the Information Ministry yesterday, Minister Bropleh said “the government is trying to build a civilized nation and will not allow anyone who will stand in the way of the progress of the state.”
He then clarified that the movie that the new film “Johnnie Mad Dog”, is not about the Liberian civil war, but instead is portraying the civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He warned that anyone caught filming “the Jonnie Mad Dog Movie” will be dealt with under Liberian law, adding “the government has not agreed or put into place mechanism that would allow its citizens to watch such movie.”
Read comments. Write your own.
Copyright © 2009 The Analyst. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
liberia don't have space for a man like sekou.He is awar criminal. he should be in prison for the people he killed at the gracestone compound. bravo guinea. please dont release him.
How did Sekou Conneh become a Guinean/Liberian citizen? Did he naturalize in one of these countries.
We really need clerity on this nationality issue with the Mandingo people.Are they Liberians or Guineans? We need to devise a system that will differentiate Liberians Mandingoes from Guineans Mandingoes so as to prevent future problems as well as economic losses to Liberia.
the case of sekou conneh,why the Guinean gov.treating him as Guinean after all the wars this gug carried into neighboring country in the named of freedom to liberia;then why will the people's of Guinea except their leaders to do that,this is the first areas where military regions in the world's aren't recognized because they'll always be rebels ideas no matter what .However, the court in sierra leone should follow the cases in Guinea and bring to justice some of the Guinea leadership,for allowing their citizens to distroged other people's nations likes charles tylor.their no differences between the two.if… [Read Full Text]
It is now time that Liberians should find means of working together. Our country has been opened so long to lot of outsiders and many have abused our kindness to kill our people. The information just touched by the information minister concerning Mr. Sekou Conneh being a Guinean national is scary. Mr. Sekou Conneh being a Mandingo Man from Guinea lead a group that infiltrated our territory to kill our people and destroy our nation because we wanted such to happen to us. Tomorrow, the Mandingoes are raising again to stage a demonstration that will impact the function of activities… [Read Full Text]