AFRICAN PANORAMA
“RECONCILIATION BREAKTHROUGH? INCUMBENT ELLEN, RIVAL WINSTON IN SECRET Tête-à-Tête”, IS KARTO JOURNALISM
By Siahyonkron Nyanseor
S-CLOPD Staff Writer
November 16, 2011
The article that appeared in Monday’s, November 15, 2011, edition of FrontPageAfricaonline.com, entitled: “Reconciliation Breakthrough? Incumbent Ellen, Rival Winston in Secret Tete-à-Tete”, is a classic case of KARTO JOURNALISM.
According to Cllr. Winston A. Tubman, no such discussion took place between Ellen and him; and if any discussion will take place, it will be between the government and CDC leadership.
Journalist Gabriel I.H. Williams reminds us that, “Most people who in the past fought against dictatorships, often end up being worst abusers of power than those they succeed, and is one of the major tragedies of Liberian political history”.
The fact and realities to which Mr. Williams referred have become clearer each day of the last six (6) years since Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf became President of Liberia. There can be no escaping from this truth. Today, many Liberian journalists and newspapers are willing to do the DIRTY work for the highest bidder without a conscience for our country, and the government also has the biggest war chest. It appears as if Rodney Sieh and his associates have been bought over. How soon does one forget? Wasn’t it the same Rodney Sieh who resigned from his uncle’s newspaper for alleged “bias” reporting? Now a trail is beginning to emerge how these KARTO journalists are prepared to fabricate STORIES out of their own IMAGINATION to make it appear as the TRUTH. The Rodney Siehs’ of this world should remember, “What you do not want others to do to you, don’t do to others.” (Confucius) Shame on Rodney Sieh. He too has a price and no love of country.
I am a firm believer that there is nothing wrong with Liberians that cannot be cured with what is right. The Bible clearly indicates that we have an essential role to play in deciding our present as well as our future. The fact that we have a choice shows that God has given us a measure of control over our lives. Therefore, most of our brothers and sisters, who continue to play the role of an opportunist, gravy seeker, hypocrite, turncoat, apologist, etc., are selling themselves short. The evidence shows that those who, for instance, claim the following reasons: 1) it will mess up my chances of getting a job with the government; 2) my brother or sister is currently working for the government, or, 3) I still have relatives living in Liberia, therefore, I do not consider it safe and wise to take a position against the government, although the government violates the constitution and the rights of the Liberian people.
This is a cowardly act; there is nothing neither safe nor honorable about these excuses. This is the problem with most Liberians. We cannot have our cake and eat it too! If the Liberian people want genuine peace and democracy, they will have to earn it the old fashioned way, work for it. It means they will have to take positions that are not always popular. For what it's worth, Liberians must pay close attention to the advice given by General Colin Powell: "Where discrimination still exists or where the scars of past discrimination still contaminate and disfigure the present, we must not close our eyes to it, declare a level playing field, and hope it will go away by itself. It did not in the past. It will not in the future."
The renowned anthropologist, Margaret Mead, once said, "Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. It is the only thing that ever has."
Those who engage in this type of behavior will have it coming to them one day. The practice of supporting the “powers that be” for crumbs from the table of the 1%, will continue to divide us as a people. It is what my late mother told me. She said, “Son, the people in this country (Liberia) are like a person who has chosen to swallow his cough for fear that it will disturb others." This behavior has conditioned most Liberians to accept the WRONG advice of friends and foe to, "Leave the people's thing alone" which we did to the detriment of the country and our people; which caused us to self-destruct.
Liberia reminds me of a rooster that crows in the morning. The rooster belongs to a single household, but the voice of the rooster is the property of the entire village. By this I mean, it is the right and responsibility of every Liberian to do what is needed to speak out against the wrongs and to correct mistakes made in the past, in order for us to work together to fix them; instead of employing the services of KATO journalists and newspapers to spread LIES about others, particularly – the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC). This only suggests that the Unity Party (UP) is for DIS-UNITY. The use of LIES, PROPAGANDA AND DECEIT to appear legitimate, cannot last. Legitimacy is EARNED, not gotten by DEDEEBY as in the case of November 8th, 2011 when Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won called 97% of the votes in an election that only her party participated in! This reminds me of a valedictorian of a graduating class consisting of only the so-called valedictorian.
It is important for the Unity Party (UP) government to remember that no matter how hard they may try to fight against the natural order of things; nature has a way of coming up on top. In other words, the laws of nature will have the final say. The same holds true for what is commonly referred to as CHANGE. The only thing that has remained consistent is CHANGE. CHANGE can be delayed but cannot be stopped. Most African leaders are so blind and naive that they prefer to die resisting natural arrangement (law) of which CHANGE is prominent. However, the more they try to prevent CHANGE, the more it occurs. CHANGE is like day that is followed by night, and birth, which is also followed by death. These sequences cannot be altered; no matter how hard one may try.
According to Thomas Paine, the American patriot, “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent which will reach himself”. These words hold true today because Liberia, our native land, is guilty of this practice that started with the arrival of the Settlers from North America in 1820 to establish LIBERIA.
On the other hand, George Orwell echoed similar sentiments when he said, “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear”.
And this article is about the basic facts of life. I honestly believe that as citizens and writers, by choice or by fate, we have a responsibility to address such social maladies as abuse of power, the lack of qualifications to occupy a particular position in government, corruption, etc., and to speak out against these social maladies that have made our country and world, an unsafe place to live. We must speak against these social maladies in order to offer a different approach or a better choice and outlook for those who are engaged in these wrong practices, and for their victims to see that there are other means besides corrupt practices and the use of the Liberian people’s money and resources to bribe and buy up people to sing praises and spread lies about others. Remember, “What is done in the dark, will surely come to light”.
The International Community should not be bamboozled or hoodwinked by the Unity Party (UP) government in pursuing its grandiose design of remaining in power AT ALL COSTS. Lies and deception are not only the twin evils that undergird the Unity Party (UP) government, but it has become its policy hallmarks as well. A cliché, which perhaps best characterizes the government can be summed up as: corruption, lack of transparency, dictatorship, police brutality, attempted assignation, among others. The government should not forget that - “Small Ax Too, Can Cut Big Tree Down”.
