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| President Ellen Johnson-Sirlief Jerome Delay/AP |
Since declaring a state of emergency, Sirleaf's government has introduced a nationwide curfew, forcing people to stay indoors at night. Against the advice of Ebola experts and Liberian health officials, Sirleaf also ordered the quarantine of an entire slum in Monrovia in an attempt to contain an outbreak in the Liberian capital. (The slum was reopened 10 days later.) This month—with the legislature's backing—Sirleaf suspended a special Senate election, citing a lack of essential staff and materials.
Press freedoms have also been eroded: When the curfew was first announced, journalists were not included on a list of exempted professions able to move freely around the country at night. (They were added six days later.) In early October, citing privacy concerns, the government announced that reporters could bearrested for speaking with Ebola patients or photographing treatment centers without written permission from the health ministry.
In her recent letter to the legislature, Sirleaf asked for the authority to further restrict freedom of the press. "Because falsehood and negative reporting on the state of the affairs is likely to defeat the national effort in the fight of the Ebola virus, it is important that such be discouraged and prevented," she wrote. "Accordingly, the Government of Liberia will restrict speeches that will confuse the citizens and residents including the raising of false alarm thereby creating fear during the state of emergency."
