‘No Amount Of Pressure Will Compel Me’ ….Dr. Toe Opens Up On Sieh’s Detention Few weeks after the civil law court handed down a guilty verdict against FrontPage Africa Newspaper and its publisher, Rodney Sieh, in a 1.5 million libel case, Dr. J. Chris Toe has renewed his statement to forget about the case against the local Liberian media if the paper apologizes for reportedly damaging his character. Recently, the Press Union of Liberia (PUL) and other international media institutions demanded the immediate release of the Liberian journalist from prison for reported defamation of character. The civil case against the local Liberian daily has sparked heated debate in all quarters of the Liberian society pointing accusing fingers at the Unity Party (UP) led government. According to some concerned citizens, government reportedly wants to silence the Liberian media not to publish or broadcast controversial stories against the government ranging from corruption. But the government through the Ministry of Information Culture Affairs & Tourism refuted the comments. Speaking at the news conference on Tuesday, September 3, 2013, along with his Lawyer, Cllr. Emmanuel James, Dr. Toe said reconciliation cannot take place if one party in the libel case is not willing to dialogue. According to him, FrontPage Africa Newspaper has openly stated that no apology will be given to him or his lawyer in the civil case against his character. He claimed that the US$ 1.5 million verdict handed down by the court emanated from the local daily and not him. The Former Agriculture Minister from 2006 to early 2009 pointed out that he does not have any interest in getting funding from Mr. Sieh. The GrandKru County senior citizen said he is a Christian who believes in forgiveness, and will not force the Paper to apologize for allegedly tarnishing his character. He claimed that no amount of pressure can force him to forget the libel case against Mr. Sieh, if he refuses to apologize. Speaking further, he claimed that the General Auditing Commission (GAC) did not check thoroughly the Ministry of Agriculture record & documentation division before releasing the audit report. According to him, US$ 100,000 donated by the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) to combat ‘army worms’ in Bong County was not used during his administration. He clarified that the funding was deposited in the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL). Dr. Toe revealed that the cabinet gave US$ 1,000 and the Chinese government donated US$ 1,000 and assorted materials that were distributed in Suakoko, Bong County by the Ministry. He claimed that 1.2 million provided by a donor partner was not given to the Ministry, but the funds were directly implemented by the donor, thus hiring Ghanaians and Sierra Leoneans to carry on technical functions. He said the amount allocated in the 2008/2009 budget for the reported combat of the Army Worm in Bong and Lofa Counties was US$76, 275 dollars.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 21:45:59 +0000
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