Clarification, not retraction, on Ban Ki-Moon’s statement
It should be brought to the notice of the public that the press release issued out yesterday 21st June 2010 by the Office of the President about a press report sent out by the Press Secretariat was not a retraction but a clarification.
At no time did the whole press release make mention of retracting the story. There was no use of the word ‘retract’ or ‘regret’ or ‘withdraw’ or ‘apologise’.
What the press release made clear was to put to rest insinuations as to whether the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, made a specific pronouncement about the proposed inquest by the Government of Sierra Leone.
This morning, I was interviewed on UN Radio on the matter, and I made it clear that people, especially the media, should refrain from equating the Press Secretariat with Sheka Tarawalie; that I even was not present at the Press Conference where the UN Secretary General made the remarks; and that I was merely passing to the public what had been reported to me, as I do for other write-ups, like the President’s speeches, which I don’t write myself.
It is worthy to note that I have served as Presidential Press Secretary for nearly three years now, reporting the President’s activities, and at no time have I been faulted to have misinformed or misled the public in my reportage, both local and international. I would like to reiterate that I was not present at the UN Secretary General’s press conference – as all those journalists who attended would testify – and was only acting as a gateway for the dissemination of information. It should be made clear that only when I conclude a report or release with my name do I indicate personal responsibility; but when I end a report or release with ‘The Press Secretariat, State House,’ it means it could have been done by another official within the establishment.
Having said that, it should also be noted that, apart from the press secretariat’s report, some other news organs present at the press conference actually reported independently that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon endorsed the inquest through his answer to the question to that effect, perhaps specifically because he was quoted to have said “peace without justice can only be temporaryâ€.
Be that as it may, it should be emphasised that the Office of the President did not retract, but only clarified, the report as was out rightly stated in the opening statement: “The Office of the President refers to the press report issued by its press secretariat dated 15th June 2010 and would like to clarify that the Secretary General of the United Nations did not make any pronouncement in favour of the government’s intention to institute an inquest… At no time during his visit did the Secretary General make any specific comments on this inquest… He also emphasised that if there was no justice, peace can only temporary.â€
Sheka Tarawalie, Presidential Press Secretary, State House
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