22 September 2017

 


LIBERIA MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

 

‘Taylor Should Be Freed and Allowed in Politics’ Liberia’s Ambassador to the UK tells BBC and gets promptly ‘recalled for consultation’, Source: Daily OBSERVER

 

Liberia’s Ambassador to the UK, Mohammed Sheriff Wednesday told the BBC’s Focus on Africa program that he believes former President Charles Taylor has changed and should be freed and allowed to participate in political activities in Liberia. Ambassador Sheriff who made the remarks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly said he believes the Taylor issue ought to be addressed by Liberia’s political parties, implying that it is not up to the Liberian government.

The BBC reminding the Liberian diplomat that one of the conditions of Mr. Taylor’s confinement is that he is not allowed to participate in any way in political activities in Liberia, Ambassador Sheriff said the former Liberian leader has served his time, learned his lesson, still has a loyal following in Liberia and should be allowed to return.

 

But a Liberian government official in response Thursday said the government was apprised of Sheriff’s remarks to the BBC and that he had been “recalled for consultation.”

 

European Union: Charles Taylor Is Being Monitored Closely, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

The EU has confirmed to FrontPage Africa (FPA) that no elected President of Liberia has the power to bring former President Charles Taylor back from jail before the completion of his 50-year jail term. The EU Delegation in Monrovia also informed FPA that as part of terms, on which Taylor was jailed, he is not supposed to meddle in Liberia’s politics and he is, therefore, being monitored to ensure adherence to the terms and conditions of his sentence.

 

Of late, there have been growing concerns among members of the international community over assurance given by Mr. Taylor’s ex-wife, Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, who is also the vice presidential candidate of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) that the CDC will bring ex-President Taylor’s agenda back on the table, if elected to political power.

 

Christians Hold Prayer Rally for Peaceful Transition Say ‘Liberia will never be the same’, Source: Daily OBSERVER

 

Members of the Christian faith gathered on Sunday at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium for one-day national prayer rally under the theme: “For Liberia’s Election and Preserving Liberia’s Future 2017.” The gathering brought together leaders from all levels of the Liberian ecumenical spectrum to intercede for the nation toward a peaceful transition and that Liberia will never again be the same, and that for the better.  Among the prayer points was a request for God to reveal to them the nation’s next president.

 

The general overseer of the Bethel Cathedral of Hope Liberia and the visionary of the prayer rally, Bishop M. Wolo Belleh told the people that for the past decades, Liberia in her own strength has never experienced a peaceful transition.

 

Police Probe Sanniquellie Clash …As CDC ‘Pulls’ Out, Source: The NEWS

 

The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) campaign team is said to have pulled out of Nimba County, a day following a violent clash with supporters of Liberty Party (LP) in Sanniquellie. Police spokesperson Sam Collins told The News Thursday that the decision of the CDC to pull out of the county is intended to allow the LP to continue its campaign activities in that part of the country so as to avoid a further violent clash. Collins said the police succeeded in restoring calm in Sanniquellie following the Wednesday’s clash between supporters of the two opposition political parties.

 

The police spokesperson also disclosed that police deputy IG Abraham Kromah and a team of riot police officers and investigators are currently in the county to probe the incident. He, however, said that no arrest has been made so far but the investigation is ongoing.

 

President Sirleaf Holds Talks with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, WB Vice President, Dr. Makhtar Diop; Attends key function on the Margins of UN General Assembly, Sources: All Africa, Executive Mansion News, and GNN Liberia

 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Wednesday met privately with Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau and the pair discussed matters of bilateral interest to both countries.

 

President Sirleaf also had a separate meeting with the Vice President of the World Bank on the margins of the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. According to a dispatch from New York, the president thanked the World Bank through Dr. Makhtar Diop for standing with Liberia over the last 12 years; describing the partnership as productive and rewarding. She noted that the current World Bank Review Team in Liberia is working well with the government team to take stock of the investments in Liberia over the years as well as look at the prospects for future partnership as the country moves into transition.

 

President Sirleaf Attends Education Funders Breakfast Event in New York; Makes Strong Case for Education Sector, Sources: Executive Mansion News and FrontPage Africa

 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Thursday joined Randall Lane, editor of Forbes, who hosted a high-level breakfast dialogue attended by philanthropists, activists, and leaders in global education at Forbes in New York City. President Sirleaf, alongside education minister, George Werner, discussed Partnership Schools for Liberia (PSL), an innovative government-led pilot program launched in 2016, which pairs independent education providers with public primary schools to improve the quality of education; an urgent and compelling need in Liberia following decades of conflict and the Ebola virus outbreak.

 

According to a dispatch from New York, the results from the program’s first year, as measured in an independent evaluation, provide promising evidence that PSL can serve as an accelerator for improved learning nationwide, and has the potential to be replicated in other developing countries.

 

President Sirleaf Expresses Surprise at Recalled Diplomat’s BBC Interview, Sources: Executive Mansion News, GNN Liberia, and The NEWS

 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has expressed surprise at a BBC interview granted by Ambassador El Mohammed Sheriff.  According to a dispatch from New York, President Sirleaf expressed surprise because Ambassador Sheriff has already received a permanent recall from his current assignment for behaviors unbecoming of a Liberian diplomat.

 

Next generation call: Uncertainty for Boakai?, Sources: FrontPage Africa and The New Dawn

 

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Tuesday told world leaders at the ongoing 72nd meeting of the UN General Assembly that the pending October 10 elections will usher in the next generation of leaders. “Today, I address you for the last time as I bring to closure my two terms of elected office. Liberia is just 22 days away from historic legislative and presidential elections…This paves the way for the next generation of Liberians to lead the country into the future,” President Sirleaf said in her prepared text.

 

The president’s statement leaves behind many unanswered questions and raises uncertainty for her septuagenarian vice president, Joseph Boakai, who many think is either too old or weak to stir the affairs of the country for the next six years.

 

Prince Johnson promises death penalty, Source: The New Dawn

 

Presidential candidate Prince Johnson of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR) says when elected president, anyone caught in ritualistic killing and found guilty in court will be hung upside down from 6am to 6pm. Senator Johnson told a group of Liberians on Wednesday at the Dry Rice Market Community in Gardnerville that under his administration, security will protect all from ritualistic killing.

 

Independent Presidential Candidate Frowns on Exclusion From Presidential Debate, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

Independent presidential candidate Oscar Cooper has frowned at the Deepening Democracy Coalition (DDC) for excluding him and other presidential candidates from the planned second round of the presidential debate scheduled to be held on Tuesday, 26 September at the Paynesville City Hall outside of Monrovia.

 

Senator Cooper told reporters on Thursday in Kakata, Margibi County that it is unfair and undemocratic the exclusion of him and others presidential candidates from the public interaction with the selection of those previously invited to the first round of the debate.

 

“Every candidate that has been approved by the National Elections Commission to contest must have the opportunity to tell the people of Liberia their platform, but if you select a few then it is not democratic,” Cooper said.

 

LPP candidate blames past leaders for economic crisis, Source: The New Dawn

 

Montserrado County Electoral District #8 representative candidate Bella Diallo has blamed past leaders for some of the economic problems facing the country. Mr. Diallo claimed Wednesday in Monrovia that there is an economic problem in the country due to past leaders’ reluctance to implement the Liberianization Policy. The Liberia People’s Party representative candidate says he will seek the full implementation of the Liberalization Policy as contained in the party’s platform.

 

“Reject NPP Agenda and CDC Ticket” – NAMBO National Secretary, Source: FrontPage Africa

 

The secretary-general of the National Movement in Support of Boakai (NAMBO), Robert Kpadeh, has warned that Liberia risks returning to its ugly past if the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) is elected to state power in October.

In what appears to be a doomsday press conference Thursday, Mr. Kpadeh asserted that the CDC vice presidential candidate, Senator Jewel Howard Taylor promised the people of Nimba County that if elected, the CDC will reintroduce the National Patriotic Party (NPP) agenda once adopted during the leadership of former President Charles Taylor.

 

Describing the NPP agenda as devilish, stupid, and distasteful, NAMBO secretary-general noted that it was appalling and unthinkable for Senator Taylor to think about reintroducing an agenda that caused so much destruction to Liberia and the sub-region.

 

House Passes USD40M Financing Agreement for Road Pavement, Maintenance, Sources: Daily OBSERVER, FrontPage Africa, and The NEWS

 

The House of Representatives Thursday voted unanimously to pass into law a ‘Financing Agreement’ for the Road Access Management Project in the amount of USD40 million. The amount of the agreement was signed on 25 July 2017 and represents the second additional credit to pave and maintain the roads from Monrovia (ELWA Junction to Red Light) to the Guinea border.

 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

 

Groundbreaking Liberian President Looks to Make History Again, Source: VOA News

 

Democracy is strengthening not just in Liberia, but across West Africa, the president of Liberia says. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who made history by becoming the first elected female head of state in Africa, now is intent on making history again: by ensuring that Liberia's election next month succeeds and, for the first time in 73 years, one elected leader hands off power to another.

 

Johnson Sirleaf spoke to VOA's Peter Clottey on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week. She said she is confident the election will be free and credible.

 

"Our elections commission has already established their credibility in three by-elections that have taken place, which the citizens accepted," she said. "There were no major complaints. The international community, including all the observers to those elections, accepted that and said it was credible."

 

 

 
  Disclaimer This media summary consists of selected local media articles for the information of UN personnel. The public distribution of this media summary is a courtesy service extended by UNMIL on the understanding that the choice of articles included is exclusive, and the contents do not represent anything other than a selection of articles likely to be of interest to a United Nations readership. The inclusion of articles in this summary does not imply endorsement by UNMIL.

 

 

 

 

 

Online Headlines