In the midst of its World Congress in Jordan, the International Press Institute (IPI) today demanded an end to a police siege of Uganda’s Monitor newspaper.

IPI members, meeting at their 62nd Annual General Assembly, agreed to an emergency call to “send a strong message” urging the government of Uganda to ensure that the Monitor’s operations be allowed to continue.

“We call on the government to immediately stop the siege of the Monitor newspaper and KFM radio”, IPI Executive Board Chair Galina Sidorova said in a statement endorsed by the members at the Assembly.

According to information obtained by IPI, authorities have effectively placed the Monitor and a sister publication, Red Pepper, on lockdown, with no one allowed to enter or leave the buildings housing the publications.

The buildings also house radio station KFM as well as the Monitor’s website, www.monitor.co.ug. Both the radio station and the website were reportedly shut down for some time.

The Monitor quoted unnamed security sources as saying that the siege is related to the paper’s coverage of rumours that Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, is preparing his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, to succeed him in office. Yesterday, the paper reported on calls to investigate attempts to stamp out political opposition to such preparations.

Alex Asimwe, managing director of Monitor Publications, was quoted in news reports as saying, “We are seeing police men wielding guns but no one is giving us a communication on what is happening … But we are trying to make sure the situation normalizes as early as possible.”

IPI Deputy Director Anthony Mills commented: “IPI’s membership, currently gathered in Amman, Jordan for our World Congress, demands an explanation for the actions of Ugandan police against publications of the Monitor group. This siege must end immediately so that Monitor journalists can return to work and continue informing the Ugandan public on matters of public interest.”

IPI’s 62nd World Congress and General Assembly officially began this morning in Amman, Jordan. Over the next two days, leading editors, journalists, and media experts from around the world will discuss today’s principal challenges to press freedom, with a particular focus on the Middle East and the effects of the Arab Spring. The theme of this year’s Congress is “Documenting Change—Empowering Media.”