Winston Tubman’s 2011 Headache: LINU Gives Ambassador Ultimatum To Resign

Source: FrontPage Africa

Nat Nyuan Bayjay,

Monrovia -

For the second time in his political life, Ambassador Winston Tubman finds himself on the brink of a feud that might either leave his presidential ambition in limbo or make him to become an unattached political party presidential candidate for next year’s elections. Following a previous parting with the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL) immediately after he and 21 other candidates were defeated by the Unity Party five years ago, loss of confidence in Tubman from the Executive Committee of the Liberian National Union (LINU) seems to be landing the former United Nations Ambassador in another parting saga.

2005 - Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu open letter to Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Source: The Liberiandialogue


An open letter to Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Thursday, September 15, 2005

By Jucontee Thomas Woewiyu

Dear Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf:

The Rest of Your Apologies

I write this letter to first compliment you for finally mustering the courage to apologize to the Liberian people for the callous and deadly statement you made on the BBC in 1990 while prosecuting the second and Taylor led version of NPFL wars. You said "Level Monrovia, we will rebuild it," and not "Level the Executive Mansion" as contained in your statement of apology. As you said, you regret making what you now term as a "stupid comment." If you truly regret making a statement that resulted in the death of thousands of your fellow countrymen and women, why replace it now with a false one?

Sirleaf Pushes for More Arab Partnerships

Source: All Africa News
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Sunday October 10, joined more than sixty African and Arab leaders and Heads of Government attending the second Afro-Arab summit, at the official opening session of the Summit in Sirte, Libya, said a presidential dispatch from Sirte, Libya.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was the chair of the first Arab-African summit held in Cairo in 1977, called on Arab and African countries to place as a top priority mutual cooperation, within the framework of Arab League (AL) and African Union (AU).

Save Liberia Now or Never

Source: allAfrica.com
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF the National Elections Commission (NEC) that it would be holding a referendum to put a citizen’s stamp on four constitutional provisions that the National Legislature had passed into law in August this year has once again brought the significance of the generosity of spirit in Liberian politics to the fore. The referendum grew out of the intense desire by Liberia’s political elites to change some provisions of the 1986 Constitutions in order to address controversial political questions. Key amongst the questions are the residency clause; the absolute majority requirement for elective office, which invariably leads to cost-intensive runoffs because it of involves more than half dozen candidates; and the national elections timetable and political campaigns, viewed in proximity to the annual rainy season that ends in October.

Rwanda rebel FDLR leader Mbarushimana held in France

TQ Harris Jr. writes in his article entitled: ("The End Of Business As Usual" dated May 9, 2008).
"Unless the hideous crimes committed during the war are adjudicated in a court of law and victims receive proper redress, it is impossible to move on. Liberia needs healing. And the healing process must begin by holding accountable those responsible for atrocities perpetrated against the people. This will not only signify a major step toward genuine reconciliation, it also will serve as a deterrent".

While the United Nations watches over Liberia, people who allegedly committed crimes against humanity during the country’s 14 years civil war walk freely, the Rwandan FDLR rebel group has been arrested in France on war crimes charges.

It is estimated that over 250, 000 Liberians including five Americans were killed during the process. The United Nations must address the actual problem in Liberia. People who committed crimes against humanity as well as went against the United Nations human right charter must not be allowed to walk freely. The United Nations should not be working with these kinds of people.

Unmil Cuts Mean Trouble Before 2011

TQ Harris Jr. writes in his article entitled: ("The End Of Business As Usual" dated May 9, 2008).

"Unless the hideous crimes committed during the war are adjudicated in a court of law and victims receive proper redress, it is impossible to move on. Liberia needs healing. And the healing process must begin by holding accountable those responsible for atrocities perpetrated against the people. This will not only signify a major step toward genuine reconciliation, it also will serve as a deterrent".

While the United Nations watches over Liberia, people who allegedly committed crimes against humanity during the country’s 14 years civil war walk freely.

It is estimated that over 250, 000 Liberians including five Americans were killed during the process. The United Nations must address the actual problem in Liberia. People who committed crimes against humanity as well as went against the United Nations human right charter must not be allowed to walk freely. The United Nations should not be working with these kinds of people.

'Alarming' numbers go hungry in 25 countries: report

Karin Zeitvogel
Source: Smh.com

Poverty, conflict and political instability caused some billion people to go hungry this year, many of them children in Africa and Asia, according to the Global Hunger Index report released Monday.

Out of 122 countries included in the annual report, 25 have "alarming" levels of hunger and four countries in Africa have "extremely alarming" hunger, said the report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.

Thomas Lubanga: ICC trial of DR Congo warlord to resume...Will Liberia be next??

TQ Harris Jr. writes in his article entitled: ("The End Of Business As Usual" dated May 9, 2008).
"Unless the hideous crimes committed during the war are adjudicated in a court of law and victims receive proper redress, it is impossible to move on. Liberia needs healing. And the healing process must begin by holding accountable those responsible for atrocities perpetrated against the people. This will not only signify a major step toward genuine reconciliation, it also will serve as a deterrent".

While the United Nations watches over Liberia, people who allegedly committed crimes against humanity during the country’s 14 years civil war walk freely. It is estimated that over 250, 000 Liberians including five Americans were killed during the process.

Now that the ICC has resumed the trial of yet another rebel leader in DR Congo, will Liberia be next???
_______________________________________________________________________________

Thomas Lubanga: ICC trial of DR Congo warlord to resume
Source: BBC News

The International Criminal Court's appeals chamber has ruled that a trial of a Congolese warlord should resume after a three-month suspension.

In July, judges halted Thomas Lubanga's trial on war crimes charges and ordered his release when prosecutors refused to hand information to the defence.

Friday's ruling reversed the decision, but also rebuked Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo for flouting court orders.

Mr Lubanga has denied using child soldiers in eastern DR Congo in 2002-3.

His is the first trial to start at the ICC at The Hague but the case has been plagued by legal challenges.

The 49 year old led the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an ethnic Hema militia - one of six groups that fought for control of the gold-rich Ituri region.

The land struggle turned into an inter-ethnic war in which an estimated 50,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were left homeless.

'Binding orders'

Mr Lubanga's trial was suspended in July after Mr Moreno Ocampo refused to confidentially disclose to the defence the identity of an intermediary used by investigators to work with prosecution witnesses.

The judges said his actions amounted to "a profound, unacceptable and unjustified intrusion into the role of the judiciary".

They also ordered Mr Lubanga's release, saying it was "no longer fair" to detain him.

On Friday, the appeals chamber reversed the decision, saying the trial chamber had erred by resorting immediately to a stay of proceedings without first imposing sanctions to force the prosecution to comply.

But presiding judge Sang-Hyun Song rejected the arguments of Mr Moreno Ocampo that the trial chamber had wrongly found that he had refused to comply with its orders, and had misconstrued his position with respect to his duties of protecting victims and witnesses.

The "orders of the chambers are binding and should be treated as such by all parties and participants unless and until they are suspended by the appeals chamber", Judge Song added.

According to the ICC indictment, Mr Lubanga is accused of having committed war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years in the UPC's military wing, the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC), and of using them to participate in hostilities.

His trial, which opened in 2009 after a seven-month delay over disputed confidential evidence, has been hit by repeated legal difficulties.

The first witness at the trial retracted his testimony after first saying he had been recruited by FPLC fighters on his way home from school.

One of the problems facing the court is that the Ituri region is still unstable. This means the safety of witnesses cannot be guaranteed.

Professor Alhaji Kromah to contest 2011 presidential poll in Liberia

Background:

Alhaji Kromah, former Chairman of ULIMO-K.

Kromah is a Muslim. He is a member of the Mandingo ethnic group and a former member of the Council of State of the past transitional government in Liberia.
Kromah served as Special Assistant to the Vice President during the Tolbert era, he rose to become managing director of the Liberian Broadcasting System and Minister of Information under President Samuel K Doe.
Kromah went into exile in June 1990 following the NPFL rebellion against President Doe. It is believed that Kromah carried out most of his war preparation tactics in Conakry, Guinea.

Upon the emergence of ULIMO-K, his power base focused in the north-west of the country, in and around Lofa County. While harboring in the past a deep personal animosity for Charles Taylor, the two leaders were very closed in Council of State maneuverings which resulted in a joint warfare with Charles Taylor NPFL against Roosevelt Johnson ULIMO- J and George Boley LPC.


It is alleged that Kromah's ULIMO-K committed unimaginable atrocities against women and children in Monrovia during the April 6 1996 war as well as jungle wars in the north of Liberia.
Kromah is a former rebel leader of the ULIMO-K faction, and current professor at the University of Liberia.

Woman of Zleh town

Throughout my travels, that take me so far from home,

I often reflect back and think of my childhood and my mother.

Each morning she journeyed into the forest to provide for her family.

This poem is dedicated to my mother

Rozetta Zleh Goah

of Zleh town,

Grand Gedeh County,

Liberia.

Woman of Zleh town

Written by: Bernard Gbayee Goah

Old woman of Zleh town,

How great art thou in all you do.

You work the forest from morning to night,
From Sinagboa creek to Donie creek,

Creeks that feed sons and daughters of Gbao.

You need no GPS to navigate,
Neither do you need a compass

to know north and south,

For your north and south are in your head,
From knowledge passed down to you from old.

You know where the palm farms start and end,
And the swamp farms you know as well.

So, there is nothing to worry about.

When December nights get so cold,
And you return with joyous heart and thoughts,
With a fishing net hanging on your shoulder,
Where you go to fish so far from town.

Your movement seem to be so slow,
Helplessly you walk due to heavy weight,

That falls on the basket behind your backs,

Full with cat fish and fire fish as well.

You come to know that you must hurry,
Faster and faster you try to walk,
Because darkness is about to fall.

Although you know darkness comes so quick,
Your hope of light comes from above,
From the light that lights the sky,
From a large fufu high in the sky,

During the darkest moment of the night.

You march head up towards your hut ,
Like a lioness that returns from the hunt.

But unlike a lioness who body needs no bath,
You must wash the mud off your body,
And wash away the scent of wild bread fruit leaves as well,
Those scents that stick on clothes like gum.

You must sit and clean your fish,
From the warmth and comfort of your kitchen,
Where the fire hearths are red and hot.

You clean the fish and cook the evening meal

Before you rest your tired body.

Once my dad, my siblings, and I have eaten,

A glimpse of a smile appears Upon your faces,
As your heart cheers to show appreciation  of your hard work.

You lie and rest your head in bed to sleep and wait,
For the morning light that must come to pass,

To start your journey all over again.

In deed I love the old woman of Zleh town.

Liberia - Rep. Chambers seeks justice in ‘ritual detention’

Written by Julius Kanubah
Source: Star Radio Liberia

A Maryland Representative has called on government to release or send to court his kinsmen being held in detention in connection with ritualistic killing.

Representative Bhofal Chambers said it was wrong to continue to hold his people in jail without any formal charge or trial.

He stressed it not healthy for a witch doctor or traditional detective to brand people as ritualistic killers without any fact.

Representative Chambers argued it was ironical for big names in the alleged ritual act in Maryland to be released while the small names are being held.

The Pleeblo-Sodoken District-two lawmaker made the statement Friday during a press conference at the Legislature.

Representative Chambers also repeated claims of slavery at the Cavalla Rubber Plantation in Maryland with nine year old kids being used as rubber tappers.

He further protested the presence of the French agro group SIFCA at the Decoris Oil Palm, describing their operations as illegal and an economic injustice.

Exploit natural resources jointly: ECOWAS official recommends - Star Radio Liberia

Written by Moses Wenyou

Pres. Sirleaf begins discussion at Afro-Arab Summit - Star Radio Liberia

Written by Robert J. Clarke, Jr.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf led government must take no credit for good human rights record in Liberia.



Bernard Gbayee Goah

                                              By Bernard Gbayee Goah

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf continues to brag about the “improved” human rights record in Liberia under her administration. She recently boasted of her hard work in observing and improving human rights at the United Nations General Assembly. I would argue that human rights in Liberia are not improved and are in fact not where they should be after 5 years under her administration. There continues to be human rights abuses both in an effort to wrongfully protect offenders and wrongfully accuse the innocent.

Embarrassingly, the statement of President Johnson-Sirleaf is erroneous. Since the 2003 signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the 1989 civil war in Liberia, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNIMIL) and UN International Police (UNPOL) have shared the responsibility of maintaining security within Liberia with the Liberian National Police and the Armed Forces. According to the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor’s 2009 country report on human rights practices in Liberia (published March 11, 2010), there were many instances in which government security forces acted in a manner that infringed upon the rights of civilians. UNIMIL and UNPOL had no prior knowledge of these actions nor were they involved in carrying out these action.

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor also mentioned mob violence and land disputes which resulted in deaths and ritualistic killings. Some of the killings were allegedly carried out by top government officials. They also report police abuse, harassment, and intimidation of detainees and citizens.

President Johnson-Sirleaf claims that Liberia’s human rights record is up to international standards. Yet the justice system, in its current state would prove otherwise. Prison conditions remain harsh and arbitrary arrests and detention are cloaked in darkness occurring in the late hours when few can witness the offenses against their neighbors. Once those who are arrested are behind prison doors, due process is often withheld as are their basic human rights. Instead of going to trial in a timely manner, justice is delayed. Instead of being tried with constitutional protection there are reports of trial by ordeal, leaving no legal recourse for the allegedly accused.

Many times people are arrested on unfounded charges or for crimes against the state. When in fact these people have done nothing wrong but to speak out against the current administration, which in turn takes personal offense and acts in retaliation. This is exactly what happened when Charles Julu was arrested in 2008 for crimes he allegedly committed but without due process and put into prison for months without being formerly charged. At last when pressure groups in the United States and elsewhere demanded a free and fair trial, Julu was declared not guilty by a Liberian court. Charles Julu died months later from alleged treatments he received while in prison. Up to now neither the government nor the United Nations has questioned the mysterious death of Charles Julu.

President Johnson-Sirleaf claims that Liberia’s human rights record is up to international standards. Yet the police, those hired to uphold the law and protect civilians, wreak havoc and instill fear. Police continually abuse, harass, and intimidate civilians, in an effort to extort money and for personal means. Journalists, human rights advocates, as well as other pressure group such as the Widows of Ex-AFL soldiers continue to be harassed, and threatened on a daily basis by police.

One wonders what criterion the Liberian government is using to substantiate its claims of an improved human rights record. The perceived improvement the outside world sees in Liberia is merely a mirage. My guess is the claims made by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf are easily accepted, and of course she knows this, because when people think of Liberia they remember the war and assume that there could only be improvement. Whereas it is true that people are not dying by the gun but instead rotting to death in prison on unfounded charges. Women and children are no longer raped by soldiers and rebels, but instead by neighbors. Banks and stores are no longer looted by rebels, but instead government officials. Just as during the war, those committing crimes walk free. What must be highlighted are the experiences of Liberians today, not the memory of what happened during war. If that were the case, the claim of an improved human rights record would not be accepted, but instead questioned.

WHOEVER SAID ONE PERSON COULD NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?



T.Q. Harris Jr.

 T. Q. HARRIS, JR

It was wrong, however, these were the rules at the time. Before passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a Black person in America was forbidden to use the same door as a White person when entering or exiting a building. People of color could not drink from the same water fountain as Whites. It was illegal for a Black person to sit with Whites at the same lunch counter. Blacks and Whites were not even allowed to use the same restrooms. A company could refuse to hire an applicant simply because they were Black. And when riding the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Blacks were required to sit at the back.

Liberia Nears Oil Find: European Hydrocarbons to Drill Offshore March 2011

Source: FrontPage Africa

Monrovia -

African Petroleum has announced plans to drill in the deep offshore waters of Liberia, nearest the coastal boundaries of Sinoe and Rivercess. The geologists in African Petroleum are very excited by the possibility of finding oil and are finalizing plans with the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) to start drilling in March 2011.

Thai court clears way for Viktor Bout extradition

AP – Suspected Russian arms smuggler
Viktor Bout,
center, is led by armed
Thai police commandoes as he arrives …

Background on Viktor Bout
Viktor Anatolyevich Bout (Russian: Виктор Анатольевич Бут) (born 13 January 1967, near Dushanbe, Tajik SSR, Soviet Union) established a number of air cargo companies and is famous for being a suspected arms dealer.
A former Soviet military translator Bout made a significant amount of money through his many air transport companies, shipping cargo mostly in Africa and the Middle East during the 1990s and early 2000s.[citation needed] Just as willing to ship cargo for Charles Taylor in Liberia as he was for the United Nations in Sudan and the United States in Iraq, Bout may have facilitated huge arms shipments into various civil wars in Africa with his private air cargo fleets during the 1990s.
While claiming to have done little more than provide logistics, he has been called a "sanctions buster" by former British Foreign Office minister Peter Hain who described Bout as "the principal conduit for planes and supply routes that take arms... from east Europe, principally Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine to Liberia and Angola."
In cooperation with US authorities, Royal Thai Police arrested Bout in Bangkok, Thailand in 2008. The US wanted him extradited, and while the first attempt failed, a second try was successful. Bout will now face charges in a US court.
He has expressed confidence this will lead to his exoneration.

SHOULD LIBERIA BECOME A ONE-PARTY STATE?

                                                          

T.Q.  Harris Jr.

Absolutely NOT! You say. And I couldn’t agree with you more. But how then do we prevent Liberia from yet again becoming a One-Party State?

To prevent Liberia from becoming a one-party State Liberians must wholeheartedly invest in Multiparty Democracy. That means we must give our time and money to support opposition parties that have good ideas for the country; otherwise, they will vanish, leaving only the ruling party to govern as it pleases. And where there is no opposition the single ruling party will resist change regardless of how ineffective, misguided, or harmful its policies.

George Boley Sr. seeks release as trial proceeds

GARY CRAIG • STAFF WRITER • Democrat And Chronicle

With the first phase of the immigration case against Clarkson resident George Boley Sr. now over, Boley's lawyer and family hope they can convince the courts to allow him to be released as his trial proceeds.

Conflict and Reconciliation Must Be Contextually Defined in Traditional Liberian Terms

Joseph Tomoonh-Garlodeyh Gbaba, Sr., Ed. D.
Exiled Liberian Playwright & Poet-Laureate

Introduction


I begin my argument in this document by defining conflict and reconciliation in traditional Liberian terms to enable me establish a foundation for my line of reasoning regarding why certain crucial cultural steps and decisions must be taken in order to attain genuine reconciliation in Liberia. These terms are defined in a narrative and creative manner to better explain my argument that genuine reconciliation and sustainable peace, security, and development, cannot be attained unless we restore the tenets of our traditional justice system (namely: rule of law, law and order, due process, retributive and restorative justice) in post-war Liberia. Besides, it is also being assumed by peace brokers in the Liberian peace process that reconciliation can be attained without a price; but on the basis of “Let bygones be bygones,” which has no legal basis. Therefore, the definitions and corresponding arguments provided in this text are intended to give readers the contextual meanings of conflict and reconciliation from the Liberian point of view so that we may seek and use methods of conflict resolution and reconciliation that are contextual to our Liberian cultural and political experience. Subsequently, this may lead us to genuine reconciliation that may ultimately serve as the pathway to sustainable peace, security, and national development in post-conflict Liberia.