Brussels, 24/08/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission, which is "concerned" about the arrest of four journalists in Liberia "on charges of espionage", is putting pressure on for their release. Commissioners Patten and Nielson say: "We have no reason to believe that the charges levelled against them (the four journalists) have any foundation and we appeal to the Liberian authorities to release them immediately".
Respect of democratic principles, "including the freedom of the media" is "an important element in the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement" that Liberia signed, recall Chris Patten and Poul Nielson, who also state the Commission is following the matter "very closely". The European Union may, under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, suspend cooperation with an ACP country if that country is guilty of violating human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law, and if, after prior consultation, no solution can be found to remedy the situation.
A Commission spokesperson recalled on Thursday that the European Union has since 1994 financed a rehabilitation programme in Liberia for the sum of EUR 52 million, of which 43 million have already been disbursed. As implementation of this plan comes to an end, the indicative programme presented by Liberia in the context of the ACP/EU Convention, currently on the negotiating table, has not yet been signed.