(RSF/IFEX) – In a 21 June 2000 letter to Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, chief of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), RSF protested the assault committed by an officer of the UNAMSIL against Arthur Caulker, a journalist with the private biweekly “Salone Times”, in Freetown. While not wishing to comment on the facts of […]
(RSF/IFEX) – In a 21 June 2000 letter to Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, chief of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), RSF protested the assault committed by an officer of the UNAMSIL against Arthur Caulker, a journalist with the private biweekly “Salone Times”, in Freetown. While not wishing to comment on the facts of the case, RSF urged the ambassador to take sanctions against the officer who attacked the journalist, and asked him to ensure that journalists can work freely and safely in Sierra Leone. “Our organisation reminds you that the purpose of the UNAMSIL mission is to keep peace and not to attack journalists,” said Robert Ménard, RSFâs secretary-general.
According to the information collected by RSF, on 14 June Caulker was assaulted by Major Umar, a Nigerian military officer serving with the UNAMSIL, who kicked him repeatedly. This attack followed an article published on 9 May which condemned a UNAMSIL commander for firing a warning shot in the presence of demonstrators outside the house of RUF leader Foday Sankoh. According to the article, the warning shot “gave the green light to the sporadic gunshots fired by the RUF combatants” into the crowd, which resulted in the death of more than twenty people, including journalist Saoman Conteh (see IFEX alert of 12 May 2000).
