Liberia to send Troops to Mali.................

Armed Forces of Liberia soldiers stand in formation at Edward Kesselly Military Barracks.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has disclosed that the Government of Liberia will contribute troops to the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).
Making the disclosure at the Roberts International Airport in Liberia, President Johnson-Sirleaf told reporters Saturday, January 19 2012 that Liberia has pledged a platoon that will be integrated into one of the AFISMA peacekeeping battalions in Mali. President Sirleaf said that Liberia's decision to pledge a well-trained and well equipped military platoon to Mali is based on the fact of African solidarity to the people of West African, and to also show appreciation to Mali and its people who helped Liberia during our country's conflict or years of civil war.
President Sirleaf said West African countries have pledged their support fully to France for launching operations in Mali, within the framework of respect for the sovereignty of Mali and that is the International legality to halt the advance of the terrorist and extremist groups. This will be the first time since the 60s that Liberian military personnel will be send for peace keeping duties.

Liberia has ‘turned the corner’ towards lasting peace says President Sirleaf....

President Sirleaf addressing the U.N General Assembly.

Ten years after the end of Liberia’s brutal civil war, the country has made tremendous progress on the path to lasting peace and stability, President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, told the United Nations General Assembly today, while adding that serious challenges remain.
“As Liberia moves toward its tenth year of sustained peace, we can state with conviction that our country has turned the corner,” President Sirleaf said in her address to the Assembly’s high-level General Debate, which began at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
“Liberia is no longer a place of conflict, war and deprivation. We are no longer the country our citizens fled, our international partners pitied and our neighbors feared,” she added. President Sirleaf thanked the UN for being “a very committed and effective partner” with Liberia as it emerged from conflict and embarked on the path to peace, security and development. “We owe the Organization much gratitude for preserving an enabling environment for peacebuilding and state-building.”

 

The UN has maintained a peacekeeping force in Liberia since 2003 to bolster a ceasefire agreement ending a decade of war that killed nearly 150,000 people, mostly civilians. The mandate of the UN Mission in Liberia  includes helping to restore the rule of law and democratic processes, as well as facilitating humanitarian assistance.

President Sirleaf must take the incident in the Ivory Coast seriously.......

Over the weekend we learned of the deadly attack that took the lives of several United Nations peacekeepers and Ivorian Military personal in the Ivory Coast. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms," saying he was "saddened and outraged" about the deaths of the peacekeepers, all from Niger. He urged the government of Ivory Coast to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Meanwhile hundreds of villagers were fleeing the area near the Liberian border, and U.N. officials said others may have been killed or injured. Authorities have been unable to confirm any additional casualties because of the remoteness of the area near the Liberian border.

This is a serious situation along the border of the two countries, and the governments of the two countries especially Liberia, must do everything to bring the situation under control. We the many concern Liberians at home and abroad urged President sirleaf to not take this lightly, as it has the potential to not only destabilize the entire region, but to drag Liberia back into instability.

 Some Liberian government minsters were denying Liberia's involvement in the incident. But whether they came out of Liberia, or whether they are based in the Ivory Coast, doesn’t matter.  What matters is that there was an incident in Ivory Coast close to our own border that concerns everybody. If our neighbor's house is on fire we should make it our duty to help put out the fire who knows ours could be next. Both countries need to concertedly work together to more effectively weed out this cancer from their common borders, and once and for all send out a message that the days of savages and barbarians using our country to attack another is over. Finally if any Liberians are found to be involved in the incident over the weekend, if caught they should be put to death immediately, we do not want these barbaric people in our Country, enough is enough.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf sworn in for a second term .

President Sirleaf and vice President Boakai at the inauguration ceremony.

Liberia’s president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in Monday for a second term in a ceremony attended by several world leaders, and the U.S secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"We inaugurate a new beginning -- a rebirth of our democracy," Sirleaf told the crowd of thousands, as supporters blew horns. "Today we can say with conviction that our country has turned the corner. Liberia is no longer a place of conflict, war and deprivation. We are no longer the country our citizens want to run away from."

In her inaugural address, Sirleaf directly addressed those who felt she has not done enough to lift them from poverty.

"To all who have yet to feel the hands of progress touch your life, your time has come," she said, as cheers erupted. "We have laid the foundations for peace and prosperity, and must now hasten our true mission: Putting people -- especially young people -- first. And lifting the lives of all Liberians."

And she responded to the opposition's claim that she was not listening to the country's disenfranchised youth: "The youth of Liberia are our future and they have sent us a message," she said. "Let me say to them: We heard that message. It is our solemn obligation to ensure that their hope will not be in vain."

Hillary Clinton (left) meets Liberian Foreign Minister Toga Gayewea McIntosh on arrival in Monrovia.

Thousands of people, many of them dressed in colorful ceremonial gown, gathered hours before the start of the ceremony in the capital Monrovia. The military fired two cannons Monday and hoisted the flag at the presidency.

Liberia is recovering from 14 years of civil war and conflict that ended in 2003. Sirleaf became Africa's first democratically-elected female president in 2005, and last year was one of three women awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The inauguration ceremony closed with a parade by security forces through the streets of Monrovia and floats representing Liberia's 15 counties.

Why change the pilot when the plane is still in the air?.....

As the countdown to election begins in Liberia, it has become clear that the path Liberians choose on the 11 of October will determine if the country remains on the road to prosperity or the path of uncertainty and chaos.
Winston Tubman and the opposition CDC claimed that the Sirleaf administration has done nothing for the Country, On Friday, addressing some 200,000 of their supporters, Tubman told the crowd "What we know of her is that she brought war and that having now taken power, she hasn't brought unity," we can see nothing in the record about Ellen Sirleaf that tells us that she has been promoting peace, or that Liberia has become any better during her tenure as President.

Liberians should not forget Winston Tubman, is the nephew of Liberia's longest-serving president,William V.S Tubman, these people held power in Liberia for three decades, and what does Liberia has to show for it? absolutely nothing.

President Sirleaf on the other hand, has chalked up a series of economic achievements. She has managed to preside over 6.7% annual economic growth during her short time in office. She has also secured $4.6 billion in debt relief from creditors, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the U.S., the European Union and the African Development Bank. Her government has attracted billions more in foreign investment from companies all around the world.

Liberians should not be fool to think that a miracle will happen when the President is voted out of office, that all of a sudden every Liberians will automatically have a job. Rome was not built in a day, it will take a little bit more of time for people to start reaping the results of the Sound policies the President and her team have laid out.
Lets not forget fellow Liberians that when the Plane is still in the air, you don't change the pilots, Lets be patient and let the president complete what she started.

Congratulation to President Sirleaf and Leymeh Gbowee both of Liberia for winning this year Nobel peace prize..........

I learned with joy and pride this morning that Two Liberians were among the winners for the Nobel peace prize.

Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, sharing the award with fellow Liberian, Leymah Gbowee and Yemen’s Tawakkul Karman, for work to promote women’s rights and peace building.

Johnson-Sirleaf, 72, Gbowee and Karman were announced as winners of the 10 million-krona ($1.5 million) prize on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo. They were awarded the prize for “their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work,” the committee said.

Among those who welcomed this year's award was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, viewed as the most powerful woman in Europe, who said: "This will hopefully encourage many women, but also many men, around the world to campaign for freedom and democracy and against injustice."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "Above all, it underscores the vital role that women play in the advancement of peace and security, development, and human rights."

Amnesty International secretary general Salil Shetty said: "This Nobel Peace Prize recognizes what human rights activists have known for decades - that the promotion of equality is essential to building just and peaceful societies worldwide.

We congratulate these women on their achievements, today is a day that all Liberians should be proud of.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee of five people chosen by Norway's parliament and is named for Alfred Nobel, a Swedish scientist and inventor of dynamite.

Nominations come from lawmakers around the world, university professors, previous Nobel laureates and members of the Nobel committee.

Ecowas seeks UN help for Liberia and Ivory coast security.

Leaders from West African countries on Saturday called on the UN to bolster monitoring of Ivory Coast's border with neighbor Liberia, which is set to hold general elections next month.

Liberian authorities last month announced a seizure of a "worrisome" amount of arms and ammunition near the border with Ivory Coast, which is still recovering from a bloody post-election crisis.

Presidents from six countries "urged the United Nations to intensify joint UNOCI-UNMIL (peacekeeping missions) monitoring and control of the common border zone between the two countries."

The special mini summit was called by Ecowas, to come out with ways to address security concerns after Liberian immigration said they had seized weapons which included rockets, machine guns and assault rifles and a large amount of ammunition from unnamed people.

In a statement the leaders meeting under the aegis of the regional bloc Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) "declared zero tolerance for any attempt to oppose the verdict of the ballot box."

Liberia is still fragile as it recovers from bloody civil wars waged by warloards and drugged child soldiers, that left some 150,000 dead between 1989 and 2003. The Country is set to hold Presidential election in October. The October vote is the second since the end of those devastating wars.