HIV/AIDS
Epidemic In Liberia After the Civil War: Another Setback For Economic
Development
(By Samuel Zohnjaty Joe)
Generally, diseases affect macro and micro economic development
because sick people cannot produce. They lack the energy to actively
engage in a productive life. Unfortunately for Liberia, fourteen years
of civil war has not only killed about 300,000 people and destroyed
the country infrastructures, but also led to multiple, internal displacement
of hundred of thousand of people, disrupted delivery of basic services,
increased vulnerability of many Liberians, particularly women and
children to extreme poverty, hunger, and diseases, most especially
HIV/AIDS. UNICEF published a paper title, “At a glance: Liberia-The
Big Picture."
The Hypocrisy
of African Governments and Non Accountability: A Need To Go Further…
(By Emmanuel Abalo)
It is worth noting the recent unprecedented position taken by ECOWAS
and the African Union(AU) to confront, head-on, the attempted military
imposition of the son of the now deceased Togolese President Gnassingbe
Eyadema. Clearly, it is now apparent that the cadre of leaders, some,
still dictatorial, now see reason to embrace constitutional, democratic
change and good governance as conditions for stability, national development
and for universal acceptance into the progressive comity of nations.
Apologize
to Tolbert, Others - Says Bishop Innis (Forum)
The Methodist Bishop Dr. John B. Innis is urging the Liberian Government
and those who took part in the assassination of former Liberian leader
Dr. William R. Tolbert along with 13 former government officials to
apologize to their families for the death of these people.
Lingering
Liberian Constitutional Issues
(
By Abraham L. James)
In October 2005, Liberians will be going to the polls to elect a president
and members of the Legislature after the interruption of constitutional
government and fourteen years of civil war. The elections are intended
to provide the public officials who will govern post-civil conflict
Liberia within the framework of a constitutional democracy. As the
arrangements for the elections proceed, a major civil discourse seems
to be taking place about important constitutional and other issues
that could very well determine the prospects for the stable and enduring
democratic society for which Liberians everywhere seem to yearn.
Rice Turned
Gold Dust (Forum)
Commerce Minister Samuel Wlue who remains highly questioned regarding
his sincerity to national cause as it relates to price stability reportedly
continues to day dream about Bryant’s axe and his possible replacement...
Ex-Combatants
Threaten to Disrupt Elections (Forum)
(By: Natoe Jallah)
Ex-combatants residing in Totota, Gbarnga and Bong Mines, Bong County
are planning to disrupt the October elections if their educational
status which forms part of the RR component of the DDRR is not looked
into.
Margibians
Reject Firestone Concession Agreement (Forum)
(By: Lewis K. Glay)
Elders, zones, opinion leaders including the youths of Margibi County
are said to be rejecting the ratification of the Firestone Concession
Agreement Currently before the Legislature.
Let's Uphold
The Greatness Of Our Land (Forum)
IT IS HISTORICALLY given that the Liberian nation is great and resourceful
in terms of human and material resources..
Suspended Assemblyman
Throws ‘Bomb’ at NTLA (Forum)
(By: Lewis K. Glay)
Suspended assemblyman Edward Kpulun has written the Liberian Parliament
an irritating letter which many lawmakers have described as “defiant”
to that august body.
“I’m
Not a Monster” – Adolphus Dolo Opens Up: A Rejoinder
(
By James Seitua)
He came to prominence through his “heroic” role in a reckless
military adventurism, an operation carried out by forces the Liberian
people ridiculously coined, “Government Forced It”. He commanded
a band of armed looters who descended on Central Monrovia like a driverless
truck headed for a marketplace, killing people and destroying things.
Yet the man who later became a feared general in the despotic regime
of Charles Taylor is now blaming the media for people calling him a
monster.
Literacy:
A Pillar to Development of Post War Liberia
(By I. Billuh-Gma Twegbe)
The Liberian History, Education and Development, Inc. (LIHEDE) deserves
high commendation for organizing the two-day symposium in October
2004, promoting Civil Liberties, Collective Security and Development
in Post War Liberia.
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Varney Sherman
|
I Know
Varney Sherman - The Man
(
By Sakui W. G. Malakpa)
In the scramble for the presidency of Liberia, I understand more than
one score ten Liberians are racing for the Executive Mansion. Among
these candidates is Clr. Varney Sherman who, like the other candidates
has been attacked, challenged or otherwise written about. I cannot (and
will not) defend Clr. Sherman relative to his legal practice or his
politics. I am unable to offer any defense or attacks along these lines
for I know nothing about them; those who do may write as they see fit.
However, I know Varney Sherman, the man.
The “Logic
of Necessary Mutual Exclusivity”
(
By Mohamedu F. Jones)
As I read the two articles by my colleagues, Dr. William E. Allen,
“Apologies Require Historical Context: A Rebuttal to Mr.
Mohamedu F. Jones and Dr. Amos M. D. Sirleaf” and Cllr.
John F. Josiah,
“The Unlawful and Wrongful Killing of Unspecified
Liberians,” which were both published on
The Perspective
on March 24, 2005, I realized that part of what might be in play in
both articles was the dynamic of what I will call the “logic
of necessary mutual exclusivity.”
Liberia:
From Worse to Ridiculous
(By Siahyonkron Nyanseor)
Why is it that Liberians do not learn from experience? This habit
of forgetting our past is what made it possible for Charles Taylor
and his National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) to commit all sorts
of heinous crimes against the Liberian nation in the name of “liberation.”
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Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
|
Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf is Keynote Speaker at National Conference
(A Press Release Issued by ALNC Steering Committee)
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. The Conference which
will be deliberating on key issues of peace, reform and reconciliation
will convene in the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Area of Columbia, Maryland,
at Kahler Hall, 5440 Old Tucker Row.
Donor's
meeting for Cape Mount Hospital and Clinics
(A Press Release Issued by National Association of Cape Mountainians
in the Americas)
Cape Mount Citizens residing in the United States will host a major
donor's meeting on Saturday, May 7, 2005 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
to support the St. Timothy's Hospital in Robertsport and other health
centers throughout the county. The outpatient unit at St. Timothy
will be formally re-opened by the first week of April, 2005 through
the initiative of the National Association of Cape Mountainians in
the Americas, NACA Inc.
Apologies
Require Historical Context: A Rebuttal to Mr. Mohamedu F. Jones and
Dr. Amos M. D. Sirleaf
(
By William E. Allen)
Two articles I recently read enjoined Liberians to apologize to the
families of the late President William Tolbert and the thirteen government
officials that were executed on April 22, 1980. In this short rebuttal,
I am not questioning the merit of the calls for an apology; rather,
I am questioning the justifications presented for the apology and the
narrow focus of these calls. It is a common principle that the acknowledgment
of wrongdoing is the beginning of genuine reconciliation
The
Unlawful and Wrongful Killing of Unspecified Liberians
(
By John F. Josiah)
The extent, nature, and the protracted period of human rights violation
in Liberia, make it difficult to identify where in the history of Liberia;
the violation of human rights should gravely be considered than other
period in the history of Liberia. It is equally difficult to identify
any group of Liberians to whom we owed apologies for the violation of
human rights and to whom we owed no apologies.
Orphanage Benefit & Conference On “Africa: International Trade Conference Culture, Politics, Protocal, History, Leadership, Opportunities”
(A Press Release Issued By Children’s Rescue Outreach International, Inc.)
Children’s Rescue Outreach International (C.R.O.I.) would like to invite you to attend this very important benefit and conference on Liberia, which is intended to aid the orphans of war-torn Liberia as well as make contacts and network with people involved in business, medical, education and religion in Liberia.
Multi-Partisan
Support Emerges For Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
(Immediate Press Release Issued Liberians For Ellen)
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.
Two
Hundred Liberians, Others Stranded At Kennedy Airport In New York
As Universal Airline Flight Cancelled
(
By Josephus Moses Gray)
According reports from New York, over 200 Liberians and other nationals
destined for Monrovia are stranded at the John F. Kennedy Airport
in New York. They have been stranded due to the cancellation of the
Universal Airlines scheduled flight to Monrovia.
Liberians
In the Diaspora Can Impact the 2005 Vote
(
By Abdoulaye W. Dukulé)
Many Liberians in the Diaspora, particularly those in the United States,
are disenfranchised by the decision of the Elections Commission to limit
voting to only inside Liberia in the October 2005 presidential and general
elections. This becomes even more frustrating because it is the first
time that elections would be held without any candidate having an undue
advantage.
Koukou Handles
NTLA Gavel (Forum)
The man who has taken over the gavel of authority as acting Speaker
of the Liberian Parliament, George Koukou, has vowed to unify the
assembly.
Let Commerce
Minister Explain (Forum)
THE HIKE IN the prices of essential commodities on the Liberia market
have sky-rocketed to an enormous proportion so much so that the consuming
public has been plunged into a position thereby being victims at all
levels – social and economic.
ICRC Inaugurates
Voinjama Health Center (Forum)
The Voinjama Health Center was officially inaugurated recently in
Lofa County. The International Committees of the Red Cross (ICRC)
has reconstructed the building, which was destroyed during the war,
and turned it over to the County Health Administration.
“Sometimes
in April”: The Story of the Rwandan Genocide, Lessons for all
(
By Theodore T. Hodge)
This weekend I watched the HBO production “Sometimes in April”.
It had such an immense impact on me I shed some tears. Sometime ago,
when the movie “Hotel Rwanda” was released I went to see
it. Surprisingly, I cried openly in the theater. It was the first
time I had such an experience, although I have seen many, many depictions
of horrible events. These stories have a strange effect on me. I think
I cry for humanity. I cry for Rwanda and Africa. I cry for Liberia
and my people; I cry for myself.
Amid
Tight Security, The National Transitional Legislative Assembly Elects
New Leaders
(
By Josephus Moses Gray)
The National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) on March 17th
went to the polls to elect acting speaker and a deputy to administer
the affairs of that body pending the lifting of the suspension of the
Speaker George Dweh and deputy speaker Eddington Varmah...
Liberian
Bank Commenced Settlement of Depositors’ Funds
(By Josephus Moses Gray)
The Monrovia Banking Corporation (ROVIABANK)-in-reorganization, a
local bank currently undertaking a reorganization initiative, has
commenced payments to its depositors last week.
The Report
of the Special Investigation Committee set up to Investigate Alleged
Financial and Administrative Mal-Practices at the National Transitional
Legislative Assembly (NTLA)
Honorable ladies and gentlemen of this august body, the International Community, Local and International Press, fellow Liberians, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen. Plenary, which is the highest decision making body of this Assembly, on January 11, 2005, constituted a Special Committee to investigate a four count complaint letter written to Plenary against the leadership of the NTLA by thirty (30) members of the Assembly.
Vai
Script Workshop
(Press Release)
A Forum for interested parties to discuss the Vai Script and the details
associated with its encoding into the Unicode Standard, will gather
at New York University this April. Topics for discussion include include
sort order, character properties, and romanization.
The Unlawful and Wrongful Killing of 13 Liberians
(
By Mohamedu F. Jones)
On April 18, 1967, Liberia signed the United Nations’ Universal
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In 1976, after being ratified
by the required 35 states, the Universal Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights became international law.
The All
Liberian National Conference - Neutrality is not an Option
(By William G. Nyanue)
Last November, the Grand Gedeh Association in the Americas received
an invitation to help plan a national conference of Liberians in the
Diaspora on the future of Liberia. Other Liberian county organizations
as well as Liberian professional and community organizations in the
United States and Europe received similar invitations.
LIHEDE
and Sunday Project's Delegations Headed by Dr. Syrulwa Somah Arrive
in Liberia Soon
(Press Release Issued by LIHEDE and Sunday Project)
Greensboro, March 16, 2005: Dr. Syrulwa Somah, the Executive Director
Liberian History, Education & Development, Inc. (LIHEDE) and Associate
Professor at NC A&T State University who is also the Chairman
of the SUNDAY Project (based in Rhode Island), is scheduled to arrive
in Liberia heading two separate delegations.
Call
for calm over Liberian fears (BBC)
West Africa's regional body, Ecowas, has urged Liberians to stay calm
after the suspension of the speaker of parliament on corruption allegations.Ecowas
said it was deeply concerned by heightened tensions and would send
a team to investigate the claims.
Dweh, Varmah,
Others Turn Floor Members
(Forum)
(
By: Lewis K. Glay)
Following several days of chaotic scene at the Liberian Parliament,
plenary has finally suspended House Speaker George Dweh and others for
time indefinite for their involvement in alleged gross administrative
and financial mal-practices at the Capitol.
Let The Watching
Eyes See And The Listening Ears Hear
(Forum)
THE WIND OF confusion and heated controversy which has over the past
weeks blown across the corridor of the House of Representatives finally
swept Speaker George Dweh, his Deputy Cllr. Eddington Varmah and others
into the firkin of indefinite suspension.
University
of Liberia students cry for Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman Scholarship
(Press Release
Issued by the University of Liberia Alumni Association in Pennsylvania)
Nearly 50 students at the University of Liberia benefited from the
Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman Scholarship program last Semester. The
University of Liberia Alumni Association in Pennsylvania (ULIBSAA)
launched the scholarship program last year and later re-named it in
honor of the late UL President, Dr. Mary Antoinette Brown Sherman.
UNMIL
Media Workshop for Editors Ends (Forum)
A one-week media workshop for Liberian line editors ended over the
weekend; writes Josiah S. Hallie.
Measuagoon
Receives Solar Platers (Forum)
Measuagoon a local based-non-governmental organization recently received
a consignment of 100 pieces of solar plates to light-up various communities
throughout Liberia.
U.S. Embassy
Links Fulbright Scholar to Liberia (Forum)
A Fulbright Scholar has arrived in Liberia for the first time in more
than a decade on an outreach program that will center on higher education.
Bad Road Hinders
Development in Sanoyea (Forum)
The condition of roads, including farm – to – market is
said to be retarding progress and development in Sanoyea District,
Bong County.
Rejoinder:
Back from Monrovia
(
By Alex Redd)
I was taken aback when I read about a pending decision of a parent,
who had wanted to become one of Liberian presidential aspirants but
later changed his mind to run for a seat in the Liberian legislature
during the Liberian national elections this October.
Speaker
George Dweh, Three Other Top Lawmakers Suspended For time Indefinite
For Corruption
(
By Josephus Moses Gray)
The leadership of the Liberian parliament (the National Transitional
Legislative Assembly - NTLA) has been suspended for time indefinite
and all their immunities as lawmakers seized. The action was administered
to them on Monday, March 14, during the special session of the Plenary,
the highest decision making arm of the first Branch of Government.
LIBERIA:
Leaders of transitional parliament suspended for corruption (IRIN)
Members of Liberia's transitional parliament voted on Monday to indefinitely
suspend their parliamentary speaker, George Dweh, for corruption along
with his deputy and two other members of the house.
Speaker Dweh,
Others Accused of Corruption, May Face Indefinite Suspension Today
If...
(By Josephus Moses Gray)
The highest decision-making body of the Liberian parliament or the
National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA), the Plenary is
expected to hold a special session today to institute punitive action
against the leadership of that august body, that has been accused
of engaging rampant corruption.
Liberia’s
Social Security Program: Is It Solvent?
(By J. Yanqui Zaza)
The debate concerning the solvency of the U.S. Social Security Program
raises a concern about the Liberian Social Security System. The concern
is beyond allegations such, as whether the government hasn't pay benefits
to retirees and that whether it is using the worker’s payroll
deductions as petty cash. Our country, since 1847, hasn’t invested
in its skilled workforce and infrastructure, incentives that entice
good-paying corporations in investing in a country.
Crisis at
The Liberian Embassy
As reported by this paper two weeks ago, the Ambassador of Liberia
in Washington, DC, Mr. Charles A. Minor, closed the consular section,
chained its doors and issued a statement saying that his actions were
prompted by corrupt practices in the section where some employees
were pocketing consular funds. Since then, there have been some new
developments.
Back
From Monrovia
(
By Abdoulaye W. Dukulé)
I was standing in line to pay for two boxes of fufu when I heard a
familiar voice behind me. I turned around and saw my friend the presidential
candidate. He had a basked full of collard greens and his face was
beaming with its usual smile. “You better go home and get those
Monrovia girls to make you some real homemade fufu instead of this
artificial trash,” he said, with his loud laughter. We embraced
and shook up the line.
A
Response to ALiMUSA's Report
(Issued
by the Tarpeh-led Steering Committee)
We wish respectfully to acknowledge receipt of your Commission’s
Official Report on the mediation efforts undertaken by your Peace,
Justice and Reconciliation Commission, and to inform you that we have
given careful study to the same. The views set forth below reflect
the results of our deliberations and the resolve of this Body.
Feminization
Of AIDS: Ten Unavoidable Choices For African Leaders
(
By Chinua Akukwe)
The UNAIDS report on the HIV/AIDS pandemic highlights the growing rates
of infection among women worldwide. Women now account for nearly 50%
of all individuals living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. However, in Africa,
the situation is more ominous. Almost 57% of all individuals living
with HIV/AIDS in Africa are women. For Africans ages 15-24 living with
HIV/AIDS, women account for 76% of all infections. In South Africa,
Zambia and Zimbabwe, young women ages 15-24 have rates of infection
that are between three and six times that of their male peers.
Aloysius
Toe Receives Reebok Human Rights Award
(Press Release Issued by Reebok Human Rights Program)
After such war and brutality our country needs to live in peace.
Our country needs to enjoy reconciliation. But reconciliation cannot
be achieved by turning a blind eye to issues of justice. Can we provide
justice for victims of human rights abuses while at the same time
creating conditions that will not lead to renewed conflict? That is
our hope.
Voting
Is Not The Answer - Klein (Forum)
UN Special Representative to Liberia Amb. Jacques Paul Klein has observed
that voting is not the only answer to Liberia’s multiple problems
ranging from social, economic cultural and political but the collective
will of the people of Liberia to lead a progressive path towards total
emancipation at all shades of life.
Comium Make Donation
to the Christian Association of the Blind (Forum)
(By: Lewis K. Glay)
The General Manger of the Comium Mobile Incorporated, Adnan Ukaily,
has assured his company’s willingness to facilitate Liberia’s
reconstruction in many ways.
Let The University
of Liberia Administration Put Words Into Action (Forum)
(By: Emmanuel S. King, Jr.)
Recently at a well-attended meeting of the University of Liberia Faculty
Association, some instructors and professors raised concerns about
the manner some students go to school or attend classes.
Media Executives React to New Guidelines (Forum)
(By Lewis Glay)
As the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), in conjunction with the Ministry
of Information embarks on setting the hard code of standards for the
Liberian Media, there are variant views amongst media executives.
We
Present Our Laurels to the Dead (Forum)
LIBERIANS WILL ON tomorrow, Wednesday, honor the universal dictates
of paying special tributes to their dead when observing the Liberian
tradition regarding the observance of the day.
Toward
a Disability Legislation in Liberia: A Position Paper
(
By Sakui W. G. Malakpa)
It is difficult to overemphasize the nature, extent, and long term
implications of the Liberian civil war. Regardless of the variety
of statistical data and facts emanating from this war, the truth remains
that, superimposed on a developing world economy, this fratricidal
debacle devastated the country immeasurably. In addition to the destruction
of the economy, infrastructure, institutions, towns and properties,
hundreds of thousands of people were left dead, displaced, and disabled.
Is George Kiadii
A Presidential Candidate?
(
By Theodore T. Hodge)
A February 22 news article published by the
Ledger-Enquirer carried the bold heading: “Liberian candidate makes visit to Randolph
County”. Underneath the bold heading was the subheading: “Visit
to ancestral home prompts call for racial unity, cooperation”.
Mr. Harry Franklin, state editor, wrote the article. The subject of
the article was one George Kiadii. I found certain aspects of the news
story quite troubling and outright misleading, and in a few instances,
comical.
Official
Report On The Mediation: Conflict
Within The Steering Committee Of The All Liberian National Conference
For Peace, Reforms And Reconciliation
Nearly a month ago, the mediation initiative undertaken by the Peace,
Justice and Reconciliation Commission, ALiMUSA to resolve and mitigate
the conflict within the Steering Committee of the All Liberian National
Conference for Peace, Reforms and Reconciliation (ALNC), established
a solid groundwork upon which a permanent solution was pursued.
Bringing
Hope to Orphans Roaming the Streets of Monrovia
(Remarks by Dr. Syrulwa Somah)
Senator Jack Reed; Congressman Patrick Kennedy; Ambassador William
H. Twaddell and Mrs. Twaddell; Secretary of State Matthew Brown; Bishop
Robert E. Farrell, Dr. Mator Kbangbai, President of the Liberian Community
Association of Rhodes Island; Officers and members of the Sunday Project
Organizing Committee, Fellow Liberians and Friends of Liberia; Distinguished
ladies and gentlemen:
Let
There Be Media Against Media Poverty (Forum)
THERE IS AN absolute poverty striking the Liberian media so much so
that they lack the expected independence in terms of economic vibrancy
needed to enhance the growth of media and their practitioners in the
practical way along the path of the transitional period.
In Line with ECOWAS Mandate: Four Political Parties for 2005 Elections
- Who Goes to Grace, Who Drops to Grass? (Forum)
It appears that the multiplicity of political parties (18 registered,
18 going through the process of status legitimacy) may soon be trimmed
to a containable level to avoid foreseeable confusion and national
division in the future as Liberia and Liberians struggle to get off
the hook of war debris, poverty and all elements of ills.
Leading
Donors Reaffirm Commitment to Liberia’s Stability (Forum)
(By: Lewis K. Glay)
The European Commission and the United States have reassured their
tireless commitment to the stability of Liberia.
More Pressure
on Taylor (Forum)
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is now a worried man despite
allegations that he is a millionaire in his own rank.
