A Voice of America transmitter stood outside town as well as an

A Voice of America transmitter stood outside town as well as an Omega navigation station that tracked planes, ships and submarines.But if the freed American slaves forged Liberia, they also bear some responsibility for its slide into war. In a classic case of the abuser perpetuating his own abuse, Americo-Liberians treated native Africans like the slaves they had once been It became a unique system of black-on-black apartheid. At independence, indigenous Africans were denied citizenship Those who dared revolt were brutally put down Some were taken into domestic or commercial slavery. In the 1930s, President Edwin Barclay was found guilty of rounding up slaves for sale to cocoa plantations abroad.Until a 1980 coup by Samuel Doe, an army sergeant and indigenous African, every Liberian president was an Americo-Liberian. The appointments were vetted by the Freemasons, a secret society.These days the tensions have eased – Americo-Liberians make up 5 per cent of the population – but Liberians of all backgrounds are united in feeling the US has an obligation to rescue them.

“We were there for them in the past,” said Catholic Archbishop Michael K Francis “Now they owe this to us.”. It was a chilly winter’s evening, and Balmain Town Hall in Sydney was crammed with people awaiting a screening of a new American film, Ken Park The lights were dimmed. But the opening credits had scarcely rolled when police burst in and halted the show. Several organisers, including one of Australia’s most respected film critics, were taken away for questioning. Ken Park, by the US director Larry Clark, is about the dysfunctional lives of four young skateboarders in California, and had been banned from Australian cinemas. The abortive underground screening in Balmain was an attempt by film buffs and civil libertarians to thumb their noses at the authorities.Ken Park, which features teenage sex, masturbation and auto-erotic asphyxiation, is the latest movie to be deemed too steamy for Australian audiences. It has been screened at numerous film festivals, including Venice and Cannes, and has been playing in European cinemas.

It has been sold in 30 countries, including Britain and Singapore.Critics say the decision by Australian authorities reflects a climate shaped by the conservative social agenda of the Prime Minister, John Howard. Mr Howard, who came to power pledging to ban pornographic videos, has tightened censorship laws. Free-to-air television is prohibited from showing uncut adult films, even at night. Five films have been banned since 1995, including, last year, Baise-Moi, shown in Britain with a 10-second cut. Seven more were refused classification without cuts.Civil libertarians say the Classification Review Board, the highest censorship authority, whose members are political appointees, has been stacked with conservatives. Irene Graham, an anti-censorship campaigner, said: “They are all teachers, childcare workers, lawyers and scientists. There are no film critics, no one likely to consider artistic merit.