"Passions" Editor to Apologise

The Ethics Committee of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) yesterday asked Mr Frederick Benti, a representative of the editor of the "Passions" newspaper to withdraw forthwith, copies of obscene and offensive publication of the paper which are still at distribution points.

After appearing before the Committee, it was agreed that Mr Benti should publish an apology, which must first be cleared with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Ethics Committee twice in a prominent daily and in the next issue of "Passions".

A GJA release issued in Accra and signed by GJA Ethics Committee Chairman, Mrs Frances Ademola requested Mr Benti to pass on the requests and concerns of the Committee to the London based editor of the paper, Mr Rudolf Opoku-Addo and his collaborators with urgency.

The "Passions", a paper planned and edited in London but published in Accra by Cheetah Classics Ghana, Limited, in its maiden issue, which appeared on the newsstands on July 15, 2002 contained materials which the Committee said it found "most distasteful and in violation of the sensibilities of Ghanaians".

The Committee in an earlier release had described the publication as "nothing short of pornography in the most degrading and obscene form".