HRW: Ivory Coast recruits Liberian child soldiers
Ivory Coast soldiers are recruiting hundreds of recently demobilized fighters in neighboring Liberia, including child soldiers who say they're paid or offered ...,

South Africa : UN Panel recommends stay of the sanctions - slams ...
Slamming the illegal practices adoted by the Liberia’s diamond trade controlled by a secret monopoly, a United Nations expert panel report has recommended ...,

UN Puzzled by Liberia Secret Diamond Export Deal
A UN Panel of Experts, in Liberia to ensure Security Council sanctions on diamond exports are enforced, was surprised to discover the government signed a 10 ...,

AS SEKOU DAMATE CONNEH MOVES FOR THE PRESIDENCY, JEWEL HOWARD TAYLOR SEEKS HIS SUPPORT.
The leader of the defunct rebel faction, Liberian United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), Sekou Damate Conneh has finally declared his intention to contest the upcoming general and presidential elections come October, 2005.

KOUKOU CHALLENGES ISAAC MANNAH'S OF BEING CORRUPT
The Acting Speaker of the House at the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA), George Koukou has described as "absolutely incorrect" claims by the Isaac Mannah Ad Hoc Committee which declared Speaker Dweh's suspension that he (Koukou) received US,000.00 to carry on renovation work on his office at the Capitol.

FORMER FINANCE MINISTER ACCUSES NTGL OF CORRUPTION
The Presidential hopeful of the proposed Liberia Destiny Party (PDL) and former Minister of Finance, Nathaniel Barnes has accused the Gyude Bryant led Transitional Government of being corrupt, greedy, inept and lacks vision to handle the affairs of the state.

The Political Industrialization Of The Liberian Presidency: The Downfall Of My Motherland 
Liberian politics, the way I know it, is centered on the Presidency.  Why that is so is one of the simplest questions that does not require one to know about politics to conclude that it is all about naked power and corruption.

LIBERIAN HUMAN RIGHST ACTIVIST WRITES GEORGE BUSH …Wants Charles Taylor brought to justice
Liberia's human rights defender is appealing to President George Bush, president of the United States to step in and strongly back efforts that will bring to justice former Liberian dictator, Charles Taylor as the United Nations backed war crimes court opens in neighboring Sierra Leone.

A Wrong Decision to Choose Ellen Sirleaf as our Keynote Speaker (An Opened Letter)
Let us not ignore the prevailing public sentiments both on the grounds in Liberia and here in the U.S. which questions Mrs.Johnson-Sirleaf's utilization of the Good Governance Commission as a podium for the promotion of her political ambition. Certainly, ULAA or the ALNC cannot and should not be allowed to become a platform for the furtherance of the agenda of any political candidate or institution. 

China, Liberia agree to expand military ties
BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhuanet) -- China and Liberia agreed Monday in a talk between the countries' defense ministers to strengthen cooperation and exchanges between their militaries

LIBERIA: First batch of newly trained police recruits is deployed in Monrovia
MONROVIA, 28 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - A first contingent of more than 100 Liberian police trained by the United Nations was deployed on the streets of the capital Monrovia on Monday, a police spokesman said.

Ellen John-Sirleaf Has Not Earned Our Supports (Editorial)
Until Mrs. Sirleaf can come out to tell us why  she proclaimed to the world that the Taylor-led war was a "people's power revolution" when our people were being killed in Tiaplay, Karnplay, Sanniquellie, Barkedou, Gbarnga and other places of Libera; untill she can come out to say why she remained silent while our homes and other properties have been illegally occupied by the remnants of the Taylor forces in Nimba and elsewhere, she has not earned our supports as a community. The challenge to her and any other candidate for that matter is to justify why they deserve our supports. Until then, she has not earned our supports. We will not jump on the bandwagon and we will not encourage our people to do.

Constitutional Violations In UP
Several partisans of the Unity Party (UP), under the banner of the Concerned Partisans, have written the Chairman of the party complaining about alleged violations of the party’s constitutions said to be carried out by members of the National Executive Committee (NEC).

Liberians accused of rice fixing 
Thirty businessmen in Liberia have been accused of 'economic sabotage' after allegedly inflating the price of rice for their own benefit. The government said the men had hoarded the rice - Liberia's staple crop - and then sold it at nearly double the state controlled price.

Liberia wants proceeds from Chinese rice donation to import rice
The Transitional Government of Liberia is discussing with the Chinese government to use proceeds from a donation as a "devolving fund" to import rice, Liberian Commerce and Trade Minister Samuel Wlue said here at the weekend.

ALNC Or Ellen Johnson Campaign Conference? 
Philadelphia, SIS (3/26/05) - Credible reports reaching the Sloh Information Service indicate that Liberians planning to travel to Maryland for the April 14-16 ULAA-dominated "All-Liberian National Conference" will be wasting their time and money as the rival ALNC headed by Dr. James Teah Tarpeh has intensified legal and other efforts necessary to stop the conference.

UN expert panel scores secret Liberia mining deal
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. experts on Thursday criticized an apparent secret mining deal that Liberia's transitional government signed with a mysterious company, saying it was not in Liberia's long-term interests.

LIBERIA: Basic services still in tatters as people return to Lofa County
MONROVIA, 25 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - War-scarred Lofa County, which was once home for many of Liberia's internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, is still desperately short of shelter, food and health services as people start heading back, aid agencies have said.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is Keynote Speaker at National Conference
Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Chairman of the Governance Reform Commission of Liberia, will serve as Keynote Speaker at the All Liberian National Conference slated for April 14 – 16, 2005.

 Liberia - Slipping into chaos
United Nations - The international community must to do more for Liberia to keep the struggling West African state from slipping back into chaos, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan warned on Wednesday.

Liberia calm but remains fragile - UN
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Liberia is calm but still fragile nearly two years after a transitional government took over from former President Charles Taylor when he fled into exile in Nigeria, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Former soldiers, unemployed young people, students and government workers are increasingly unhappy over the new government's inability to deliver basic services, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the U.N. Security Council.

LIBERIA: Petrol bombers attack UN checkpoint in Ganta
MONROVIA, 23 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - One United Nations peacekeeper in Liberia was seriously wounded and another slightly injured when a group of young men threw a petrol bomb at a UN checkpoint in the northern town of Ganta, UN officials said on Wednesday.

Nimba Citizens Endorse Madenyen For Representative In 2005
A prominent daughter of Nimba County, Madam Madenyen Nouh Jabateh candidacy for the position of representative in the National Legislature was over the weekend endorsed by a cross section of Nimba citizens in Monrovia.

LIBERIA: Dutch police arrest national for war crimes in Liberia
MONROVIA, 22 March (IRIN) - Authorities in the Netherlands said on Monday they had arrested and charged a national businessman close to exiled President Charles Taylor of Liberia with war crimes and smuggling weapons during that country's civil war.

Dutchman to be charged with war crimes in Africa
AMSTERDAM - Prosecutors in the Netherlands plan to charge a Dutch businessman allied with former Liberian President Charles Taylor with war crimes and gun smuggling, the prosecutors office said on Tuesday.

THE KROMAH FAMILY ANNOUNCES THE PASSING AWAY OF OLD MAN  SIAKA  KROMAH
The Kromah family regret to announce the death of our dear father, brother, grandfather, Oldman Siaka Kromah of Ganta, Nimba County, Liberia. This sad event occurred at his Congotown residence in Monrovia, Liberia, on Sunday evening, March 20, 2005.  

FEMALE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WANTS 'GUN-FREE SOCIETY' IN LIBERIA
Another Presidential Candidate in Liberia's forthcoming general and Presidential elections, Doctor Margaret Tor Thompson is calling on the United Nations and the International Community to help make Liberia a "Gun-Free" Society, come October 2005 elections.

NTLA THREATS SUPREME COURT WITH "IMPEACHMENT" OVER HEARING
The National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) says the full bench of the Supreme Court of Liberia will be "impeached" if the suspension case involving suspended NTLA Speaker George Dweh, and others is opened for trail.

MULTI-PARTISAN SUPPORT EMERGES FOR ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF 
As Liberia’s first democratic and post war elections gets in gear, Liberian residents in the United States, who are from different political parties and with different political ideologies have organized themselves as LIBERIANS FOR ELLEN (LIFE) in support of Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s presidency in the ensuing October 2005 general and presidential elections.

ULAA Board Chairman Kesselly Refutes Dr. Amos Sawyer
The Chairman of the National Board of Directors of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas, Mr. Anthony V. Kesselly, says he totally disagrees with the claim made by Dr. Amos C. Sawyer that the conflict that emerged in the ALNC Steering Committee “is not about the substantive issues that are at the core of the challenge for Liberia.”

Behind the Peace and Reconciliation Initiative In Nimba County 
The initiative to restore peace in Nimba County came as a result of numerous complaints from members of the Mandingo community that they were denied their basic rights in the county. Some of the denied rights are the rights to their properties, rights to worship, rights to be identified as a person with dignity and the rights to free association.

Theories of Liberia’s Voters
Considering the volatile political and military situations that have engulfed Liberia, Liberian voters can be classified into the following categories:  Hypocrite and Sycophant voters, Warlord voters, Xenophobia voters, Miseducated voters, Hostile intellectual voters, Protest voters, Patriotic and nationalist voters, Rational voters

SUSPENDED SPEAKER, DEPUTY TAKE NTLA TO COURT
Suspended Speaker of the NTLA, George Dweh and his Deputy, Eddington Varmah have filed a writ of prohibition with the Supreme Court of Liberia against the National Transitional Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) for their "Illegal suspension".

  Biggest convoy to date heads back to Lofa county, Liberia
KENEMA, Sierra Leone, March 21 (UNHCR) – More than 300 Liberian refugees have returned in the first and biggest UNHCR convoy from Sierra Leone to Lofa county, Liberia's largest area of return.

A Rejoinder To Nagbe Sloh's "BRYANT' CORRUPTION TRAIN SWEEPS LIBERIA”
I am writing this letter as a rejoinder to a portion of the article by  J. Nagbe Sloh which appeared on LIMANY website on March 11, 2005. In said article, Mr. Sloh labeled LURD as "Sekou Konteh's (last name misspelled) human heart-eating LURD rebels," but yet he failed to apply any such label to the NPFL rebels whom on BBC boasted of cannibalism and MODEL fighters that were accused on many occasions of human flesh-eating.

 LIBERIA: Appeals for calm amid parliament corruption row
MONROVIA, 17 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - UN and regional leaders appealed for calm as Liberia’s transitional parliament on Thursday took a firm stand against graft by electing a new speaker following a US $92,000 corruption scandal.

The Height Of Discrimination
When you have experienced ethnic discrimination as I have, you no longer take the smallest ethnic epithet for granted. It is one thing to be treated like a foreigner in a foreign land. It is quite another to be treated like a foreigner in your own country.

AS SUSPENDED SPEAKER PLANS TO RETURN TO WORK, UNMIL DEPLOYS AT THE CAPITOL -UNMIL WARNS TROUBLE MAKERS
The suspended Speaker of the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) George Dweh told a news conference on Tuesday of his return to the Assembly, despite warning from that august body.

Call for calm over Liberian fears
West Africa's regional body, Ecowas, has urged Liberians to stay calm after the suspension of the speaker of parliament on corruption allegations.

 UN ready to quell any trouble in Liberia graft row 
MONROVIA, March 16 (Reuters) - U.N. soldiers in Liberia will quash any disorder arising from the suspension of a former rebel leader from his job as parliament speaker over allegations of graft, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday.

Give Homes Back to Mandingo Owners 
In time of peace, we must not only talk peace, but we must sincerely co-exist peacefully. In time of war, well, I believe we must also talk peace, because having seen how devastating war can be, got me to believe in the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

AS CORRUPTION IN NTGL INCREASES -ECOWAS Plans to Audit Executive mansion
The seat of the Liberian Presidency, the Executive Mansion is to shortly be audited by ECOWAS due to a wide range of allegations of corruption being leveled against the Chairman of the NTGL, Charles Gyude Bryant by some members of his cabinet.

The trouble which is slowly engulfing the office of the NTGL Chairman, began when the cost of the Liberian stable (rice) being hike at double price; from $17.00 to $35.00 while civil servant salary is being put at less than $10.00 United States Dollars.

LAWMAKERS FIND COLLEAGUES GUILTY OF CORRUPTION -- Speaker’s Loyalists Attack Parliament, ECOWAS Intervenes
The Parliament building on Capitol Hill was the scene of lawlessness Thursday following the submission of the final report of the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) special probe committee on allegations of corruption and administrative malpractices brought against the leadership of that first branch of government.

STEPHEN LUOGON GIVES TRUE ACCOUNT OF ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIM IN LIBERIA
Prior to his departure for Liberia, Mr. Luogon had not heard of, spoken to or interacted with Prince Karbaker. His only affiliation with the Karbaker family is with Mercy Karbaker who is his fiancée.
Full Story

  Bryant's corruption train sweeps Liberia
...Masses remain hopeless ...Refugees skeptical to return home ...Donors withhold funding 
Adding insult to the injury of hopelessness is the rampant corruption in high places of the Bryant government. Government officials steal openly and display their stolen wealth to their victims (the masses) so flamboyantly and arrogantly.

 “THE LIBERIAN MEDIA IS OPERATING WITH ARCHAIC
MACHINERY" - Prof. Mulbah
The Associate Professor of Mass Communications at the University of Liberia, Joe W. Mulbah, says the retrogression in the performance of the Liberian media is due to the 'lack of equipment' to carryout its professional duties.

UNITY PARTY ACCEPTS DAVID KORTIE
The Standard Bearer of the Unity Party (UP), Madam Ellen Johnson-Shinleaf disclosed   in Monrovia that her Party, the has finally accepted the former Chairman of the All Liberian Coalition Party (ALCOP), David Kortie as member of the party.

  Africa and Development
Africa is the second largest of the Earth’s seven continents with more than 12 per cent of the world's population, yet referred to as the continent of less developed nations, industrializing or developing countries...

LIBERIA: With peace in place, the battle against HIV/AIDS gains momentum
MONROVIA, 9 March (IRIN) - Now that peace has returned to Liberia, people living with HIV/AIDS are setting their sights on a new fight - the battle to contain the pandemic.

PUTIN EXTENDS SANCTIONS AGAINST LIBERIA 
MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin has prolonged the regime of sanctions against Liberia. He has decreed On the Measures to Fulfil Resolution 1579 of the UN Security Council, dated December 21, 2004, the Kremlin press service reports.

DONZO FAMILY HONORS ITS U. S MILITARY VETERANS 
On Sunday, February 6, 2005, the Donzo family in Woodbridge, Virginia gave a farewell treat to three US military veterans who served and received honorable discharges respectively. The three are Sgt. Kalifala Donzo, Spc. Haja Komara-Donzo, and Spc. Vafumba Komara. While Sgt. Kalifala Donzo served in the Army National Guard of Virginia, Spc. Haja and her brother, Spc. Vafumba served on active duty in the regular army.

THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT SERIOUS ABOUT PEACE IN NIMBA 
As a non-violent organization that will continue to ask Mandingoes to remain law abiding in post-war Liberia while addressing the issues that confront them, Mr. Bility told the gathering that the Mandingo Caucus supports the reconciliation efforts in Nimba between the Gios, Manos and the Mandingoes. 

2 LAWMAKERS ACCUSED OF PLOT, GEORGE KOURKOUR OTHERS LINKED
As a Committee set up at the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) to probe the Speaker of that august body, his deputy and others of financial mal-practices, reports released here in Monrovia has accused some members of that body of Coup Plot to topple the Liberian Government.

LIBERIA: Lack of funds delays formation of new army 
MONROVIA, 7 March (IRIN) - Liberia's transitional government is desperately seeking the funds needed to disband its existing army before it can form a new national force, Defence Minister Daniel Chea said on Monday.

 Hotel ACANA-A Project For African immigrants
THE ASSIMILATOR: Voffee Jabateh wants to make sure immigrants have more help than he did upon arriving from Liberia 15 years ago. 

As soon as Voffee Jabateh, a tall, affable social worker and the founder of the African Culture Alliance of North America (ACANA), walks in and says hello, Kegbeh's face lights up, as do those of the house's other three residents. "They are my mother. They are my father," she says of the only African immigrant-operated social services organization in the region. .

 "They helped me with [finding clothing], with hospital. ACANA put food in this house, bread, milk. They take me everywhere, even to [the] immigration [office]. Nothing is too good that they can't give us."

Liberia Travel Warning
This Travel Warning is being issued to update security information on Liberia. The Department of State urges American citizens to ...

MANDINGO CAUCUS’ PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS MANDINGOES IN THE US
Sunday, March 6, 2005
12:00Noon to 4:00PM
5533 Chester Avenue
Philadelphia, Pa 19143
Musa Bility(610 931 5148), Muctar Sheriff(215 727 4663)

Mandingos' Homes In Nimba Still Occupied
It appears that the long running occupation of homes of several kinsmen of Nimba is far from being over as reports filtering in from the county speak of the persistence of the situation.

 LIBERIA: WFP prioritises returning refugees and IDPs in food distribution
MONROVIA, 4 March (IRIN) - The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says it is running out of food to help nearly one million people stay alive in Liberia, but it pledged on Friday to prioritise the distribution of rations to refugees and other displaced people returning to their home villages.
 
MADAM JABATEH APPEALS TO KOFI ANNAN 
A citizen of Nimba County, Madam Madenyen Jabateh has called upon the United Nations  to foster social integration and provide a developmental package for recovery in Nimba County. She said this will help the county, one of the worst affected areas of the war, to recover from the war. As of now, Madam Jabateh said the citizens and indeed all Liberians need help to restart their lives.

TOP OFFICIAL EXPLAINS APPETITE FOR LUXURY ITEMS 
WASHINGTON, DC: - A top ranking official of Liberia’s interim government has justified [sort of] the use of the now war-ruined country’s already scarce financial resources by some of his colleagues to satisfy their apparent strong appetite for luxurious items, including, expensive cars.

Rebuilding failed states
What can the world do about state failure? Surprisingly, quite a lot ONE and a half years ago, Liberia was a failed state. Two separate groups of drug-emboldened teenage rebels controlled most of the country. A gangsterish president, Charles Taylor, was losing control even over Monrovia, the capital, where all sides were firing heavy artillery into office blocks and looting strategic spots such as the brewery.