[allAfrica.com] [celtel.com] Caution Must Be Exercised The Analyst (Monrovia) EDITORIAL October 22, 2004 Posted to the web October 22, 2004 THE JUSTICE MINISTRY in Monrovia announced, October 19, 2004, that it has finally obtained the necessary legal authority to freeze the assets of those officials of the former government of Liberia and associates of Mr. Charles Taylor named by United Nations Resolution 1532 (2004) for such action. Justice Minister Kabinah Ja'neh, who was previously mandated by NTGL Chairman Gyude Bryant to effect the terms of the UNSC resolution indicated that the assets ordered frozen would include "funds, financial assets and economic resources held by entities owned or controlled directly or indirectly, by any person(s) acting on their behalf, or at their direction, to the benefit of such person." The Liberians Attorney General disclosed then that the government's action was contingent upon prior investigation into the corporate character of the Lone Star Corporation of which Messrs Urey and Shaw are said to be shareholders. SINCE THEN, THE government has reportedly stationed armed security guards at the premises of the LoneStar Telecommunications Company's premise apparently to physically keep Messrs Urey and Shaw off the property as though the property in question were seized (and not frozen) by the government of Liberia under the due process of law. Due process in our lay understanding would require that there be a tribunal competent to pass on the subject matter, notice actual or constructive, an opportunity to appear and produce evidence, to be heard in person or by counsel or both having been duly served with process of having otherwise submitted to the jurisdiction. BUT WITHOUT PREJUDICING the issue, we are afraid that was not done or was not properly done thereby compelling the Supreme Court to have ordered an annulment of the freezing order and subsequently ordering the restoration of the property in question pending hearing on October 2, 2004. There are other legal implications of the government's action that, given our legal limitations and the fact that we are not privy to other relevant information, we would prefer to let lie. HAVING SAID THAT, want to prevail on the Justice Minister as the legal arm of government to exercise extreme caution in the ways and manners in which it will deal with the dictates of UNSC Resolution 1532 (2004), lest the whole process takes on a Liberian legal character of "summary persecution" and thereby lose its public support and international flavor. If the impression we got that the Justice Ministry simply obtained a "Declaratory Judgment" which does not apply where controversy persists and using a press release, moved to freeze the assets of the Liberian citizens, is correct then it is our best advice that the ministry move forthwith to correct these oversights. THAT THE UNSC's mandate must be executed without favor or compromise cannot be overemphasized. But our qualm is that it must be done through means that are legally acceptable and transparent. Yes, the Security Council passed Resolution 1532 (2004) ordering the freezing of the assets of certain individuals believed to be undermining the Liberian peace process, and yes, Chairman Bryant ordered the Justice Ministry to do what the resolution mandated. But for God's sake, these prior authorities do not constitute the bases for action without prior efforts to harmonize the mandates and the laws of Liberia or other international laws under which a Liberian citizen, who have no prior record of conviction through due process, may be deprived of his property and entitlements for which he legally labored. WE SHOULD BE reminded that Liberians have been at war for the past fourteen years and that the nation is therefore fizzling with hate and mistrust. National infrastructures have been destroyed and with it, the nation's economic citadels have been reduced to pirates' nests. All we have as a nation and therefore upon which we must build with pains and diligence is the rule of law. We must therefore do nothing, by our actions or omissions, to destroy this remaining basis of hope for the restoration of peace and the building of a democratic society where the laws reign supreme. WE THEREFORE CALL on the Justice Ministry to retrace its steps and ensure that the laws and not official expediency decides the fate of Messrs Urey and Shaw in these matters and during these fragile days of national path-finding. The Ministry must guide against early missteps, after all, even the United Nations recognizes national laws and thus mandated that it be the basis for the enforcement of its resolution. It needs no emphasis that a precedence set today that is illegal may offset a chain reaction that may further ruin our chances of obtaining international support.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 The Analyst. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================