The Battle for Freedom!!

The 2011 Liberian Elections!!

The 2011 Liberian general election will be held on October 11, 2011, with the resulting runoff elections held on November 8, 2011. The presidency, and all seats in the House of Representatives and half of the seats in the Senate, will be up for election. The election will be monitor by the Liberian National Elections Commission (NEC).

The country of Liberia has had its share of sorrow and tragedy. A 20 years civil war forced more than a million people from their homes. Tens of thousands of Liberians sought refuge in neighboring countries and refugee camps. Many today are still living in terrible conditions and terrify to return back home because of the scars and wounds that the war left on them. The deafening silence on the part of the international community regarding war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia has given a cause for concern. The 2011 Presidential election will be a very important election for Liberia. Not only does it represent the fight for democracy for the country but it also represents the struggle for human rights in a war torn country.

2011 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CANDIDATES!!

In 2010, the Harvard trained economists, and current Liberian President, (The Iron Lady of Liberia) Madam Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, announced that she would indeed be running for a second term in office. Sirleaf was re-nominated by her party (The Unity Party) as their presidential candidate for 2011. Her current vice president Joseph Boakai was also nominated and confirmed by delegates to be the Unity Party’s vice presidential candidate for 2011.

On May 1, 2011 The CDC Party nominated Winston Tubman, the nephew of former Liberian President William Tubman, who is a Harvard trained lawyer. He has degrees from the London School of Economics, Cambridge University and Harvard University. A member of the bar, he founded his own law firm in 1968 and served as legal adviser to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs during his uncle's administration. A legal expert, he has extensive United Nations experience. His running mate and Vice-Presidential candidate will be George Weah who is well known for his amazing soccer abilities. Weah is a formal Liberian and worldwide footballer. He left his mark on the game with his amazing footwork on the field. Mr. Weah has been given the nickname “King George” by his teammates because of his athletic abilities and the recognitions he received from the football world.

Liberty Party leader, Charles Brumskine, also announced his plans to run for president in 2011. His running mate and Vice-Presidential candidate will be Senator Franklin Siakor. The most scandalous candidate by far Prince Johnson, the former war lord leader during the first Liberian Civil War and also the senator from Nimba County has also announced his candidacy.  Nathaniel Barnes, leader of the Liberian Destiny Party and Liberian Ambassador to the United Nations have also confirmed that he will be running for the presidency office. Newly added to the list is Reverend Kennedy Sanders. Well known in Liberia and the United States where he lives. Rev. Sanders announced in the U.S that he is going to indeed challenge President Sirleaf in the presidential elections.

This election will be a crucial one for the Liberian people. Liberian writer T.Q Harris Jr, said that it will be “an all-out battle between the forces of good and evil! It’s a fight for the heart and soul of the nation! This is a defining moment! Therefore no true son or daughter of the soil can afford to stand idly by and watch. I must agree with his statement. We can’t stand idly by and allow our country to fall into the hands of the wrong leader. Mohandas Ghandi India ideological leader once said “A country’s culture lies in the soul of its people”.  It’s time for change, a new visionary thinking, the old ideologies of corrupt leaders has to be thrown outside the window and we must give change a chance to lead our country to progression. It’s time to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery and free ourselves from corruption. We must stand together as one to make this change happen for our country and children children’s!! Only we can liberate ourselves. MAY THE BEST CANDIDATE WIN! 

China boost Liberia's Aid.

According to BBC NEWS Chinese President Hu Jintao has signed a number of agreements with Liberia in Monrovia, pledging more aid and investment to the West African nation.

The deals included the cancellation of $10m (£5m) of Liberia's debt to China and waiving duties on Liberian exports. Mr Hu also promised to help Liberia - which is still recovering from a long civil war - tackle malaria and assist in education and agriculture. Mr Hu and his Liberian counterpart, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, signed a memorandum of understanding during their talks in Monrovia.
 
It included the formal signing away of $10m debt owed to Beijing.
Also China has decided to give to Liberia within two years... $25m (£13m)," Liberian Information Minister Lawrence Bropleh said. The money will be spent on projects to help rebuilt Liberia, following the 1989-2003 civil war that ravaged the country.
On his part, President Hu was seeking to help his country access Liberia's raw materials, including iron ore, for the rapidly-expanding Chinese economy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6319457.stm

Fast Forward to 2011 The Government of the People's Republic of China has revealed that its investment in Liberia has reached a total of US$9.9 billion dollars.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201004280378.html

Charles Taylor Trial Comes to An End!



The war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor ended Friday with judges expected to take months to reach a verdict on whether he can be tied to murders during Sierra Leone's civil war.
In their final remarks, prosecutors warned the judges against being taken in by Taylor, "an intelligent and charismatic man" who portrayed himself during the three-year trial as a statesman and peacemaker rather than a warlord who used a surrogate army to pillage a nation.
The defense concluded by denying prosecution claims that Taylor was part of a criminal conspiracy with rebel leaders seizing power in neighboring Sierra Leone, providing them with weapons and support in exchange for diamonds illegally mined by slave labor.
A verdict is expected in five or six months, Taylor's attorney said. Taylor, the first African head of state to be tried by an international court, faces a maximum life sentence if convicted.



I personally think that it is time that African dictators and rebel leaders face trial and convictions for their cruel actions against civilians and their countries. African leaders have been getting away for a very long time with atrocities, they should start paying. Keeping my fingers cross that he does indeed get convicted and JUSTICE BE SERVE.

The United Nations Pleas to the World to Help Liberia Host Ivorian Refugees

Due to the recent conflicts that Ivory Coast is facing, many of dislocated Ivorians are seeking refuge in neighboring country of Liberia. Liberia has seen it's share of tragedy and turmoil and in recent years have tried to gain stability. Liberia is still recovering from a 20 years Civil War and is still unsecure. Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs visited Liberia to plead to the rest of the world to aid liberia efforts in hosting Ivorian refugees in the country. An estimated 120,000 Ivoirians have fled Côte d'Ivoire since December last year following the disputed presidential election, and more than 110,000 of the refugees have sought shelter in eastern Liberia, the majority of them among host communities.Ms. Amos traveled to Toe town in Grand Gedeh County bordering Côte d'Ivoire where she talked with Ivorian refugees who gave her their accounts of their difficult trek into Liberia and their current living conditions.The Liberian Government, UN agencies, as well as national a nd international NGOs have been providing help, including the protection of civilians, food, education, health and sanitation. Liberian families, some of whom were themselves refugees not long ago, have been hosting some of the refugees, sharing with them their meagre resources.Ms. Amos appealed to donor countries to contribute to Liberia's emergency action plan, which has requested USD 146.5 million, but has so far received USD 35 million or 23 per cent of what is needed.

To read full story visit http://www.newkerala.com/news/world/fullnews-182220.html

The Iron Lady of Liberia

PRESIDENT OF LIBERIA

Born in 1938, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a widowed mother-of-four.US-educated economist and former finance minister Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won the second round of presidential elections in November 2005 and in January 2006 she was inaugurated as Africa's first elected woman head of state. The poll was intended to draw a line under Liberia's war. Her rival, the footballer and political novice George Weah, alleged fraud. International observers said the vote had been broadly free and fair. Known in Liberia as the "Iron Lady", Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf drew much of her support from women voters, and from Liberia's small educated elite. She faces the twin challenges of trying to rebuild the country and of fostering reconciliation. One of her priorities is to reintegrate into society former child soldiers. She has declared a "zero tolerance" of corruption. The president served as finance minister under President William Tolbert in the late 1970s and fled the country after the Tolbert government was overthrown. She has worked for the UN and the World Bank. Some of the opposition to Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf stems from her one-time association with former Liberian leader Charles Taylor. She briefly supported the then warlord in his quest to overthrow military leader Samuel Doe. Speaking at Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission in February 2009, she admitted to her initial support for Mr Taylor, saying he had misled her into believing the war was necessary for change to happen. (BBC NEWS)

From  my Personal opinion, i believe that she is the best candidate for this job and she seems to be moving the country into the right direction.It is up to the Liberian people as a whole to rebuild our country!

LIBERIA WILL RISE AGAIN!!!

We want Peace! No More War!

Forced End to The Tragic Civil War

The Liberian Civil War sometimes refers to as "Uncivil War" lasted for about 20 years. The first Civil war began in 1989 and lasted to 1996 and the Second civil War began in 1999 and ended in 2003.  Liberia is Africa's oldest republic, but it became better known in the 1990s for its long-running, ruinous civil war.

 (NPFL) militia overran much of the countryside, entering the capital in 1990. Mr Doe was executed.

Fighting intensified as the rebels splintered and battled each other,The West African nation was relatively calm until 1980 when William Tolbert was overthrown by Sergeant Samuel Doe after food price riots. The coup marked the end of dominance by the minority Americo-Liberians, who had ruled since independence, but heralded a period of instability. By the late 1980s, arbitrary rule and economic collapse culminated in civil war when Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia the Liberian army and West African peacekeepers. In 1995 a peace agreement was signed, leading to the election of Mr Taylor as president. The respite was brief, with anti-government fighting breaking out in the north in 1999. Mr Taylor accused Guinea of supporting the rebellion. Meanwhile Ghana, Nigeria and others accused Mr Taylor of backing rebels in Sierra Leone. Matters came to a head in 2003 when Mr Taylor - under international pressure to quit and hemmed in by rebels - stepped down and went into exile in Nigeria. A transitional government steered the country towards elections in 2005. Around 250,000 people were killed in Liberia's civil war and many thousands more fled the fighting. The conflict left the country in economic ruin and overrun with weapons. The capital remains without mains electricity and running water. Corruption is rife and unemployment and illiteracy are endemic. The UN maintains some 15,000 soldiers in Liberia. It is one of the organisation's most expensive peacekeeping operations. (BBC News).http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1043500.stm