Peace corps to return to Liberia in september..........

The peace corps this week said that they are pleased to officially announce its return to Liberia and is preparing for the arrival of the first group of Volunteers in September 2008.
After an absence of nearly two decades, experienced Volunteers will be serving in the country through a program called Peace Corps Response.
From 1962-1990, Peace Corps Volunteers in Liberia were involved in every facet of the country’s development efforts, from education and health to agriculture and rural development until the program was suspended due to the Liberian civil war in the 90s.

Liberia and FiFa to investigate stadium tragedy............

FIFA and the Liberian Government opened an investigation this week into the deaths of at least eight people at a World Cup qualifying match in Liberia.

The tragedy happened before Liberia took the field against Gambia in a World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Monrovia.
The chief mortician of the city, Dominic Worlu, gave the reason for the deaths. In all, 16 people were taken to hospital.
Witnesses said the stadium was packed by noon with people who came in earlier to find seats for the match.
Worlu said illegal ticket sales might have led to many more fans being crammed into the stadium than the seating capacity allowed.
Football’s governing body Fifa said it was investigating the incindent.

In another development President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has declared this weekend as a period of national mourning in remembrance of those spectators who met their unfortunate death.

The 33,000-seat venue was built in 1987 and had been renovated after the country's civil war ended five years ago.
United Nations peacekeepers closed the stadium gates on Sunday when it became clear it was already over capacity after thousands had entered using fake tickets.
Eyewitnesses reported that some security staff sold tickets and took money from fans without tickets to let them in.
The deaths occurred after dozens of people fell from upper-level seats onto spectators below when a metal barrier gave way.
The match was played and drawn 1-1.

The foolishness and stupidity of T.Q. Harris and Mulbah Morlu declarations......

Today i was reading an article on the Front page Africa website about two advocacy groups calling for regime change and declaring Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf a war crime suspects, therefore they are forbiding her not to represent the country in an official capacity unless she is vindicated in a court of law.
The two groups, the Forum for the Establishment of a War Crimes Court based in Liberia and Solidarity and Trust for A New Day based in the United States, are led by former presidential candidate T. Q. Harris, and Mulbah Morlu, two people who have no business what so ever, or the moral characters to be accusing anybody of anything, let alone to be making stupid and irresponsible declarations, and calling for regime change of a sitting President.
These fools love to sit in the United States and throw stones and hide their hands, they have nothing to offer the Liberian people but their stupidity, and when other people roll their sleeves to do the heavy lifting, they have the audacity to criticize them.
The President has proven time and time again beyond all doubts that she is able and willing to deliver the goods for the Liberian people, if anything in my opinion she is one of the best presidents Liberia ever had, and these fools must know, some of us who are admirer of the president, will defend her vigorously against such stupid and silly talks.
here is a video of some of the great work the president is doing.

Let T.Q Harris and Mulba Morlu be reminded that the president was duly elected by the Liberian people, and at such calling for regime change of a sitting President can be consider treason, so if they don't have anything to contribute to the development of our country, they should just shut the hell up and let the lady do her job. Long live the President and Long live the peoples of Liberia.

Ex vice-president Moses Blah testisfies against Taylor.......

Ex-Liberian vice-president Moses Blah today entered the witness box to testify against his former boss Charles Taylor, who stands accused of war crimes in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Ex vice President told the court Libyan authorities trained Charles Taylor's rebel force in the 1980s before it violently overthrew Liberia's government. Blah said he was among about 180 fighters recruited by Taylor and flown to Libya in the late 1980s to undergo months of military training.

The fighters learned to use AK-47 assault rifles and surface-to-air missiles at a military camp near Tripoli, he said.
Blah said men from countries including Gambia, the Philippines and Sierra Leone were also trained at the camp.
Among them was Sam Bockarie one of the Sierra Leone rebels Taylor is accused of supporting.

Blah testified that Taylor met the future head of the RUF, Foday Sankoh, in the camp, where they were received by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.
Kadhafi gave Taylor half a million dollars after the Liberian was elected president in 1997, said Blah, who was ambassador to Tripoli at the time.

Moses Blah briefly served as Liberian president in 2003, taking leadership of the war-ravaged country after Taylor was
forced into exile. He is the 27th and highest-ranking witness to take the stand against Taylor since his trial began early this year.

Spotlight on Liberian Raggae Star Nesseman.........

Here is one of my favorite Liberian musician called Nesseman, i have high hopes for this guy, and i absolutely believe this guy will be the next Lucky Dube, his songs are so simple yet so moving, and the fact that he shoots most of his videos in Liberia, just shows not only his love for his Country, but his high confidence he has in his wartorn country.

Here he is singing his smash hit call Till we meet again, a song he made as a tribute for his mentors and all those that left this Earth before their time, especially the 250,000 of his fellow Liberians who lost their lives in a senseless civil war.

God Bless Liberia and may we no longer kill our brother. We are many Tribes but One People.
.....Nesseman.......

Highlights of U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visit to Liberia..........

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon began a visit to Liberia Monday, "I have come to Liberia to see at first hand the remarkable achievements your country has made in recovering from a devastating conflict. And I have come to reassure the Liberian people of my steadfast commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in your nation," Mr. Ban said in an address to a joint session of the Liberian legislature in the capital, Monrovia.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon (R) is greeted upon his arrival at Monrovia's airport on April 21.

Traditional Leaders and Chiefs honor UN Secretary General at Gowning Ceremony.

Mr. Ban outlined several areas where further progress is needed, including reforming the legal and judicial system and extending the rule of law throughout the country.
He said more also needs to be done to reintegrate populations affected by war and promote reconciliation and national unity, as well as ensure economic development. "Delivering the peace dividend in these areas is necessary to underpin the stability that Liberia currently enjoys," he noted.
"In this and other challenges confronting Liberia, the entire United Nations family will work with you," the Secretary-General pledged.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has begun the first phase of its drawdown process, and the Security Council will decide on the next phase after reviewing the progress made by the Government in meeting certain key benchmarks.
Mr. Ban said his recommendations to the Council on the drawdown will be linked to the Government's ability to assume full responsibility for its national security. "Our common strategic goal is to ensure that Liberia has a solid security sector - one that can stand on its own feet before UNMIL completes its withdrawal."

Some Notable Liberians of the 19th and 20th century.....

Angie Brooks Randolph.

Liberian lawyer and diplomat who was the FIRST woman to be accepted as a legal apprentice. On her first appearance in court she was laughed at. She was accredited by the Liberian Supreme Court in 1953, as the first woman Liberian lawyer. She had a career in government administration and legal education in Liberia before being appointed assistant secretary of state in 1958. In 1969 she became the first African woman to be elected president of the General Assembly of the United Nations . During her career she was awarded 18 honorary doctorates of law from various universities in America and received many awards from civil and religious organisations.

Wilton Sankawulo is one of Liberia's foremost creative writers, educators, and public servants of long record. While engaged in government service, he joined the faculties of the University of Liberia and Cuttington University College as Professor of English and Literature. Sankawulo's many publications include myths and legends of Liberia, novels, a biography, and a collection of essays.

Presedent Barclay With President F.D Roosevelt at Roberts field Liberia, 1944.

Edwin Barclay, a member of the True Whig Party served as foreign minister and secretary of state of Liberia in the government of Charles D.B. King from 1920 until 1930. He became the 17 President of Liberia in 1930 when President King and Vice-President Allen B. Yancey resigned because of a scandal. He was elected in his own right for the first time in 1931. Barclay is credited with helping the country survive some of Liberia's greatest threats to its sovereignty in that country's history. They included threats by the League of Nations led by Germany, and the United Kingdom, to to recolonize the country unless reforms were made. He also compose the Liberian national song the lone star forever. Barclay retired in 1944 and was replaced by William Vacanarat Shadrach Tubman .

Father of Pan-Africanism.

Edward Wilmot Blyden (1832-1912) was a Liberian educator and statesman. More than any other figure, he laid the foundation of West African nationalism and of pan-Africanism.

In his writings, he defended his race at every opportunity, exalted the achievements of other Blacks, and attacked slavery. As a teacher he was professor of classics and president of Liberia College . He was also a politician and diplomat in Liberia, serving as Secretary of State, Minister of Interior , and Minister to Britain from and Minister Plenipotentiary to London and Paris in 1905.

Joseph Jenkins Roberts (1809-1876), often called the Father of his country, was born of free parents in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 15, 1809. He became the first black ACS governor of Liberia in 1841. In 1848, he was elected the first president of an independent Liberia.

He spent his first year as Liberia's leader attempting to attain recognition from European countries and the United States. England and France were the first countries to accept Liberian independence in 1848. In 1849, Portugal, Brazil, Sardinia, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Hamburg, Bremen, Lubeck, and Haiti all formally recognized Liberia. However, the United Stated withheld recognition until 1862, during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, because the U.S. leaders believed that the southern states would not accept a black ambassador in Washington D.C.
Roberts was re-elected three more times to serve a total of eight years. During his leadership, an institution of higher learning, later to become Liberia University, was established. By 1860, through treaties and purchases with local African leaders, Liberia had extended its boundaries to include a 600 mile coastline.