The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called on Liberia to reconsider aspects of its constitutional review where proposals have been made to make the country a Christian state.
Members made the call following the presentation of Liberia’s country report at the parliament’s ongoing 2016 first ordinary session in Abuja on Friday.
Members noted that the aspect of defining religious differences was a sensitive one and urged that it should put into consideration the consequences of making such decisions.
Responding, Edwin Snowe, a representative of Liberia said the proposal was subject to amendment.
“The comments from member states are welcoming but I do not subscribe to Liberia being a Christian state. It has its security concerns.
“We have coexisted as a secular state over the years, we have lived together as one people.
“Constitutional reforms come from the people and then it is incumbent upon the leadership to be able to go through those suggestions before putting them up for referendum.
“It is very unlikely, extremely unlikely that a legislation will pass on such and Liberia becomes a Christian state. It was founded on Christian principles but we respect each other and have lived as one.
“The Inter-Religious Council of Liberia have had major discussions and have spoken against Liberia becoming a Christian state.
“Yes, it is out, it is before the legislature and I look forward to us denying the passage of such,” he said.
Liberia seeks to review its constitution and the country’s Constitution Review Committee has held several conferences with proposals for amendments being made by delegates.
The proposed amendments include the reduction of tenure of the president from six to four years and amendments on laws against dual citizenship, among others.
EDITOR'S SOURCE: http://www.bookspen.com/2016/05/30/liberia-urged-reconsider-proposal-become-christian-state/

Police in China have detained the blogger for almost a week on suspicion of “provoking trouble” and the Committee to Protect Journalists have requested Chinese authorities should immediately release blogger and commentator, Wei Manyi.
Police in Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, on May 17 summoned Wei Manyi, better known by his pen name, Shui Muran, to the police station to “assist investigations,” searched Wei’s home and copied information from his computer, according to Southern Metropolis, a regional newspaper based in Guangdong.
The next day, police summoned Wei’s younger brother to the police station and served him with a notice saying that Wei had been detained on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” according to Southern Metropolis.
Wei’s brother told the newspaper that the police said to him that the detention was due to a May 3 article Wei published on the Chinese social media service WeChat alleging links between corrupt businessmen and Buddhist temples.
Police told Southern Metropolis that Wei was detained, but did not specify a reason. Police told the U.S.-government-funded Radio Free Asia that they had not heard of Wei.
“Simply writing an article should never be grounds for detention, and ‘provoking trouble’ is so broad an offence it invites abuse by prosecutors,” CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney said. “We call on Chinese authorities to immediately release Wei Manyi.”
More than 100,000 people read Wei’s May 3 post to WeChat within a few hours of its publication, according to press reports. Wei deleted the article several hours later and published an apology on his social media accounts, saying he had not done enough research and calling on people to stop sharing it. The next day, the Buddhist Association of China published articles on its website accusing Wei of smearing Buddhists and damaging the reputation of Buddhism in China.
The Chinese government in 2013 decreed that authors of libelous material viewed more than 5,000 times, or forwarded more than 500 times, can be charged with defamation and jailed for up to three years.
Those who share information deemed to be false and to cause “serious social disorder” can be charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Chinese officials have since accused or convicted several writers of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” according to CPJ research.
In November 2015, a new law went into effect, stipulating that those deemed to have fabricated information related to “hazards, epidemics, disasters, and situations involving police,” or to have intentionally disseminated false information that could cause “serious social disorder” can be punished by to up to seven years in prison.
EDITOR'S SOURCE: http://www.bookspen.com/2016/05/30/chinese-blogger-trouble-provocative-posts/

Child rapists in Indonesia will henceforth face the death sentence. The Indonesian President Joko Widodo, on Wednesday signed an emergency decree on child sex offenders to be chemically castrated and planted with microchips.
The regulation was issued following no less than two rape and murder cases in which the victims were teenagers.
“Extraordinary crime requires extraordinary measures,’’ Joko said, announcing the new law at the presidential palace.
The government has described recent attacks on teenagers as a “crisis.”
Mr. Joko said in his address that the attacks had disturbed public order.
“The decree also allows judges to hand down life sentences or death sentences to people convicted of child rape,’’ Mr. Joko said.
He said that the minimum sentence would be 10 years.
“Convicts can be micro chipped for easy monitoring by authorities and their names may be published,” he noted.
This month, a court on Sumatra Island sentenced seven teenagers to 10 years in prison for molesting and murdering a 14-year-old girl in April.
In another case that sparked outrage this month, two men were arrested on the outskirts of Jakarta for allegedly molesting and killing an 18-year-old girl by assaulting her with a wooden hoe.
EDITOR'S SOURCE: http://www.bookspen.com/2016/05/30/death-sentence-indonesian-child-rapists/