Saturday, June 19, 2010

Friction Bends Family Bone in Ruling Unity Party; Sherman Wants Fahnbulleh Out

Friction Bends Family Bone in Liberia's Ruling Unity Party; Sherman Wants Fahnbulleh Out

Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=11021&z=37

06/18/2010

On the eve of the induction of the recently-elected leadership of the ruling Unity Party, Cllr. Varney Sherman, the party’s new chairman has put his induction set for Saturday, June 2010 on hold in the wake of an ongoing wrangle between the party’s hierarchy and the newly-elected Secretary General Henry Fahnbulleh.

Citing what he calls a strong family relationship between him and Fahnbulleh, Cllr. Sherman told a news conference at his Congotown residence Friday that he and Fahnbulleh are distant cousins and could not possibly serve the two key positions in the party’s hierarchy.

In 2009, the Unity Party officially endorsed its Articles of Merger document bringing together the UP, the Liberia Action Party (LAP) and the Liberia Unification Party (LUP) at a convention held in Gbarnga, Bong County. The merger document was initially signed by UP leader, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and endorsed by the party’s National Executive Committee. The UP, LAP and LUP were established as political parties in Liberia in 1984 after the military regime of the late president Samuel K. Doe had lifted the ban on political activities. Distinguished revolutionaries such as Binyah Kessely of the UP, the late Jackson F. Doe of the LAP and the late William Gabriel Kpolleh of LUP organized political movements to canvass for political leadership for the 1985 elections, anticipating a democratic environment for free expression to exercise their suffrage.

After the 1985 elections, the idea of a coalition was proffered; and in 1986, it was established as the Grand Coalition and incorporated the UP, LAP and LUP. This was short-lived due to a decision by the Supreme Court of Liberia declaring its (the Coalition’s) activities illegal. It was subsequently banned and prohibited from participating in every public activity and denied the prerogative of a political party within the borders of Liberia. During the 2005 elections, LAP and LUP joined forces against the UP, who eventually emerged as the winner of the elections.

On Friday, Sherman said he made the decision two days ago that he will not serve as National Chairman of the Unity Party while Fahnbulleh, his cousin, serves as the National Secretary-General, as he would not and will not undermine a fundamental philosophical and ideological basis for the founding of the three constituent political parties and the recent merger as one political entity, nor would he participate in a political relationship that is abhorrent to deeply ingrained beliefs that are precious to him. “And on the basis of that, I informed several elected officers that both Henry Fahnbulleh and I will not be inducted into office on tomorrow, Saturday, 19, June, 2010.” If I will be inducted, then Henry Fabhbulleh, shall not be conducted if Henry Fahnbulleh will be inducted, then I refused to be inducted,” Sherman declared.

Sherman said his decision presented a crisis to the newly-elected officers, who, after a full day of deliberation and not having succeeded in resolving the crisis, opted for a postponement of the induction program. Notwithstanding that it is my decision which finally precipitated the crisis. “ I was delegated as the most senior elected officer, to disclose the postpone of the induction program and the reason for it.” I am confident that the Unity Party will manage the crisis successfully; and I assure each and every partisan that whatever solution is found, other than Henry Fahnbulleh and I serving in those two capacities at the same time, even if it means that I decline to serve as the National Chairman, I will humbly accept and continue to serve the Unity Party with the same vigor, commitment and loyalty that ha s characterized my service in every position I have heretofore held in politics.”

Said Sherman: “Now Henry Fahnbulleh, our National Secretary General-elect is from Grand Cape Mount County, a member of the Vai tribe, similarly, I, the National Chairman-elect, am from Grand Gedeh County, a member of the (now tribe. We are even closer than that; we are distant cousins. My putative paternal grandmother was a Fahnbulleh; my putative father paternal grandmother Momo Fahnbule Jones. For those of you who are old enough, you might know that that when that, the namesick of our Secretary General Secretary Henry Boimah Fahnbulleh(the namesick of our National Secretay General r to defend him, it was counselor Momo Fahnbulleh Jones(my putative father, given the family relationship, who took Ambassador Fahnbulle’s case.”

Cllr. Sherman noted that the treason trial merely illustrates the consanguinity between himself and Fahnbulleh.

Cllr. Sherman said on the basis of the relationship, he admonished voters at the recent party convention in Ganta, Nimba County that irrespective of a candidate’s competence and qualification for an elected office, they should vote in a way that would give Unity Party a leadership that reflects our national character, a leadership that is based on both geographic and ethnic balance. “With the tumultuous joy that followed my white-ballot election, I believe that many of the convention delegates did not hear my admonishment. Henry Fahnbulleh was elected Secretary General by a margin of 40 votes.

Cllr. Sherman further noted that as it is abhorrent to the philosophical foundations of the Unity Party that two persons from the same county, with the consanguinity described, hold two most senior and strategic positions within the party and considering that such a leadership, though elected, bothers on political nepotism, contrary to deeply ingrained personal belief, he engaged Fahnbulleh in a series of meetings prior to the May 8, 2010 convention in Ganta, urging Fahnbulleh to decline his(Sherman’s) election as National Chairman if he would not concede what he (Sherman) considers to be the politico-high ground. “All of my entreaties were rebuffed; but I was not perturbed. I enlisted the assistance of other elected officials, friends and associates, all of whom agreed with me that it was political the unpalatable for both Henry Fahnbulleh and himself to serve in the positions to which they were elected.”

Said Sherman: “In lieu of the position of National Secretary General we made various offers to Henry Fahnbulleh, including offers that would lead him to achieving what he confided n me to be the pinnacle of his career objective – Minister of Foreign Affairs. Henry Fahnbulleh rebuffed all these entreaties and insisted that he would not, in his words “subvert the will of the people.” In my mind, declining an election to a position because of the political necessities and exigencies described above is not a subversion of the will of the people; to the contrary, it is evidenced of magnanimity and sacrifice for the greater good and higher interest of the organization.

Cllr. Sherman said several partisans of the party assured him recently that they would continue to engage Fahnbulleh to see the wisdom, in the cardinal and supreme interest of our political party, to decline the election instead of him Sherman declining his election as party leader. “They determined, in their wisdom, that as between a chairman of the Unity Party, who was himself a presidential candidate at the 2005 elections, and a secretary general, who has not had such national exposure and relevance, the chairman, not the secretary general, should concede so that fundamental philosophical and ideological basis for the Unity Party are adhered to and maintained.”

Sherman said while he was disheartened that the induction of the program has been put off, history shows that those who will not stand for principles they sincerely believe in will wallow in their cowardice and often times damage their followers. “I will never compromise what I consider to be in the supreme interest of our political party even if it is inconvenient to me. It is only when our political decisions and works are matched to principles and reason can we comfort ourselves and assure our fellow Liberians that our political party is genuinely interested in their well-being and the future of our country.”

Liberia's Threshold Blows

Source: http://www.newdemocratnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67:threshold-blows&catid=47:national&Itemid=70


Threshold Blows

Written by Boimah J.V. Boimah

Friday, 18 June 2010

House Explodes In Riot

The House of Representatives exploded into fistfights Thursday over the stalled population threshold bill required for 2011 elections, with members hauling and pulling one another in acrimonious exchanges and invective on the passing of the bill now held for over 2 years.

Several Representatives from more populated Counties who stand to gain from the new census figures, frustrated over what they claim are orchestrated attempts from colleagues from less populated Counties to thwart the bill, have been threatening violence if the bill is not discussed and voted upon.

They accused certain House leaders of manipulations to ensure that the bill remains in coma.

The riot erupted when Deputy Speaker Tolkpa Mulbah adjourned session, citing lack of quorum. But Representatives from less populated Counties, including some Unity Party lawmakers, objective to the Deputy Speaker’s decision and immediately installed Rep. Bhofa Chambers and Kettehkumueh Murray as presiding and co presiding officer with the mandate to reconvene session.

Chambers and Murray assumed office to effect their assigned duty but their colleagues resisted their action and ordered the men to drop the gavel and leave the chambers. “You, what are you doing here? The Deputy Speaker said he adjourned the session and your refuse to leave? So lets go out. Go…” one said Following tension and tussles amongst the lawmakers who have tagged themselves as “Super Reps” and “Small Reps,” Rep. Chambers and Murray who fall within the “small Reps” category clarified that they were not presiding but rather holding “consultative” meeting on the action of Deputy Speaker Mulbah.

But Rep Nelson Weh Bah advised that they should discontinue the meeting because the “Super Reps” had the numerical strength to beat them physically.

“The Deputy Speaker had adjourned the meeting. Let’s leave because these men have strength and I don’t want for my face to be on TV”, Rep Bah said and the drama ended.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Cancellation Hangs Over Delinquent Concesssion Firms; House Probing

Cancellation Hangs Over Delinquent Concesssion Firms; House Probing

07/11/2010

Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=10997&z=3

Monrovia - Following persistent concerns in the public and of late a recent letter under the signature of a ranking member of the House of Representatives Bhofal Chambers to the full plenary of the House of Representatives that some concessions agreements ratified are not living up to the terms of the agreements, the House Committee on Concession and Investment says it will start inviting heads of various concessions that are deemed to be delinquent in living up to the agreements signed with the Liberian government.

House Committee Chairman on Concession and Investment Lofa county Lawmaker Moses Kollie told journalists that the body wants to exercise its role of having oversight on agreements that are signed with various companies in the country.

Kollie warned that the Legislature has multiple options available to it if it observed that the concessionaires concern are showing signs that they lack the capacity to live up to the terms of the agreement.

“We have a lot of concessions that we signed, the president approved and some printed into handbill but we have observed that most of these concessions have actually not been monitored and in some instances have not been committed because every concession agreement is a law. Gentlemen let me make this clear that we are going to be robust as part of our oversight.

As a matter of fact we have serious concern with ADA (African Development Aid). As chairman on concession and Investment, ADA is an embarrassment to this country because we have made some follow-ups and we have seen nothing besides makeshift structures and you also see people squatting in these areas, and so we are going to invite the head of ADA Mr. McIntosh and absolutely we are not going to accept any proxy because normally if you invite him, he will normally sent someone else,” The Lofa County Lawmaker told journalists on capitol Hill Thursday.

Few weeks ago a group of rural forest owners stormed the Capitol Building demanding that the Legislature revisit concessions mainly in the forest sector it signed with these companies. The rural dwellers complained that the companies in question have reneged on the various agreements it signed with the Liberian government by failing to implement various social agreement it said it would do in these communities.

Early this year the man Representing Foyah District in the National Legislature, Eugene Fallah Kparkar complained that the African Development Aid, operating a 30million dollar agreement to produce rice in the northern part of country has neglected the people and was failing on the terms of the agreement.

But the House Committee Chair have said if companies concerns failed on the terms of the agreement, a process of cancellations will start on Capitol Hill.

“We are not going to be embarrassed by anyone. If it is proven that these companies do not have the capacity, we will begin the process of cancellation here because this is a legal process and we are very serious and the Chief Clerk is now preparing the communications for Mr. McIntosh and other including the BRE and Alpha Logging and in fact Alpha Logging has been an embarrassment to this country. We have done an official complain to the FDA because we were in the position of reconditioning the feeder road in Salayeah but they assured the government that they could do that but unfortunately they have failed,” Representative Kollie maintained.

During the last hearing on the ratification of four forest management contracts, Civil Society Activist Silas Saikor told the hearing that nearly all the forest management contracts signed by the government of Liberia with various companies were standing on shaky grounds and warned that it would be dangerous for the government to sign new ones again.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Suspect in World Vision $1M Theft Case Battling Extradition from Liberia

Suspect in World Vision $1M Theft Case Battling Extradition from Liberia


06/07/2010
 
Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=10994&z=3

Monrovia - The fate of a Liberian citizen Thomas Momo Parker, who allegedly committed a crime in the United States of America (USA) and fled to Liberia, is expected to be decided this week by the presiding magistrate Nelson B. Chineh of the Monrovia City Court at the Tempe of Justice.

Accused Parker was arrested and forwarded to the court based on a request from the American Embassy in Monrovia though the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

Testifying on Wednesday as the prosecution’s first witness, Emmanuel B. Harvey, told the court while he was at his Ashmun Street offices at the Ministry of Justice, he received some documents from the US Embassy in Monrovia.

Atty. Harvey who is also Administrative Assistant to Liberia’s Solicitor-General Cllr. M. Wilkins Wright further testified that he cannot remembered the exact time and date of the documents, but added that the papers requested the Government of Liberia to turn over defendant Parker and others not named to be extradited to the USA and face criminal trial.

Witness Harvey said upon receiving the documents from the USA, state securities including the Liberian National Police, National Security Agency and the National Bureau of Investigation were instructed by MOJ to identify and arrest the alleged suspect Parker.

The state witness who did not explain to the court what crime the Liberian citizen committed in the USA, further told the court after vigorous search by the securities, Parker was arrested and forwarded to the court.

Parker, a former employee of World Vision was reportedly arrested in Monrovia recently. The judge at the Magisterial Court in Monrovia postponed ruling on the extradition request but he is expected to hand down his ruling this week. Judge Nelson Chineh of the Monrovia City Court will today decide whether a former World Vision Liberia employee Thomas Momo Parker will be extradited to the United States as requested by the US to face charges of fraud and Thief of Property.

Mr. Parker and several other former senior World Vision officials in Liberia and two other workers were charged last year for alleged fraud. They were accused of stealing and selling donated food in local markets and keeping the profits. They were also alleged to have used construction materials to build themselves multiple homes using labour provided by US-funded aid workers. Joe Bondo, one of the Liberians involve and also who was a manager on the project, has been in a Washington jail since his arrest on 20 May.

The US-based international Christian relief organization at the time said, it believes more than 90% of its aid to Liberia went missing in a massive fraud scam. World Vision’s Vice-President George Ward said the losses came to more than $1m and pledged to make “every effort” to avoid a repeat.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

The War Crime Controversy in Post-War Liberia

The War Crime Controversy in Post-War Liberia

Written by Arthur B. Dennis

Wednesday, 02 June 2010

Source: http://www.liberianforum.com/Articles/The-War-Crime-Controversy-in-Post-War-Liberia.html?ac=0

This article seeks to address the war crime controversy in Post-War Liberia. It is dedicated to those who are searching for credible answers to the controversial war crime agenda at home.

Definition of War Crime

The term “war crime” broadly refers to prohibited acts committed in time of war against a person or property protected under the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Under international law, war crimes are grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions known today as “International Humanitarian Law.”

The 1949 Geneva Conventions consist of Protocol I and Protocol II. The minimum rules of conduct adopted under Protocol I apply to international armed conflict between states; whereas the minimum rules of conduct adopted under Protocol II apply to internal armed conflict or civil war between local citizen groups. In olden- day armed conflicts, states were accountable for war crimes, not individuals. In today’s armed conflicts, military and civilians are individually accountable for war crimes, not states.

International Criminal Court (ICC)
War crime has been an international crime for over a century. Yet, in the years before the 21st century, there were no permanent international criminal court to prosecute cases of war crime. The way of dealing with war crime was to set up Ad Hoc War Crime Tribunals under the UN System. For example, 1945 Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1946 Tokyo War Crime Tribunal, 1994 Rwanda War Crime tribunal, etc. The international Court of Justice was created in October 1945, but its role is to settle disputes between UN member states. However, on July 1, 2002, a Permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), established July 17, 1998, came into force. It is based in The Hague, Netherland.

The ICC prosecutes military and civilians, age 18 or older without regard to status in government or society. It exercises jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the whole international community, committed after July 1, 2002. The most serious crimes in question are defined under Articles 5, 6, 7, & 8 of Rome Statute. Under international law, the term “most serious crimes” refer to gross abuses of fundamental human rights in wartime as well as in peacetime. The legal term used for such crimes is international crimes or crimes which threaten world peace and security.

These crimes include crime of genocide (willful killing of one or more members with intent to eliminate a group); crimes against humanity (willful killing of unarmed civilians, individually and collectively); and war crimes (crimes against humanity; genocide, etc). Under ICC statute, if a crime of genocide or crime against humanity is committed in peacetime, it is a gross violation of International Human Rights Law, and the ICC will be there to ensure justice. For example, the 2009 anti-junta demonstration in Guinea where over 100 civilians were killed by soldiers was a crime against humanity committed in peacetime. However, if a crime of genocide or crime against humanity is committed in an armed conflict, it is a grave violation of International Humanitarian Law, and the ICC will also be there to ensure justice. The primary goal is to end the culture of impunity in peacetime as well as in wartime.

The ICC operates under the principle of complementarity. Under this principle, the role of the ICC is to complement or serve as a back-up jurisdiction for ICC state courts in dealing with international crimes. The role of ICC states is to serve as first responders to international crimes committed on their territories. The ICC will step in only if the ICC state local court is unable or unwilling to play its role. The term “unable’ applies only if the ICC state has collapsed into anarchy; whereas the term “unwilling” is determined if the ICC state is shielding the perpetrator.

In either case, the ICC state is required under Article 14 to refer the case to ICC for adjudication. Or surrender the accused upon the prosecutor requests. If the ICC state fails to do either one, the Rome Statute confers proprio motu (discretionary) powers on ICC prosecutor to take initiative and bring the accused to justice. Family members of victims of international crimes can also ask the ICC to intervene if an ICC state tries to shield a perpetrator. ICC states are those that signed the ICC Treaty.

The War Crime Controversy in Post-War Liberia

Liberia signed the ICC treaty on July 17, 1998. On September 22, 2004, the Liberian Legislature ratified the ICC treaty without enacting an exclusive war crime legislation. However, Article 24 of Rome Statute expressly provides that no crime committed before July 1, 2002 will be prosecuted under ICC jurisdiction. Based on this statute of limitation, only former war actors under the 2003 Akosombo Agreement are duly eligible to face trial under ICC jurisdiction. The other former war actors, who were on stage way back before July 1, 2002, are not eligible to face trial under ICC jurisdiction.

However, there are two available options that can be used to deal with alleged war crimes committed between December 1989 and June 2002. The first option is to invoke the principle of territorial jurisdiction. Under this principle, every sovereign state is duty-bound under international law to exercise jurisdiction over international crime committed on its territory. Under international law, Liberia is duty-bound to probe the alleged war crimes committed on its territory during the civil war. The second option is to ask the United Nations for a Special Court similar to one in Sierra Leone.

 Charles Taylor War Crime Trial

Charles Taylor’s trial in The Hague absolutely has nothing to do with any situation Liberia. He is being tried under the auspices of the Special Court for Sierra Leone established January 26, 2002 based on the Agreement reached between the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone. Taylor is facing 11 counts of war crime indictment for supporting the RUF insurgency in Sierra Leone. President Ellen-Sirleaf handed Taylor over for trial because Liberia is an ICC state and owes a duty under Article 89 of Rome Statute to surrender any of its citizen accused of war crime.

Chucky Taylor Trial
Chucky Taylor is a U. S. born citizen. He was indicted and tried under U. S. Criminal Code 18USC Section 2340A which prohibits U. S. national from engaging in torture against any person inside and outside of the United States. We understand some Liberians in the U. S. filed a complaint in Florida Court against his war record in Liberia. He was tried and found guilty, serving 97-year jail sentence.Dr. George Boley’s Detention

It is rumored that Dr. Boley is being detained for war crime. If Dr. Boley is a U. S. citizen, then the rumor could be true. Because the 1996 U. S War Crime Act applies to U. S. nationals; and Dr. Boley was the leader of LPC whose faction was recently accused by a U. S Journalist of recruiting underage children in the Liberian civil war. Underage children recruitment is also a crime under the U. S. Child Soldier Accountability Act of 2008. However, this Act has 10-year statute of limitation. Boley could be free.

A War Crime Court for Liberia

If the ICC sets up a War Crime Court for Liberia, only war crimes committed after July 1, 2002 will be probed. And the following groups may be indicted to face their accusers.

The first group to appear will consist of faction leaders. They will be indicted under the law of command responsibility as stipulated under Article 28 of Rome Statute. The term command responsibility refers to the failure of leaders and commanders to supervise the activities of their fighters, resulting in gross human rights abuses in the war. Those who will appear under command responsibility include the faction leaders; military war cabinet; field commanders; and civilian cabinet, including civilians appointed in government by warring factions. They will be indicted under the law of complicity, associating to facilitate the war efforts as stipulated under Article 25 (d).

The second group to appear will consist of accused fighters. They will be indicted under the law of individual responsibility under Article 25 of ICC Statute. The law of individual responsibility is designed to individually punish those who pulled the triggers as well as those who ordered the triggers pulled, and those who financed the triggers to be pulled. Under Article 26, accused fighters who were under age 18 at the time of the alleged crimes will be exonerated and treated like victims of child soldier rather than perpetrators. The third group to appear will consist of war financiers and logistic suppliers. They will be indicted under the law of complicity, aiding and abetting as provided under Article 25(c).

However, because people to be indicted will include former faction leaders and a large number of trained former fighters, some security incidents may develop in the indictment process. That is, some people may put up resistance against their indictment and could be supported by certain former fighters in order to create an incident exactly like the Camp Johnson Road incident in September 1998 when the government ordered the arrest of General Roosevelt Johnson.

Concluding Comments

There are four major roadblocks, standing in the way of war crime indictment in Post-War Liberia. First, as we noted, only former war actors under the Akosombo Accords are eligible to face trial under ICC jurisdiction, not former war actors who were on stage before July 1, 2002. In this case, it would be grossly unfair to prosecute one group of war actors, and allow one group of war actors to go free.

Second, Liberia is a founding member of ICC. Therefore, it needs an exclusive war crime legislation exactly like the U. S. 1996 War Crime Act to prosecute war crimes. Without this legislation, war crime trial in Liberia will be a mockery of justice.

Third, from the day the ICC came into force on July 1, 2002, marked the end of the age-old tradition of setting up an Ad Hoc Tribunal under the UN System to prosecute war crimes. Therefore, the United Nations may not consider Liberia’s request for a Special Court to probe former war actors, who were on stage between December 1989 and June 30 2002. Largely, because the UN policymakers may not want to be viewed as delegating or sharing the jurisdiction of the ICC with an Ad Hoc Tribunal.

Fourth, there are absolutely no indications that Liberia will (anytime soon) probe war crimes committed on its territory as required under the principle of territorial jurisdiction. It appears that government policymakers who have the powers to initiate this process fear that “If they Haul Ropes, the Ropes will Haul Bush.” They also seem to fear the possible security fallouts that will follow in case certain veteran warlords, who are still enjoying the support of their fighters, are indicted. The only available option is to treat the war crime noise with conspiracy of silence. This is where we are in the war crime controversy. However, my next article will advance proposals to end this controversy.

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Author's Note: In case of comments, Arthur B. Dennis can be contacted at korso2006@msn.com

Sunday, May 30, 2010

DECODING UNCLE SAM: Deciphering U.S. Leaders' Code Talk Tricky for Liberians

U.S. DOUBLE STANDARDS: Critics of the U.S. see double standards in how the Americans deal with countries. For example, during the Samuel Doe era, when charges of human rights abuses and corruption were rampant, Washington maintained a good relationship with Doe, even believing that Doe was steering Liberia toward democracy. President Taylor was initially embraced by former President Clinton to the extent that he appointed Rev. Jesse Jackson as a Special Envoy to Liberia. More than a decade later, Washington appears to be directing assault missiles carefully as Secretary of State Clinton did while visiting Nigeria in January and mixed messages in Liberia. Former President Bush also sent mixed message when he visited Liberia during his last days in office as President. President Obama seems to have followed this long standing tradition of sending strong and mixed messages in coded in sentences only a few can understand. He did so in a meeting with Liberian President Sirleaf last week.


Monrovia –

There was no mincing of words when U.S. President George W. Bush, in July 2003 declared through his press secretary Ari Fleischer that he was focused on what was the most effective way to bring peace and stability to Liberia, and that was for Charles Taylor to depart."

Said Fliescher: “Taylor has "looted the country. He's been a force for instability. He's pitted faction against faction. His departure will have a stabilizing effect. It's important for him to "leave and leave quickly," but Fleischer would not give a timetable, saying, "I'm not going to rule anything out on the timing."

Less than a month later, on August 11, 2003, under intense U.S. and international pressure, Taylor resigned office and departed into exile in Nigeria. Taylor’s departure no doubt showed the impact of America’s influence on its perennial stepchild. To date, Bush’s action has won him a place in the hearts of many Liberians and is widely credited for pressuring Taylor to depart Liberia.

Prior to last week’s meeting between Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and U.S. President Barack Obama, the White House was bombarded with letters and phone calls from Diaspora Liberians and international human rights groups urging among other things to press the Liberian President to address issues of concerns including the setting up of a Human Rights commission and the wave of purported corruption in the post-war government.

When the meeting was finally over many who were looking to Mr. Obama to utilize his whip were left disappointed as the U.S. President showered Africa’s first female leader with praises. Said Obama: “I have been an extraordinary admirer of her work for many years now. I fondly recall the speech that she delivered in a joint session of Congress when I was still in the Senate.”

While showering praise political observers were quick to point out that Mr. Obama was passive in his comments about Sirleaf’s fight against corruption saying that the U.S. has seen a continued determination on Sirleaf’s part to have a full accounting of some of the tragedies that took place earlier and making sure that the country is refocused on development, being willing to tackle corruption, which obviously plagues not just Liberia but countries throughout the continent of Africa. “She has been committed to rule of law. She has made strides in reforming her judiciary.”

‘Determined vs. ‘Willing’ – Liberia vs. Benin

Ironically, just before embarking on his one-day visit to Liberia, Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush, on his week-long trip to Africa, kicked off his tour in the French-speaking Benin making sure to note that he chose Benin because its leaders were determined to fight corruption and were careful to make sure U.S. aid dollars were properly spent. "This is such a good lesson. One of the reasons I've come here, sir, is that leaders around the world have got to understand that the United States wants to partner with leaders and their people, but we're not going to do so with people who steal money, pure and simple," Bush told President Yaha Boni.

To date, the United States has given Benin $307 million in a five-year grant to fight poverty, part of Bush's Millennium Challenge Account, which provides aid to countries that the administration says practice democratic principles and sound economic policy.

On his next stop in Tanzania, Bush signed a compact with Tanzania through which the United States is now providing a $698 million Millennium Challenge grant. In Rwanda, where Bush met President Paul Kagame, the United States has provided nearly 7,000 Rwandan troops with training and spent more than $17 million to equip and transport Rwandan troops for service in Sudan. In Liberia, Bush left a million dollars in textbooks for secondary schools. He did not give a dime to Liberia.

In Benin and Tanzania, President Bush was blunt and praised them for fighting corruption. In Liberia he pledged books and chairs, signaling that he could not promise cash to Liberia because as he indicated he does not want to give American money to people who steal from their people.

President thanked the President of Tanzania for fighting corruption. He thanked the Liberian President for "being willing to fight corruption." For critics, this statement of "being willing to fight corruption" is an indication that President Obama is not completely impressed with Liberia’s anti-corruption effort, as even the US Department of States recent report showed that corruption was at levels in Liberia.

In his speech in Ghana, Mr. Obama said he has directed his administration to give greater attention to corruption in the U.S. Human Rights report. “People everywhere should have the right to start a business or get an education without paying a bribe. We have a responsibility to support those who act responsibly and to isolate those who don't, and that is exactly what America will do. This leads directly to our second area of partnership - supporting development that provides opportunity for more people.”

Interestingly, the most recent Human Rights report on Liberia by the United States State Department suggests that court cases involving allegations against corrupt officials are going at a snail pace with some eleven corruption cases still pending at the end of 2009, including the 2007 embezzlement cases of David Zarlee, J.D. Slanger, and former finance minister Luseni Kamara. Said the report: “Judges regularly received bribes or other illegal gifts from damages that they awarded in civil cases. Judges sometimes requested bribes to try cases, release detainees from prison, or find defendants not guilty in criminal cases. Defense attorneys and prosecutors sometimes suggested that defendants pay a gratuity to appease or secure favorable rulings from judges, prosecutors, jurors, and police officers.”

Commitment doesn’t cut it- Opposition weigh in

For followers of African politics, Mr. Obama’s rain of praises and commitment recognized, just doesn’t cut it.

Counselor Winston Tubman, the political leader of the opposition Liberian National Union said it was a good thing for Mr. Obama to meet the Liberian President, the U.S. leader was simply full of too much praise which makes it difficult for the opposition to really read: “They (the Americans) are viewed as the Godfather so it is difficult to handle but the opposition will press on and in the end it will come down to Liberians to make the final choice. We have to show our own responsibility. That is why I think we must come together as we are doing now with the seven-party coalition.”

Continued Tubman. “My sense of what happened in Washington is that it doesn’t help us (the opposition). For the fact that she has been banned from politics for 30 years and this didn’t come up once in the conversation with President Sirleaf and Mr. Obama. It only shows that only Liberians can save Liberia. That is why the move by opposition to form a coalition is very timely.”

‘Devil in details’: Snowe hopes backdoor discussions

While many have been deciphering what Mr. Obama said or didn’t say, one opposition lawmakers, Edwin Melvin Snowe(Independent – 5th District, Montserrado County) is hoping that Mr. Obama did raise some of the issues on the minds of many, including those raised by Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch. Says Snowe: “In politics, the devil is in the details, one would hope that Mr. Obama raised the issue of the TRC report which should be of interest since the Americans spent a lot of money to see it through. The fact that she was invited there I don’t think anyone expected much from the first visit. I hope she would not grow feathers but use it as a challenge. When he mentioned Guinea and Niger and other countries I am sure it was an indirect message to Mrs. Sirleaf. “I would hope those were things that were discussed behind closed doors.”

Mr. Obama also commended the Liberian leader for her for her commitment to democracy with an eye on some African countries which have had problems in recent years. “There are going to be legislative and presidential elections in 2011. And part of President Sirleaf’s legacy is that she will continue to usher in a sense that democracy is the regular way of doing business in Liberia. And in that way, she can be an example for countries like Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire and Niger that I think can -- should look to Liberia as an example for democracy and rule of law.”

Obama’s language was clear that Liberia under Sirleaf – or after - could be a shining example for others to follow. Liberia’s next door neighbor, Guinea endured a convulsion of grief over violence and outrageous human rights abuses, including rapes of scores of women and the massacre of nearly 150 patriots, mostly from the opposition side simply because they were demonstrating and exercising the fundamental freedom of speech that a functional democracy offers. The riots were set off when coup leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara suddenly announced that he would postpone elections and declared himself a candidate for the projected elections, which caused a reaction that resulted in large-scale, unprecedented violence and brutality. Late President Lasana Conte pushed himself for decades to maintain himself in power at the expense of democracy which led to the violence after he died.

Coded messages in Cote d’Ivoire, Niger & Guinea

In Cote d’Ivoire, a civil war split another Liberian neighbor in half in 2002. Voter registration issues, particularly issues of nationality and voter eligibility, have prompted Ivory Coast to push back the election several times since President Laurent Gbagbo's mandate ran out in 2005 but he has continuously postponed elections to stay in power. The uncertainty over elections have kept the world's top cocoa producer in peril and prevented much-needed reforms to the cocoa sector.



In Niger, prior to a military coup which ended his third term in office, the U.S. declared that President Mamadou Tandja undermined a decade of good government in his attempts to stay in power beyond the legal limit. But Tandja did not survive. Following a constitutional crisis in 2009, which was caused by Tandja's efforts to remain in office beyond the originally scheduled end of his term, he was ousted by the military in a coup d’etat in February 2010. Tandja, who ruled Benin from 1999 to 2010 is believed to be held at a military barracks on the outskirts of Niamey. Ironically, in Niger, the soldiers who took power last month immediately won explicit domestic support, and tacit Western approval, for their anti-graft stance.

Observers say the reference to Guinea, Ivory Coast and Niger could suggest that Obama was thinking that the Sirleaf administration could do all it can to remain in power as it is the case in these countries. A well placed diplomat indicated that they are afraid that the Threshold bill logjam is an attempt to postpone or undermine the elections in 2011. Secretary State Clinton, in her visit to Liberia also pressed lawmakers to pass the threshold bill to avoid hiccups in the 2011 political process.

While many have been critical about what Mr. Obama said or didn’t say, supporters of the post-war government say Mr. Obama and the U.S. could be walking a fine line in an attempt to keep the peace and also recognize the progress Liberia is making from war to peace. As Mr. Obama said: “The United States and Liberia are close friends, long-standing partners, and Liberia is now emerging from a very difficult period in its history. Part of the reason that it has been able to emerge is because of the heroism and the courage of President Sirleaf. Her own personal story obviously is extraordinary -- somebody who came from being a prisoner to the first female President not just of her own country but also on the continent.”

In contrast, Mr. Obama’s Africa Policy which was exhibited in his speech during a one-day stop in Accra, Ghana where he pledged support for those African countries that showed commitment to the rule of law and democratic practice. “Countries that demonstrated the fundamentals of good governance -- defined in the policy as stability and leadership accountability -- would also be supported by the US government. African governments that are successful in these directions will be supported with better trade opportunities, given help in strengthening their internal development capacity and engaged in stronger bilateral and multilateral relations.”

Coded message in Ghana choice

Mr. Obama’s choice of Ghana was primarily due to the fact that Liberia’s neighbors had just successfully elected a new president from the opposition party, was being rewarded for the apparent progress that this represented in democratic practice. Obama was also show-casing Ghana as a country well in the practice of the rule of law with commendable anti-corruption efforts. The US president pointedly avoided visiting Kenya, his father's home country, and Nigeria, a country that lays claim to regional leadership. The message was that these two countries, because of electoral malpractices and rampant corruption in government, had failed the Obama policy test.

Much of Mr. Obama’s message was repeated directly and indirectly by his Secretary and former election rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton during her visit to Liberia last year.

Said Mrs. Clinton during her address to the national legislature. “Ending corruption is necessary to growing and sustaining such institutions and restoring the public's trust. I have been to countries that are far richer than Liberia. These democracies have been in existence far longer, but because they never tackled corruption, their future is repeating before their eyes.”

At the time, Clinton, a friend of Sirleaf went to great lengths to draw an analogy in a bid to show what Liberia could achieve, if it plays its cards right. “I will say to you what I said in two days in Nigeria, a country that has the fifth-largest supply of petroleum and gas, so many riches, and yet the number of people living in poverty is growing. Nigeria is now further away from achieving the Millennium Development Goals than they were ten years ago. That is a travesty. That does not have to be either Nigeria's future, and it should not be Liberia's future.” This was an indirect message to Sirleaf not let corruption runaway to the point that Liberia becomes another Nigeria, or a State that has failed to tackle corruption and by extension impoverished its people.

No guarantee in democracy

In what many saw as another indirect message to Sirleaf, who has been accused of not incorporating opposition forces in the post-war government, Mrs. Clinton said. “Now, I've been, again, on both sides. I've won elections, and I've lost elections. In a democracy, there is no guarantee you're going to win. I spent two years and a lot of money running against president Obama, and he won. And then I went to work to elect him. And then, much to my amazement, he asked me to be his Secretary of State. And I must say that one of the most common questions I'm asked around the world, from Indonesia to Angola, is: “How could you go to work for someone you were running against? I said, because we both love our country.”

Clinton says she argues occasionally when the question pops up that “it is that love that every successful country has to inculcate in its people and its leaders so that the political process of a democracy doesn't break apart the country, doesn't create so much bad blood and ill feelings that people won't accept the outcome of an election, or not believe that they could have lost or refuse to move forward under those circumstances. And that is what we know Liberia can do.”

Critics see U.S. double standard

Liberians have since Clinton visit been struggling to decipher the undertones of some of the highpoints of Mrs. Clinton’s speech. In particular, her suggestion that it is also critical to have an electoral system that is credible, that will produce free and fair elections in 2011. “The world is watching, and we take a personal interest in the elections to come in Liberia because we know that this election, where there will be a peaceful transition of power from one civilian authority to another, will set in motion the future legitimacy of elections for years to come.” Some have asked the obvious question: Who is transitioning in and who is transitioning out? Does the US fear that the Sirleaf Government will rake the elections?

Critics of the U.S. see double standards in how the Americans deal with countries. For example, during the Samuel Doe era, when charges of human rights abuses and corruption were rampant, Washington maintained a good relationship with Doe, even believing that Doe was steering Liberia toward democracy. At the time, Liberia was the largest per capita recipient of United States aid in the sub-Sahara from 1980 to 1985, after which Congress, responding to reports of mismanagement and misappropriation, began to steadily slash aid levels. More than a decade later, Washington appears to be directing assault missiles carefully as Secretary of State Clinton did while visiting Nigeria in January. Clinton blasted what she called "unbelievable" levels of corruption in that country, one of Africa's biggest oil exporters, drawing a link between poor governance and the growth of extremism.

Lost in the quest to decipher the sometimes confusing messages of America is the fact that corruption, according to an African Union study, cost the continent roughly $150 billion.

While many African governments have made some efforts to fight corruption in recent years, many of those have come at the urging of international donors pushing for transparency and good governance as well as domestic pressure to fulfill promises of reform made on the campaign trail.

Countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, have made meager progress on fighting graft. All three countries have established anti-corruption agencies that sought to prevent, investigate, and prosecute corruption. But a 2008 paper from the UN Economic Commission for Africa says such commissions have been largely inefficient and ineffective due to their uncertain political footing. Often funded and overseen by the executive branch, anti-corruption agencies can be eliminated (as in South Africa, where the Scorpions investigating unit was disbanded in 2009), and their leaders can be sidelined or forced out of the country (as in Nigeria and Kenya).

In the case of Liberia, Sirleaf says the challenges exist because most of the country’s brains are in exile. “Corruption; the rule of law; our judiciary system and its weakness; unemployment among the many young who did not have the opportunity to go to school, who knew only war and violence in their young days. But those challenges we see as the ones that we have to tackle. And the progress we have made enable us to have the commitment and capacity to meet those challenges.”

Deciphering codes requires sophistication

The claims and counter claims will continue over the visit of President Sirleaf at the White House. But one thing is certain, American leaders speak in coded message that requires a sophisticated mind to decipher. Diplomatic observers say praises could indicate something different, while condemnation could also indicate something different. Whether it was Obama, Bush or Secretary of State Clinton, they all appear to have used sober references to Nigeria in the case of corruption and to Guinea, Niger and Ivory Coast to send a clear message: Do not go down that route, as if some of the same tendencies are visible in post-war Liberia.

Keen observers also took notice that unlike late President Doe and so many world leaders, neither Bush nor Obama came out and stood with President Sirleaf on the White House to answer questions from the Podium. This is a common American tradition for US Presidents to accompany other Presidents to the White House lawn. Mr. Bush did so during his first visit with Sirleaf at the White House in 2006. What did it all mean?

For supporters of Sirleaf and her opposition reading between the coded messages could mean deciphering the devil in the inexplicit details. Liberians far and wide will no doubt continue to weigh in and debate what Mr. Obama said or didn’t say. In the finally analysis, political analysts say, when it comes to Africa, the United States appear concern only about its policy. For the moment, its policy toward Africa is appears to be pressing for good governance and corrupt-free societies. But even without, deciphering fact from fiction, truth from false can be a daunted task as journalist found out during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first global news conference, when asked whether President Obama‘s decision to make Ghana, the first choice of his trip to Ghana, was not a snub to other African countries including Nigeria and Liberia. Clinton replied that the visit to Ghana was ”To demonstrate our commitment to Africa. It is not meant in any other way than what I just said. It is intended to tee up what will be a continuing intensive engagement with Africa.” Even for the modest observer of modern politics, the quest for the truth is always in the details. But for Uncle Sam, there always seems to be something beneath the surface and it often appears that perceptions and declarations often times than one requires more reading between the lines. In the case of Liberia, it is difficult to decipher the truth told is in the eyes of the beholder or the one at the doorsteps seeking aid.





Thursday, May 27, 2010

Latest Liberia Coalition Draws Strange Bedfellows: CDC. TWP NDPL FDP Join Forces

Latest Liberia Coalition Draws Strange Bedfellows: CDC. TWP NDPL FDP Join Forces


05/7/2010 - FPA STAFF REPORT

Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=10951&z=3

Monrovia –

Two former ruling parties and a grassroots movement riding on the shoulders of a football legend are among a new force of political opposition in Liberia coming together to challenge the ruling Unity Party in next year’s general elections.

FrontPageAfrica has gathered that extensive consultative talks are underway among several Liberian Opposition Political parties aimed at forming a Grand Coalition to contest the pending 2011 General and Presidential Elections.

The parties consist of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the Liberia National Union(LINU), the Alliance for Peace and Democracy(APD), the National Democratic Party of Liberia (NDPL), the Progressive Democratic Party(PRODEM), the Free Democratic Party of Liberia(FDP) and the True Whig Party(TWP).

In a joint signed statement released Thursday announcing their plans to contest the 2011 elections under the banner of a Grand Coalition, the initial seven opposition, the parties will hold further talks after the submission of a report from the steering committee that will make recommendations for a roadmap that will lead to the formation of a coalition of opposition parties.

A senior executive of one of the parties involved in the coalition could not confirmed to FrontPageAfrica Thursday who the standard bearer of the party would be in 2011 only that the individual would be chosen at a convention. It is also not clear whether members of the coalition would be willing to run under CDC's George Weah who has said he will not run second to anyone or political institution. It is also not clear how far Tubman, who has previously said he would not support or merge with anyone who had blood on their hands, is willing to go. The PRODEM party is the political arm of Sekou Damateh, a former rebel leader.

The statement said the seven political parties were represented during the talks by top Executive to include, CDC’s Ambassador George Weah, LINU’s Ambassador Winston Tubman, PRODEM’s Sekou Damate Konneh and Party Chairman Garbla V. Williams. Other present were Richard Panton and party stalwart Prof Wilson Tarpeh. The FDP was represented by its national Chairman Michael Nayou and Secretary General Peter Senneh.

The parties are also extending what they call a carte blanche invitation to all other opposition political parties to join their ranks in these consultative talks for the single goal of forming a common front in unseating through the ballot box, the ruling Unity Party.

It is not clear what the formation of the coalition does for recent attempts by the 2005 standard bearer of the Congress for Democratic Change George Weah and the party’s secretary general Lenn Eugene Nagbe to join forces with ruling party.

The coalition appears to be reuniting Winston Tubman with his former party, the National Democratic Party of Liberia.

The NDPL was formed in August 1984 by supporters of Samuel Doe, who came to power in a 1980 military coup. The party contested the 15 October 1985 elections with Doe as its presidential candidate. Doe won 50.93% of the vote in an election marred by allegations of extensive irregularities and electoral. The NDPL dominated both chambers of the legislature winning 21 of 26 seats in the Senate and 51 of 64 in the House of Representatives. In late 1989, a civil war broke out in the country and Doe was killed in 1990.

The party made a comeback in the first post war elections, conducted on July 19, 1997. George Boley, a former minister in the Doe administration, was the party's presidential candidate. He won only 1.26% of the vote, while the party failed to win any House or Senate seats.

Following yet another civil war, elections were held on October 11, 2005. The NDPL's presidential candidate, Tubman, placed fourth and won 9.2% of the vote. In concurrent legislative elections, the party won 2 seats in the Senate and one in the House of Representatives.

Like the NDPL, the The True Whig Party, also known as Liberian Whig Party, is also a former ruling party and was the only legal political party in Liberia for over 100 years, from 1878 to the coup of 1980.

The party lost power after Tubman's successor, William Tolbllert, was killed in an April 1980 coup by forces opposed to his clampdown on the political opposition and tolerance of corruption. It was then the opposition's turn to clamp down on the True Whig Party. The vast majority of its members and supporters left the party, but it struggled on as a minor party. The party participated in the 2005 elections as part of the coalition for the Transformation of Liberia.

Liberia's TRC Report Boxed Again!!

TRC Report Boxed Again


Source: http://www.newdemocratnews.com/story.php?record_id=2109&sub=14

President Sirleaf at the TRC

The controversial TRC Report recommending punishments for serious perpetrators of war crimes and bans for those deemed as backing the war, has been thrown into another web for scrutiny.

This time, according to the President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in an interview given in the United States, a Geneva-based organization, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, will read the report and come up with a road map on its implementation.

Reacting to the new move, TRC Commissioner Ms. Massa Washington told this paper in an interview that this symbolizes ‘a lost opportunity for the President.’ She said the latest move should take into account huge sums of money that donors pumped into the TRC process, along with taxpayers’ money and time spent. She said after moves ‘to descredit the report at home ‘have failed’, the President is now falling on international groups ‘favourable to her. ‘Why should she take her country’s report to another country?’ She asked.

But Commissioner Washington acknowledged flaws in the report, adding that these flaws are insufficient ‘to undermine the report. She said the President should sit down with others at home, not depend on international groups, to find the best way out because the Report, she added, is greater than any one individual.’

Pres. Sirleaf: “...We are working with a Geneva-based organization, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, who’s been holding meetings with representatives of our civil society organizations, to read the report [and] come up with a road map on its implementation. We’re trying to organize a group in Monrovia to do the same thing...”

Many observers believe that this is just one in a series of attempt to box-in the TRC Report for the sole purpose of not implementing the document.

But the President insist that “...Anyone who says that the report is being trashed or is being thrown away is absolutely wrong. We want to implement in a timely and appropriate way and ensure that whatever we do, Liberia’s peace must be maintained to enable us to carry out the development agenda that is unifying and healing the nation.”

Amnesty: Obama Should Pressure Liberia to Establish Human Rights Commission

Amnesty: Obama Should Pressure Liberia to Establish Human Rights Commission


05/27/2010 - Amnesty International

Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=10947&z=3

Washington –

Amnesty International USA calls on the Obama Administration to take the opportunity during Thursday’s meeting with Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to discuss the state of human rights in Liberia, and in particular, to urge the Liberian government to accelerate the establishment of the Independent National Human Rights Commission.

The 2003 Accra Peace Agreement, which brought Liberia’s years of armed conflict to an end, called upon the Liberian government to create an Independent National Human Rights Commission, and in 2005, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights Act was passed into law. Five years later, the government and parliament still have not established a human rights commission in Liberia.

Presidents Obama and Johnson-Sirleaf should take this opportunity to discuss the crucial role the Liberian administration can and must play in ensuring justice, accountability, and respect for the human rights of all Liberians. President Johnson-Sirleaf must turn the promise of the Commission into tangible action.

While plans to establish the commission remain in limbo, the country has experienced ongoing violence and internecine conflict, striking deficiencies in judiciary, police, and corrections operations, vigilante justice, and high incidence of rape of women and girls. The Commission would be designed to address these problems and help reduce the incidence of human rights abuses.

Amnesty International believes that the Liberian government should make the establishment of such a commission a top priority. Furthermore, the government should ensure the success of the Commission by making public the official budget and time frame for vetting commissioners, by involving civil society in this process, and by ensuring transparency at all stages of the process.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

‘ONLY JESUS CAN SAVE’ THEM: Auditor General of Liberia Morlu Faces Lawmakers’ Grilling; Slams Auditees

‘ONLY JESUS CAN SAVE’ THEM: A.G. Morlu Faces Lawmakers’ Grilling; Slams Auditees


05/26/2010

Monrovia –

Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=10942&z=3

Auditor General John Morlu has made his second public appearance before the National Legislature since 2007 informing the lawmakers that the General Auditing commission (GAC) has released more than 30 audit reports to the custody of the National Assembly.

Morlu in his two-hour briefing to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts and Expenditure, said only Jesus Christ can safe an individual who has been challenged to account in his audit report because according to him, the facts and evidence contained in the report are strong and convincing.

“If you read the audit reports, you remember I told you I do things by the law, because you Pass the law, one of the lines in the law is that I as an Auditor General should identify those who engaged in fraud, identify those involve in negligence, identify those who have defaulted in collecting revenues, as AG I must also recommend a system set-up because the Auditor General cannot set up system, you must recommend system setup.”

Power comes with accountability, I am the Auditor General, I believe in the appropriateness and sufficiency of evidence, if I say senator Nyenabo did this! only Jesus Christ can come out to free you,” AG Morlu maintained as he answer a question from Senator Isaac Nyenabo.

The country’s Auditor General told the senate committee that they read the audit reports with clarity, specifically, the aspect on the accountability sheet of the audit report that holds individual accountable in the expenditure of government resources.

The Auditor General assured the lawmakers that the more than 31 audit reports that have been released by the commission, can stand both administratively and judicially, because according to him, evidence contained in the reports are clear and decisive.

“I have submitted to the Legislature 31 audit reports, 12 of which are forensic audit reports (strictly financial crimes investigation. Our audits are done under international conventions , the first thing I do under chapter 53.3 of the new executive law, the Auditor General is required to adopt auditing standards in Liberia, so the first thing I did was to adopt the INTOSAI standard, which is the international organization of supreme Audit institutions. So everything we do is consistent with international standards,”Morlu told the Accounts committee.

Answering questions from senate president Pro tempore Cletus Wortorson on the release of audit reports to the public, Auditor General Morlu said there is no law in the country on what is classified or declassified information that cannot be released to the public.

He said the police also could not give information on what is sensitive information that cannot be release to the public, the decision on what to go in public is purely at the discretion of the Auditor General.

“That’s a very brilliant question; let us stick to the facts. Under the HIPC agreement, signed by Liberia, the Auditor General must release reports in a timely manner. The Auditor General must release reports timely and follow-up on implementation, so if I even follow the international agreement they have, I will be beating at their doors everyday, but I don’t want to be an activist Auditor General.

With respect to confidentiality, what is confidentiality is determined by you, when I came to this country, I spoke to Dr. Fahnbulleh and the president, if you want something to be confidential, then you must go the legislature and have a classification system, classified and Declassified system, but even the police don’t even have it, and the auditing standards says in the absence of a law prohibiting the disclosure or timely disclosure of public information the Auditor General should look at the greater public interest and that is in the INTOSAI standard and I can’t compromise the public’s rights to know,” the country’s tough talking Auditor General told the committee.

Separate Political appointees from Civil Servants

Also following persistent request from the senators for the Auditor General to provide some remedy to the current system breakdown in the country, AG Morlu told the body, the first step in helping to curb the system failure in the country was for political appointees to remove themselves from the simple work of the common civil servant.

Morlu warned that the government will not go anywhere, unless government ministers stop signing cheques and processing vouchers and also distributing gas coupons among lower level employees.

“The first thing is that you protect the integrity of the Minister’s office first, that is the best way the institution can be managed effectively, then you have a good internal audit system, there must also be payroll reconciliation with various government institutions, meaning the government employees must also be given employment letters because in some government areas, employees don’t really have letters of employment. But if I am a minister signing cheques, during procurements and also distributing gas slips among employees of the ministry, anybody can attack me because sometimes I forget what I have done.

Senator Nyenabo? You think anybody can ever come to audit me and say anything, I will fight you, because how can’t I be sure that I have not done something wrong, so automatically I am afraid as a minister,”Morlu continued his two hour long presentation before the Committee on Public Accounts of the Senate.

There are multiple audit reports, that point to the fact that senior level political appointees usurping the functions of the civil servants by engaging in the purchase of something as low as stationery.

The Auditor General according to reports was invited to speak to the work of the General Auditing Commission and the HIPC audits conducted recently, but lawmakers failed to ask specific questions on the HIPC audit, but instead characterized the entire discussion with political issues.

Some audit reports specifically those on the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation, indicted the Senior Senator of Grand Bassa County Gbehzohngar Findley of crediting huge sums of money from the corporation and failing to pay.

Liberia, Troubled by Human Sacrifice

Source: http://kofiakosah-sarpong.blogspot.com/2007/08/featureliberia-troubled-by-human.html


Sunday, August 5, 2007

Liberia, Troubled by Human Sacrifice

Kofi Akosah-Sarpong discusses Liberia’s dilemma with human sacrifice and cannibalistic practices in its development process, drawing cases from Ghana and other Africa states

As Africa’s debate about tackling its inhibiting cultural practices in its development process gather steam nowhere is this seen more than in Liberia, Africa oldest Republic and expected to be a key source of light for progress. The headlines over the past months look scary, more of Hollywood-type movies, as if Liberia is plunged into mass culture of human sacrifices, otherwise called “ritual killings.” But though not really plunged in mass human sacrifices, Liberia has a big challenge with human sacrifices that spring from its culture, like most African states, in its development process. Samples of headlines over the past months from prominent Liberian newspapers such as the “Analyst” and the “Liberian Observer” include “Ritual Killings in Maryland Defy President Sirleaf,” “Woman Detained for Ritual Killings,” “Quiwonkpa, Killed, dismembered body Consumed,” “Ritual Killings Increase in Nimba County,” and “Bryant Warns Presidential Candidates Against Ritual Killings.”

Locally called as “Gboyo” - the practice of killing people so that their body parts can be extracted and offered as sacrifices to bring power, wealth and success – it is an ancient practice in Liberia that Liberian elites have not worked to deal with as part of its development process, making it grow to such an extent that in 29 June 2005 prior to Liberia’s current democratic dispensation, its interim leader, Gyude Bryant, “warned any aspiring presidential candidates tempted to boost their chances by carrying out human sacrifices that they will be executed if caught.…If you think you can take somebody's life in order to be president, or the speaker (of parliament) or a senator, without anything being done to you, then you are fooling yourself." The highlight of Liberia’s human sacrifice was supremely seen during the 14-year vicious civil war (1989-2003), where a mixture of the negative aspects of Liberia’s traditional cultural values and the criminal behaviour of its mindless “Big Men,” who have the cultural belief, like most Africa societies, that it is culturally right to sacrifice their victims for their various ambitions. More graphically, in this atmosphere, child soldiers were eating their victims’ hearts and other body parts for spiritual powers.

The question is how does a country that is the oldest “Republic in Africa,” got independence in 1847, and supposed to be a shining light of Africa, be so challenged by such negative cultural practices that it threatens to undo any gains overtime in its development process, more so after emerging from 14 years of brutal civil war? The growth in human sacrifice appears not go away 150 years after independence shows that Liberia is yet to have holistic grasp of its cultural values (positive or negative) that drive the foundations of its development process. The growth of human sacrifice reveals that such features are not factored in when developing policies, bureaucratizing, and consulting on national development issues.

One senses this by prominent Liberian scholars, thinkers, writers and journalists that contributed to a “Special Issue on Liberia” on its 150th independence published by the UK-based Pambazuka News (pambazuka.org, 2007-07-26). There is nothing from these prominent Liberians indicating that the cultural values and traditions of the country are factored in when midwifing the country. That menas in making policies, bureaucratizing, and consulting about the progress of Liberia, its very cultural values that sustain it are not considered. What this indicates is that there is no conscious attemps to tackle any inhibitions with the Liberian culture for refinement for progress. Even Anthony Morgan, Jr’s catching title, “Principle of Duality: Psychoanalysing Liberia,” didn’t reveal how Liberian elites are attempting to tackle not only their cultural inhibitions but also appropriating the good aspects for policy-making, consulting, and bureaucratizing.

Over the years Liberia elites have overlooked certain aspects of their traditional values hindering their progress despite the fact that various Presidents, from William Tolbert to Gyude Bryant, “have signed the death warrant of several government officials, accused of procuring human body parts for Gboyo rituals.” It is not only Liberian “Big Men” who engage in human sacrifices, ordinary Liberians do it, and unlike most African states, Liberian women too are prominent in these ritualistic practices. And it’s Liberian-wide. Samples: The “Liberian Observer” (04 October, 2006) with headline “Woman Detained for Ritual Killing” reported that the Magisterial Court in Buchanan “charged and detained a woman identified as Ruth Redd with the crime of “negligence homicide” in connection with the mysterious death of a two-year old Victoria Wee in Gbegbah Town, in Harlandsville Township, Grand Bassa County.” In another instance, the “Analyst” (March 10, 2006) reported that barely three hours after incumbent President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf delivered a speech of gratitude to the people of Maryland County and told those involved in ritualistic killings to stop and not to tempt her because she is a woman, a three years old boy was ritualistically murdered. The “Analyst” (March 9, 2006) reported that “The relief arm of the Assemblies of God Church, the Faith Charities Consortium (CFC) has reported that there is increase in the practice of ritualistic activities in Nimba County…Children are disappearing on a daily basis with their bodies mostly discovered by community dwellers in the bushes along highways and bearing marks of certain body parts removed.”

The growth of human sacrifice in Liberia confirms America’s Florence Bernault, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, thesis “that Public rumors depict human sacrifice and other related sorceries “as the most common way to achieve personal success, wealth, and prestige in times of economic shortage and declining social opportunities. Political leaders are widely believed to perform ritual murder to ensure electoral success and power, and many skillfully use these perceptions to build visibility and deference.” This is, as Liberia indicates, despite elites oftentimes ignoring classical political and historical studies, as the “Special Issue on Liberia” published by Pambazuka News indicates. As the flux of Liberia’s culture and progress show, the impact of the inhibiting aspects of Liberia’s culture on its progress, as Bernault analyses, “is not a marginal, but a central dimension of the nature of public authority, leadership, and popular identities.” Dirk Kohnert, of Germany’s Institute of African Affairs, argues that the belief in African native occultism are still "deeply rooted in many African societies, regardless of education, religion, and social class of the people concerned" and this has “implications for democratization and poverty-alleviating aid in Africa.”

Either because of the extremely long-running colonial rule, which pretty much suppressed African values for developmental transformation or post-independence African elites’ weak grasp of Africa’s values in its progress, as Liberian elites exemplify, certain parts of Africa’s values such as the growing human sacrifice in Liberia have not seen conscious attempts to refine them from within African values for progress by its elites.

Molly in Liberia: Made in Liberia

Molly in Liberia: Made in Liberia

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Visits White House To Meet with President Obama

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Visits White House To Meet with President Obama

Tuesday, 25th May 2010
Source: http://www.emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1547

Monrovia, Liberia - United States President Barack Obama will on Thursday, May 27, welcome President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia to the White House.

The Executive Mansion, quoting a White House press statement, says the United States greatly values its historic bonds with Liberia. Liberia, the White House says, is an important democratic partner of the United States that has made tremendous strides in consolidating stability, improving governance, and contributing to regional peace and development in recent years.

“The American people have maintained our links to the Liberian people through some of the country’s most challenging times, and we remain deeply engaged now as Liberia continues to look to its future,” the statement noted, adding, “President Obama welcomes the opportunity to discuss a range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual importance with President Sirleaf.”

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Expresses the Need to Promote US Private Investment

President Sirleaf Expresses the Need to Promote US Private Investment in Liberia

Wednesday, 26th May 2010
Source: http://www.emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=1550

Photo Credit: Adama B. Thompson/Executive MansionWashington, D.C. - President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has expressed the need to promote United States private investment in Liberia as a means to help grow the Liberian economy and create more jobs.

Speaking at a jam-packed breakfast event at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, President Sirleaf said Liberia welcomes more U.S. private investment involvement, adding that the interests of both countries would be well served.

The Liberian leader said her country appreciates the enormous contributions being made by the U.S. and other partners in the consolidation of peace and reconstruction of Liberia.

She indicated that because of strong support from the US and other international partners, Liberia is making tremendous headways as a post-conflict success, but more challenges remain.

President Sirleaf cited unemployment and limited capacity among the challenges facing post-war Liberia, noting that there was a need for our international partners to focus on how they could assist the Liberian Government in addressing these challenges, as efforts are made to consolidate peace and development.

“We’ve laid the foundation and need to consolidate the gains we’ve made,” President Sirleaf said, adding, “we need to improve education, build capacity and infrastructure, make job available, and improve the quality of life of the Liberian people.”

President Sirleaf emphasized that the young people of Liberia must be given hope by providing them quality education and job training, improve the living conditions of families, and ensure that young people can have jobs and aspire to the best of their abilities.

As part of the government’s plan for sustainable economic development, President Sirleaf said the government is focusing on improvement in the area of agriculture, especially empowering small farmers to be more involved in mechanized and commercial farming.

She lauded the Obama administration for selecting Liberia as one of those countries that would benefit from special support to enhance agricultural development and food security.

Despite Difficulties, Sirleaf Has Made Progress, U.S. Speaker Pelosi Declares

Despite Difficulties, Sirleaf Has Made Progress, U.S. Speaker Pelosi Declares
05/26/2010 - FPA STAFF REPORT

Source: http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=10940&z=3

Washington –

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday declared that Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has made much progress during her term in office through a difficult post-war peace and reconciliation process.

Speaking shortly after a meeting on Capitol Hill, Speaker Pelosi said Liberia's security situation is currently stable; the economy and the humanitarian conditions on the ground, including the electricity sector, have significantly improved under her leadership; and Liberia is scheduled to hold a second free and fair election in 2011. Nevertheless, the speaker said substantial challenges remain. Speaker Pelosi said Sirleaf has stayed true to Liberia's national motto: "The Love of Liberty Brought Us Here."

Said Pelosi: “As you know, the United States and Liberia have a relationship that is as old as both of our countries. The United States has a clear interest in building a brighter future, working with President Sirleaf and the citizens of Liberia. And I look forward to working with her on the critical issues confronting her nation for years to come.

Nita Lowey,(D-New York), Chairwoman of the influential Foreign Operations Subcommittee of Appropriations said it was a special privilege to welcome President Johnson Sirleaf back to Washington. Congresswoman Lowey said she had the privilege of visiting Liberia several years ago and to think, Madam President, that in seven years, the children growing up have been able to grow up, get an education, and live in peace. “That is probably, Madam President, one of the greatest achievements after so much strife and so much heartache and so many lives senselessly lost. You have been able to bring your leadership to bear and give the people of Liberia hope. Your turning the electricity on; your providing seeds and agriculture assistance so that individual families can truly have their own source of living. You are providing education, not only for the young people, but giving them the opportunity to gain higher education as you open new centers of learning and universities.”

Congresswoman Lowey said she was proud to welcome President Sirleaf to the United States of America and assured the Liberian leader that the U.S. we will continue to be partners, so that Liberia continues to thrive and truly be a light unto all the nations.

Speaker Pelosi recalled that she first met President Sirleaf in Liberia shortly after the 2006 inauguration. Said Pelosi: “And when I went to Liberia, I said that her election electrified the nation and now, as Americans, we wanted to help truly electrify the nation helping with power for Liberia. And I know that President Sirleaf has made great progress in that direction. Though I only met her several years ago after she became President, my admiration for her has lasted many years, where as an educator and as a leader in the World Bank and the rest, she acquired quite a reputation. Her speech to the Congress was one of the best we ever heard, and one that was very memorable.”

Pelosi said both she and Congresswoman Lowey were united in support for Sirleaf in her efforts to pursue stability, economic growth, and democratic governance for the Liberian people. “As the first woman elected to lead an African nation, President Sirleaf is an inspiration to women everywhere, men too – a woman revered by her people and determined to make progress.”

Sirleaf, speaking on behalf of the people of Liberia, expressed thanks and appreciation for the support shown the post-war nation.

Said Sirleaf: “You have made a major investment in the future of our country through your support, and I come to report to you that significant progress has been made and bring to you the return on that investment—return in terms of peace and security, our nation is now enjoying its seventh year of peace; return in terms of the opening up of our economy, all of our productive sectors are now being put to work again, and that should enable us to have the resources to finance our development; return in terms of governance and a rule of law with an open society where human rights are respected and where there is all a basic fundamental freedoms are enjoyed in our society; returns on the improvement in our infrastructure, our schools, and our clinics, and our light, and our water, all that are being restored to a population denied from that in two decades.”

Sirleaf said Liberia owes a lot to the people of America. “We will continue to build on that progress and consolidate our peace, and we are determined that Liberia will become a post-conflict success story of which you can be proud and you can take credit for what you have done to enable us to achieve that goal.”

Chairman Leahy. I am one American who is very, very proud of the President and what she has done to not only restore stability in her country, but to show a sense of democracy and a rule of law. I think she is one of the most extraordinary people I have met.

Four years ago, President Sirleaf addressed a Joint Session of Congress, sharing her vision for Liberia and the “enormity of the challenges”:

In the campaign months, I traveled to every corner of our country. I trudged through mud in high boots, where roads did not exist or had deteriorated past repair. I surveyed ruined hospitals and collapsed clinics. I held meetings by candlelight, because there is no electricity anywhere - including the capital - except from private generators. I was forced to drink water from creeks and un-sanitized wells all of which made me vulnerable to the diseases from which so many of our people die daily.

I came face to face with the human devastation of war, which killed a quarter of a million of our three million people and displaced most of the rest. Hundreds of thousands escaped across borders. More - who could not - fled into the bush, constantly running from one militia or another, often surviving by eating rodents and wild plants that made them sick and even killed them. Our precious children died of malaria, parasites and mal-nourishments. Our boys, full of potential, were forced to be child soldiers, to kill or be killed. Our girls, capable of being anything they could imagine, were made into sex slaves, gang-raped by men with guns, made mothers while they were still children themselves.

But listening to the hopes and dreams of our people, I recall the words of a Mozambican poet who said, “Our dream has the size of freedom.” My people, like your people, believe deeply in freedom - and, in their dreams, they reach for the heavens. I represent those dreams. I represent their hope and their aspirations. I ran for president because I am determined to see good governance in Liberia in my lifetime. But I also ran because I am the mother of four, and I wanted to see our children smile again.

Already, I am seeing those smiles. For even after everything they have endured, the people of Liberia have faith in new beginnings. They are counting on me and my administration to create the conditions that will guarantee the realization of their dreams. We must not betray their trust. All the children I meet - when I ask what they want most - say, “I want to learn.” “I want to go to school.” “I want an education.” We must not betray their trust.

Under President Sirleaf’s leadership during a difficult post-war peace and reconciliation process, Liberia’s security situation is currently stable, the economy and the humanitarian conditions on the ground have significantly improved, and Liberia is scheduled to hold a second free and fair election in 2011. President Sirleaf has made great progress.

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Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah

Everyone is a genius

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein

Drawing the line in Liberia

Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah



Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause

They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.

If Liberia must move forward ...

If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's greatest problem!

While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - Bernard Gbayee Goah

What do I think should be done?

The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Solving problems in the absence of war talks

As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truthBernard Gbayee Goah

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