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Liberian
refugees rush home to register to vote
As the saying goes, the last steps towards a goal are always the
longest and the most tiring ones. Recently, more than 60 Liberian
returnees went through that painful experience. After years of exile
in Sierra Leone's refugee camps, the convoy that was bringing them
home had to stop briefly at the border to process their immigration
papers. The returnees only had to wait for half an hour, but those
30 minutes of seeing Liberia just across the Mano river felt like an
eternity.
Ex-Liberia
leader hunkers down in Nigeria ...
Wanted for war crimes, Liberia's former President Charles Taylor
hunkers down in Nigerian exile---Nigeria is coming under
increasing pressure to expel ousted Liberian President Charles
Taylor so that he can face trial in a U.N.-backed war crimes
tribunal, a move now supported by the United States. Taylor, a
former warlord, has been accused of backing rebels notorious for
hacking off hands and arms in the 1991-2002 Sierra Leone civil war,
allegations that Taylor denies. The U.N.-backed tribunal wants him
out of Nigeria, where he's in exile, to face charges.
HOW
MANY PRESIDENTIAL candidates LIBERIA NEED?
With five months to the long awaited elections in war-crippled
Liberia, it is important to ask, how many presidential candidates
Liberia need? Since the departure of formal rebel leader/president,
Charles M. G. Taylor from Liberia, Liberians have listened to or
read about people who feel they can do better for the Liberian
people only by becoming president. These people include, lawyers,
politicians, economist, diplomats, factory workers, soccer star,
gambling wizards etc. Wow! What a mix but do Liberia really need
these people? read
more...
LIBERIA:
Country needs independent anti-corruption commission ...
MONROVIA, 1 June (IRIN) - Liberia needs to set
up an independent anti-corruption commission because poor financial
management and endemic graft are still plaguing the country's
transitional government, according to a report by international
donors.
Elections
Commission Certificates CDC
In an exclusive interview with CDC’s chairman for press and public
relations immediately after the certification ceremony held at the
Commission’s headquarters at 2:30pm, Ms. Margo Cooper joyously
said that the Commission has declared CDC as a full-fledged
political party eyeing the Liberian presidency.
Memorandum of Understanding Adopted at
UNICCO National Convention in Minnesota.
The United Nimba Citizens’ Council, UNICCO, an
organization comprising of the sons and daughters of Nimba County,
their spouses, children and associates, assembled in the city of
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, United States of America for the 36th
Annual Conference,
Full Story
Lofa
Citizens Not Happy With Disarmament
The Citizens of Lofa County are deeply saddened by the level of
destructions done to their county due to successive armed conflicts
in the area and have urged the county leaders and other citizens
home and abroad to redouble their efforts in ensuring that the
reconstruction of the county becomes a priority.
THEIR
LIBERIA, MY LIBERIA
I met a brother recently who told me how he was inspired by some of
my articles that were published in local newspapers in Liberia. He
asked whether those articles are still available. I told him that I
still have old newspaper copies of most of my published articles.
Among those articles, he asked me about is “Their Liberia, My
Liberia.” This article was first published in the Monrovia Daily
News newspaper on November 7, 1994. That was more than ten years
ago. The same issue of intolerable tribal prejudice that existed
back then is still around.
Thousands
Disenfranchised in Liberia’s Voter’s Registration
Philadelphia, May 27, 2005: The Movement for Political Reform in
Liberia (MOP) has expressed serious reservations over the current
electoral process in Liberia, saying the "rush manner" in
which the process is being conducted may lead to further confusion
in the country. The Movement said thousands of Liberians in the
leeward counties especially in areas that are inaccessible and those
living in the Diaspora have been disenfranchised by the National
Elections Commission (NEC) as evidence by the preliminary voter's
registration result. read
more...
LIBERIA:
Former rebel fighters dig for diamonds, small-scale ...
WEASUA, 27 May (IRIN) - Boaki spent Liberia's civil war fighting for
the rebels. Now it's peacetime, the former gunman spends his days in
muddy creek waters, illicitly searching for diamonds, the gems that
helped fuel the 14-year conflict.
SEVERAL
ARRESTED FOR PLOT TO DESTABILIZE SIERRA LEONE, GUINEA
The Minister of Justice in the NTGL, Cllr. Kabineh Ja'neh yesterday
in an interview with reporters disclosed that the country security
forces have uncovered a military operation to destabilize Sierra
Leone and Guinea. The Liberian Justice said four Sierra Leoneans
have been arrested by security forces and are currently undergoing
investigation at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in
Monrovia.
 Mr.
Mohammed M. Keita, LIMANY
congratulates Mr. Mohammed M. Keita, Speaker of its Board of
Directors, who graduated on Monday, May 16, 2005 from Nyack College
in New York with a Master in Business Administration. Mr. Keita has
served the Liberian Mandingo Community admirably here in New York,
and has worked tirelessly to promote peace and reconciliation
amongst Liberian Mandingoes and other Liberians. We cannot thank him
enough. We are happy for him for this great achievement and ask you
to join us in congratulating him.
PRESIDENTIAL
ASPIRANT JOHN MORLU ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Ladies and gentlemen, LINU is truly the party of the common,
hardworking people of Liberia. I am grateful for your presence here
today. You have demonstrated your overwhelming desire to move
Liberia forward by reposing confidence in me to lead the party to
the October elections. You have made the right choice. You have made
the right decision in these difficult, but trying times—times when
our country needs a leader, a true visionary to move Liberia and its
people to peace, stability and prosperity. This is why I am honored
today by your acceptance of my standardbearership for this party,
our party, the people’s party. I thank you for your trust and
confidence. read
more...
Nigeria
Faces UN Sanction Over Charles Taylor
The chief prosecutor of Sierra Leone's War Crimes Tribunal, said
Nigeria will face sanction if it disobeys the United Nation's
Security Council to hand over Liberia's exiled former leader,
Charles Taylor, to face trial. Desmond de Silva, who was speaking on
BBC Hardtalk programme monitored in Abuja yesterday, said if a UN
Security Council resolution was passed this month, Nigeria must
comply, adding that Chapter 7 of the UN Charter empowered the
Council to enforce compliance. read
more...
LIBERIA:
Voter registration ends with disappointing turnout among ...
 MONROVIA,
24 May (IRIN) - More than one million Liberians have registered to
vote in presidential elections in October which are designed to seal
the West African nation's return to peace. But officials said on
Tuesday that the number of displaced people who had signed up for a
ballot paper was disappointingly low. David Singh, a spokesman for
the electoral division of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), said
preliminary results from the four-week voter registration campaign
showed that 1.2 million people had put their names down to take part
in the 11 October poll.
LIBERIA
- STAR Radio back on the air
 Monrovia,
23 May 2005 – STAR radio will resume broadcasting as from
Wednesday 25 May 2005, at 16.00 local time. The independent news
& information radio station will transmit on FM & Short Wave
to Liberia & the Subregion from its studios located at Mamba
Point, Monrovia, Liberia.
Al-Qaida
working with ex Liberia leader Taylor, says UN
UNITED NATIONS — Al-Qaida's network is actively
seeking to destabilize West Africa, partly through its links with
ex-Liberian president Charles Taylor, who has given sanctuary to its
operatives, a U.N.-backed court said Tuesday
Death Acknowledgements
 Mother
Haja Jebeh Kromah-The
Kromah Family wish to sincerely thank all relatives, friends, and
neighbors for their support, generous donations, messages of
condolence, and recital of the holy Quran during our period of
bereavement on the sudden death of our Mother Haja Jebeh Kromah,
third wife of the late Alhaji W. M. Kromah of Monrovia, Liberia.
We are especially thankful to all those who participated in the
burial (March 30, 2005), the 2nd day, the 7th day, and the forty
days feast (May 8th, 2005). Special thank you to the people of
Fanima And Goguama of Grand Cape Mount County.
What to
Expect From UNICCO's Minnesota Conference?
A while ago, we wrote an editorial questioning whether UNICCO, which
stands for “United Nimba Citizens' Council,” advocates for the
interest of all Nimbaians. In that editorial, we took issue with
UNICCO for its repeated silence over the illegal occupation of homes
and properties belonging to Liberians from the Mandingo ethnic group
in Nimba County.
MANDONGO
CAUCUS COMPLAINS ABOUT VOTER REGISTRATION DISCRIMINATION
With barely few days to the end of the voter registration in
Liberia, Musa Bility, President of the National Mandingo Caucus of
Liberia, has strongly criticized the National Election Commission
(NEC) of conspiracy, for the election body’s refusal to
investigate complaints about "voter registration
irregularities," especially reports about discrimination
against Mandingoes in the registration process. Speaking to the
press in Monrovia, Bility said the election result would not be
authentic without the full participation of all Liberians. Since the
beginning of the voters registration process, there have several
complains about discrimination against Mandingoes on the bases of
names and ethnicity, but the NEC has yet to come out with any public
position statement about the allege registration discrimination. So
far, no registrar has been reprimanded for discriminatory actions
against the Mandingoes.
IS
GEORGE WEAH & THE CDC A TRAGEDY ABOUT TO HAPPEN?
In several of my recent articles I have indicated that there is no
doubt that George Weah is going to be the next President of Liberia
and nothing substantial has happened to warrant a change of
position. But I am sure that many commentators will, no doubt, agree
with me that there are many reasons why we should be asking a lot
more questions to the George Weah team since they are the current
front-runner.
Mandingoes
Caucus Complains, NEC Doing Nothing About Voter Irregularities
With barely few days to the end of the voter registration in
Liberia, Musa Bility, President of the National Mandingo Caucus of
Liberia, has strongly criticized the National Election Commission
(NEC) of conspiracy, for the election body refusal to investigate
complains about "voter registration irregularities,"
especially reports about discrimination against Mandingoes in the
registration process. Speaking to the press in Monrovia, Bility said
the election result will not be authentic without the full
participation of all Liberians.
Political
Movement says Elections Commission is dead wrong!
Press Release: The Movement for Political Reform in Liberia (MOP)
has totally disagreed with Mrs. Frances Johnson Morris and her
Elections Commission that the commission and not the Interim
Legislature has the sole authority to amend the elections timetable.
REPLACE
THE NEC CHAIRMAN: A CALL FOR ACTION BY THE LIBERIAN MANDINGO
ASSOCIATION IN ISRAEL
With the light at the end of the turmoil in Liberia, we now and them
hope to see a speedy and transparent elections being put in place
and organized by a credible NEC leadership that will include all
Liberians irrespective of ethnicity or religious affiliation.
However, we therefore call on the international communities, ECOWAS,
AU, ICGL, EU and UNMIL to immediately intervene to speedily replace
the current leadership of the NEC as to avoid sentiments that might
turn to cast doubts on the credibility of the electoral processes in
the country.
Questioning
Mandingoes Alone For National Identity Is Unfair
 The
discrimination of Mandingoes on the basis of their names is a matter
that should claim the attention of all peace-loving Liberians.
Mandingoes are Liberians. Some of their kind have made major
contributions to the progress of Liberia just as some have
contributed to the destruction of Liberia, like other ethnic groups
of Liberia... Mandingoes, therefore, should not by any means be
denied participation in the democratic process. Peace in Liberia
will come and will last if the rights of all Liberians are respected
without regards to ethnic origin, belief, look, education, class or
sex... This is the way forward for Liberia to lasting peace...
Anatomy
of a Dream
-Prof. NNK- A Profile in Courage
The year was 1994 and the occasion was how to
make a dream come true for young men in a nation that has since
ceased to oblige to civilization and vision. In attendance were
Charles O. Nance, Jr., Nvasekie N. Konneh and this writer. Like
millions of our countrymen, we have not only become disillusioned
about the future of our country, Liberia, but our generation has
become pawn to contesting war lords foraging the countryside,
obliterating everything, but insanity. Surrounded by debris, charred
buildings and a generation disenfranchised, we found solace in the
marvel of words – reading and writing.
Africa's
Most Wanted
Charles Taylor is an accused war criminal. A U.N.-backed court
wants him. Washington is dithering: In
Washington last week, the White House suddenly found itself under
pressure, even from some usually friendly Republicans, over its
demurral in helping to bring an indicted war criminal to justice.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor has been living the high
life in Nigeria since 2003, when he was forced out of the Liberian
capital of Monrovia as part of a U.S.-brokered deal--despite the
fact that a special United Nations-backed court had indicted him as
a war criminal. Now Taylor is making trouble once again, the court
says, meddling in the outcome of the upcoming Liberian elections and
plotting to assassinate the president of Guinea.
Obasanjo-Bush
tango over Taylor's sins
PRESIDENT Olusegun Obasanjo is surely not in a hurry to hand his
highly esteemed guest – ex-Liberian leader – Mr. Charles Taylor
over to the United Nations Special War Tribunal in Sierra Leone for
trial. Until the latest, but brief, stir in some quarters, that
Taylor was undeserving of the shelter being offered him, the
thinking was that if Taylor behaved well – by not intruding into
the politics of Liberia or elsewhere in the Mano River Basin –
indeed, if he respects the unwritten rules of his stay in Nigeria,
he may well be his own attorney.
TO ERR IS HUMAN
AND TO FORGIVE IS DIVINE, THE CASE OF Ellen!
Despite her soaring popularity and internationally acclaimed
success, haters, and rumor mongers continue the vile campaign to
besmear this gifted and powerful woman of our time who has zero
tolerance for corruption. Mindful of the fact that upon her
ascendancy to the nation’s highest office, there will be no more
“Business As Usual”, they have launched a full scale scheme to
dampen her political ambitions. Some of her detractors and opponents
also depict her as the most evil because of a human error she made
and has since apologized. read
more...
Do Not Take
Our Voting Rights For Granted
PRESS RELEASE: Like African Americans of the 60s, Liberian
Mandingoes are being denied a fundamental right guaranteed to all
Liberians. We must condemn any shortsightedness on the part of the
kangaroo election commission in Liberia to deny Liberian Mandingoes
the right to register to vote. The silence of the Bryan
administration, politicians who know what is going as well as that
of many presidential aspirants and other news outlets suggests a
deep conspiracy and their complicity to this farce. We affirm that
justice delayed for one ethnic group is justice denied to all ethnic
groups. read
more...
LIBERIA:
No money for former fighters training causes riots
MONROVIA, 13 May (IRIN) - A further outbreak of rioting by former
combatants this week has reminded Liberia and its donors that the
United Nations still does not have enough money to provide
education, training and other reintegration benefits for more than
100,000 people who were disarmed at the end of the country's 14-year
civil war.
Mandingoes
Should Get Up and Demonstrate for their Rights
When Charles Taylor and his group of thugs lunched their bloody war
targeting and killing Mandingoes across Liberia, many Liberians
applauded because they felt that Taylor forces were there to either
kill or chase the Mandingoes out of Liberia. For four years during
Taylor’s reign, except for Monrovia, the rest of Liberia was a NO
GO ZONE for the Mandingoes. Many in Taylor’s occupied areas felt
the Mandingoes would not return to Liberia, which led to the present
illegal occupation of homes and properties belonging to Mandingoes
in Nimba County and other parts of Liberia. read
more...
ON THIS
FRIDAY THE 13TH, WILL THE LIBERIAN ACTION PARTY DO SOMETHING
HORRIBLE?
Today is Friday the 13th and LAP is going to its 3rd voting
convention and we are waiting to see what will come out for the
Liberian people. Even though this is the month of May and many great
things do happen in May but many pundits and commentators like
myself are wondering how did LAP come out with such a day? What were
they thinking? Or are they trying to inform the Liberian people that
what they are about to produce will be as horrible as what happened
on Friday the 13th.
read
more...
Liberian
Voters Still Divided By Conflict
Voter registration in Liberia is underway for the first presidential
election since former President Charles Taylor fled the country,
ending a 14-year civil war. In the north, in Bong County, which saw
some of the fiercest fighting between rebels and Taylor loyalists,
choices over who to support in the October polls still divide the
population.
THE
POLITICS OF PRE-COMMITMENT: AN AGED-OLD POLITICAL DELILAH IN
LIBERIAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Liberian politics, as we know it, is a very interesting game. It is
interesting not that it is very much democratic but because the
manner in which it is conducted and the political atmosphere where
it takes place is very somewhat murky. . Pre-commitment politics is
in this connection an interesting venture among political
entrepreneurs trying to win all kinds of political clouts among
potential Liberian voters in our beloved country. It is my hope to
discuss these issues in goodfaith as a way of good communication
than I would love to see the opposite be accommodated otherwise...
Former
child soldiers riot
Monrovia - United Nations troops fired warning shots in the air to
quell mobs of former child soldiers who rampaged through a town in
northern Liberia on Wednesday, protesting against the failure of
authorities to pay school fees promised under a disarmament
campaign, said officials.
African
Youth Denounces Child Exploitation
The young African youth president-elect expressed deep
disappointment in the so-called leaders who he said are determined
to purge the continent of its finest generation. He said thousands
of children are being recruited by these warlords to participate in
arm conflicts, which have resulted into thousands being killed and
infrastructures ruined. The youth leader strongly suggested that
those responsible must be held accountable. Sheriff noted that
warlords sponsor wars and conflicts across the African continent
"for their own selfish motives to attain wealth and ascend to
political power."
UN
troops in Ganta, Liberia break up ex-fighters' protest
MONROVIA, May 11 (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeepers fired shots in the
air in northeastern Liberia on Wednesday to break up a protest by
thousands of ex-fighters demanding money they say is owed to them
under a disarmament scheme. A U.N. spokesman in the capital Monrovia
said there were no injuries and that calm had returned to Ganta, a
town on the border with Guinea. Ganta was former President Charles
Taylor's stronghold before he fled into exile at the end of years of
war.
Refugee
children in U.S. exposed to lead ...
MANCHESTER, N.H. - They come here to escape war, starvation and
desperate lives in such places as Liberia and Somalia. They bring
their children, believing they will thrive in the United States.
Instead, these youngsters, having survived crowded refugee camps and
treacherous travel, now are being poisoned in their new American
homes. The culprit is lead.
Discrimination
Against Mandingos Decried
Four
Human rights organizations have spoken against widespread allegation
of discrimination against Mandingos in the ongoing voters’
registration exercise.
LIBERIA:
Misinformed voters demand payment for registration
 GBARNGA,
10 May 2005 (IRIN) - Misinformed villagers in central Liberia, long
accustomed to gifts from power-hungry politicians, have been
demanding payment from officials in return for putting their names
on the voters' list for elections due in October, a local official
told IRIN. Full
report
The
crimes of Mr. Taylor (Japan Times Editorial)
West Africa appears to be a political tinder box. Real democracy is
a distant dream and the life span of governments is determined more
frequently by bullets than by ballots. Not only are there civil wars
in several countries but the combatants (on both sides) commit
atrocities against civilian populations. One man in particular has
exploited this combustible environment: Mr. Charles Taylor, the
former president of Liberia. After a bloody career, he was forced
into exile in Nigeria where he reportedly continues to fan the
flames of war. It is time to put an end to his destructive
activities and force the Nigerian government to turn him over to a
U.N.-backed war-crimes tribunal. read
more...
In Defense of
“Illiterate” Liberians (part III)
The recent blasé All-Liberian Conferences justify the argument that
miseducated Liberians are anti-democrats. The organizing rampaging,
backdoor politicking, and belligerence demonstrated by the
separation of the various actors’ iniquitous personification of
the overall objectives of such noble project reflect the cries of
our suffering people: first it was “native woman born soldier,
Congo woman born rogue,” “monkey, monkey come down or fine shot
will bring you down,” “you kill my ma, you kill my pa, we will
vote for you,” and more recently “you know book, you don’t
know book, we will vote for you.” read
more...
Surrender
Taylor for Debt Waiver
The United States Government has offered to waive all debts Nigeria
owes it, in exchange for the handing over of former Liberian
president Charles Taylor to the UN-backed special War Crimes court
in Sierra Leone, a report monitored on RFI said. According to the
station, the U.S government's offer was made in Washington D.C.
during a meeting between U.S. President George Bush and his Nigerian
counterpart, Olusegun Obasanjo last Friday. read
more...
No Patience For H.
B. Fahnbulleh’s Tired Writings: Debunking Sophism
The conclusion of H. B. Fahnbulleh's "Before the Time
Comes" summons "deflated and demoralized" remnants of
the "Progressive" movement to a national conference to
"deal with the question of a national direction…” In “We
Must Run While They Walk,” an apparent sequel, he asks “how have
the politicians failed Liberia?” Playing part guru and part
propagandist in his latest article, H. B. plunges into a highly
self-contradictory argument, reversing all previous positions he
once staked in the great debate on the march of modern Liberian
history.
The
heat is on Nigeria to hand over deposed Liberian dicator
Pressure is mounting on Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to hand
over Liberia’s former leader Charles Taylor to be tried for his
alleged part in the Sierra Leone conflict. Mr Obasanjo was in
Washington at the end of last week to meet with US President George
Bush. Among other subjects, the two leaders discussed the matter of
Mr Taylor.
An Appeal
to the Sons & Daughters of Liberia
Fellow Liberians: politicians, lawyers, doctors, business men and
women, educators, combatants, journalists, government officials –
I salute you. I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak to
you about an urgent topic.
As a child growing up in Kokoyah, Upper Bong County, I lost more
than 15 of my friends, along with three brothers and two nephews, to
malaria. I barely survived this disease myself. I know you, too have
similar stories. As you read this letter, tens of thousand of our
people are bed-ridden in Liberia and in displaced persons’ camps
around the globe, due to 14 years civil wars that have made them
even more vulnerable
NEC
vs CDC: Liberia's Election Controversy and the Plot Against ...
Recently, it was discovered that the candidate's website had listed
that he had obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sports Management
from the controversial, but bogus Parkwood University in London,
England. After initially expressing surprise at how the information
appeared on the website, the candidate's camp responded to say that,
in fact he did attend Parkwood and was proud of his degree. The
latest controversy involves the registration of Weah's proposed
political party, the Congress for Democratic Change.
UNICEF
Humanitarian Action: Liberia Donor Update 9 May 2005
Liberia is recovering from almost two decades of
conflict that was marked by destruction of life and property,
massive population displacement, and a collapse ...
A
WEB OF GOVERNMENT AND MEDIA CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE MANDINGOES
Despite allegations of discriminatory practices in the registration
process for the coming elections in October against Mandingoes by
election registrars, the Liberian Government and the National
Election Commission are yet to come out with any tangible
explanation as to why the registrars are disqualifying people
because of ethnicity.
Presidential
Aspirant or War Criminal
If Mr. Taylor is to be brought to justice under this court, then the
¡§other¡¨ persons must include all of those misguided members of
the then Association for Constitutional Democracy, Madame Johnson-Sirleaf
included.
UN
urged to put Taylor on trial ...
 The
new chief prosecutor of Sierra Leone's war crimes tribunal says he
hopes Liberia's exiled former leader Charles Taylor will soon face
trial. Desmond de Silva said if a UN Security Council resolution was
passed this month, Nigeria might be persuaded to hand him over to
the UN-backed court.
LIBERIA:
Aid groups say resettlement of displaced people is too hasty
MONROVIA, 6 May 2005 (IRIN) - International and local aid workers
are critical of the haste with which displaced Liberians are being
resettled, saying the pressure to get as many people as possible
back home in time for crunch elections is stacking up problems.
Bring
Charles Taylor to Justice ...(By ED ROYCE)
 NEARLY
two years after Charles Taylor fled Monrovia under pressure from
advancing rebels and a force of Marines on ships off Liberia, he
sits exiled in Nigeria, plotting to undermine an international
effort to rebuild the country he did so much to destroy. Although
Mr. Taylor has been indicted on charges of fueling a brutal war in
neighboring Sierra Leone, a deal brokered by Nigeria and the United
States has kept him beyond the reach of justice.
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A
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