Voice of Liberia

Mr. Editor, I would appreciate if you could share my views and opinions on the crimminal trial involving the Paramount Chief of River Gee County that was adjoined on Monday December 21, 2009 over the death of Abdullah Bah. My heart, prayer and thought go out to the deceased family and may his soul rest in peace.

This case started to draw my attention when it was reported that one of the accused was a close relative to a very important Political and Peace advocator in Liberia. Each night as I listen to the PODCAST stories on the investigations, I was hoping that all those named in the investigations would be brought to trial and the State prosecutor would produce substantial evidence against those in the case. But to my greatest surprise the due process of law in the Liberia legal justice system was never carry out and the court and jurors managed to produce a guilty and death sentence on an innocent paramount Chief. Justice delay doesn't mean justice would not prevail.

After listening to the State Prosecutor (Nkrumah Teekay) post verdict comments, his explanations did not contain evidential evidence to convict this innocent paramount Chief. The PODCAST interview with Star radio clearly reviews and shows no proven connection and enough evidence to convict the Paramount Chief. As a Liberian in the USA, I strongly believe in our (Liberia Justice System) justice system, the due process of law, the right to a free and fair trail, the right to file a motion base on a defense council observation to relocate a trial, jury selection without bias to favor any side and on top of that, I also believe in direct and circumstantial evidence. As the world monitor and watch this case, our justice system, due process of law, proven evidence before conviction and human right reputations are on the line.

This convicted Paramount Chief is a victim of missed justice due to missing pieces of important evidence and due process of laws that were never carry out. As a Liberian, I would like to appeal to the Minister of Justice, The Supreme Court of Liberia, The Human right Group, The people of River Gee County, family members of the Paramount Chief to seek a retrial in this case.

A crime was committed and an innocent man was killed and now another innocent Paramount Chief is being sentence to death without proven, justifiable evidence and due process. I hope the Higher Court in the land would accept his defense council appeal and allow a retrial that would subpoena and bring all evidence, those who participated in the initial investigation and those who were named in the initial investigation for a full trial. I hope the Ministry of Justice would help its field investigators gather all direct, circumstantial and forensic evidence surround the case. Until then, this Paramount Chief is a collateral victim of this crime. In an investigation and trial systems, the heart of a case is the presentation of evidence. Witness do lie, but the evidence don't.

Thanks for the space,

Randy Choloplay

Liberian Students Union in Egypt pleas to Unity Government at Home
December 18, 2006

We the Liberian students are faced with extreme hardship due to the failure of our  government in fulfilling her part of an agreement that was in the 70s. Students studying at Al-Azhar Mission should be benefitting from a bilateral scholarship agreement between the Government of Liberia and 
their Egyptian counterparts but over the years previous governments have not fulfill her part of the agreement.

We call on the Unity Party led government to come to our aid as we strive to get quality and better educations.Our monthly per diem is eighty seven Egyptian pounds (LE87.00) which is equivalent to fifteen United States Dollars (USD$15.00).This  amount is just not enough to provide transportation, books and essentials such as soap, toothpaste and food.

During the application process at the Ministry of Education, the Director of Scholarship; Mr. Mohammed M. Kiazolu told us that, it is a bilateral scholarship and that government will provide us with monthly allowance but that is yet to happen. It was stipulated on those forms given to us but quite interestingly our government is yet to fulfill her part of the bargain. Let it be made clear that, it is not only the Unity Party-led government but previous governments were not fulfilling their part of the agreement that started in the 70s. Since the inception of this bilateral scholarship program between the Government of Liberia and the Arab Republic of Egypt, our past governments were not committed to fulfilling their part as per the agreement. We also call on the government and other educational experts to re-visit the scholarship agreement between the two countries.

We are appealing to her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf  and her government to come to our aid if we are to achieve our goals and contribute to the development of our beloved mother land. The development of any nation depends on the  human resource of that nation. Another major problem we are faced with is that,our high school diplomas and West African Examination Council certificates are not been
accepted at colleges and universities in Egypt.We have been to the Egyptian Ministry of Education seeking admission but we were told that, there is no educational link between the two countries.If you were a high school graduate from Liberia to Egypt you will have to start from Elementary upward which is not in the interest of our educational system as a country.

We call on our government to re-visit the agreement  previously signed to allow us  study in both Arabic and English at other premier colleges and universities in Egypt instead of Al-Azhar Mission only.

We can be contacted through this e-mail: lsuinegypt@yahoo.com
Tel: +20107103578 and +20120364393.

A civil war victim take on corruption in Liberia
George Everett | August 28, 2006

Dear Friends,

If anyone ever sustained hurts during the crisis in Liberia, I am one. And one who should  lift up his hands for War Crime Tribunal, I should be one. But then I try to judge myself if this will bring an end to impunity. I wonder if people like Ellen Johnson, Amos Sawyer, Cyril Allen, and Tom Smith, church forget the last name, Charles Brumskine, etc who sparked up the war will be taken to the tribunal. Also we have all the self-imposed generals who dragged the conflict into ethnicity. I can foresee that those who sparked up the trouble that killed my daughter, my brother, my mother and my father will become the judges.

The best way we can resolve this issue is to forget it. TRC will open more wounds. War Crime Tribunal will be bias towards certain individuals. And so the best thing is to forgive one another.

I understand the frustration and the embarrassment of many Liberians. Why will the other generals remain at large and their Chief be in prison. They should also understand that Taylor being in the Jail cell today was not based on the crimes he committed in Liberia. He is in there because of the greedy diamond crimes he allegedly committed in Sierra Leone.

I tell you that there are some days when I think of going back to Liberia then the question comes to mind. Who am I going to? Yet we all have to go back and rebuild the segment in which we were born.

What I think we need in Liberia today is community empowerment through education and self-sustainability. The past leaders killed the country. They did not help rather they destroyed us. We should think of getting out of the shackle of depleting the nation's resources and going into
other countries to buy properties. I can name few leaders in Liberia who have properties in Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Morocco, and the Gambia, not to mention the US. Build other countries while Liberia remains underdeveloped. While the other nations are moving forward we should not move backward. The great US did not set up war crime tribunal
after their civil war. Nigeria did not and they all are moving forward today.

Why African Americans in the U.S.A don't respect us?

How good is Johnson-Sirleaf Administration 'First 150 Days' Report?

April, 2006 

The Liberian Government on Monday, April 17, 2006 issued a status report on what it called the "First 150 Days Action Plan." The strategic plan comprised of four major pillars, "each of equal importance", the document contends.

The four components include:

(1)           expanding peace and security,

(2)           revitalizing economic activity,

(3)           rebuilding infrastructure and providing basic services, and

(4)           strengthening governance and the rule of law.

The report is attached in pdf format. You can submit your comments and critics on the report through the Voiceofliberia website or via email Liberia4justice@yahoo.com

The Editor

Click here to download report 

My Disappointment over “the Taylor Arrest”

I am very disappointed over the arrest and turn over of Mr. Charles Taylor to a War Crime Court in Sierra Leone; for allegedly committing a crime against the people of Sierra Leone. My disappointment comes because Mr. Taylor and some eminent Liberians who are now enjoying the immunity of Political/Administrative positions in the present Liberian Government killed and brutally mutilated Liberians (more than two times) the amount of people killed in Sierra Leone.

If Taylor is to be tried I think it is only fair that he's judged for the atrocities he and the rest of Liberian Warlords commitment against the Liberian people and not for a crime committed in Sierra Leone. Let the Sierra Leonean Warlords be judge likewise for crimes they committed against their own people. If that is not the case I will assume that the UN and the International Community do not regard the lives of the Liberians who were killed by the senseless war Taylor and his supporters/financiers brought on the Liberian People.

Submitted by: Paul K. Kennedy

Washington, D.C. USA

Send your comments at Liberia4justice@yahoo.com

Who is J. Milton Teahjay to the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) of Liberia?

By: Paul K. Kennedy

Washington, DC, USA | January 7, 2006

Who exactly is Juojulue Milton Teahjay to the Congress for Democratic change, is he an Advisor or a mere "Gravy Seeker"??????

I am curious to know due to the numerous threatening remarks (with potential to break the fragile peace process in Liberia) Teahjay continues to make remarks that are often linked to the CDC,  by Liberians who may not know Teahjay's exact role and position in this party. I want an immediate response to this question from CDC, Monrovia and Teahjay himself of his exact role in the Congress for Democratic Change in Liberia. As his involvement with this party continues to label bad images that could destroy the good characters and visions of this noble organization and create civil disturbance to the fragile peace process in Liberia.

I will begin by giving applauds to Ambassador George Manneh Weah for a job well-done, (administering sound leadership within the CDC since his elections as this party’s standard-bearer). I was very glad when the Ambassador spoke these words; "I am pleased to announce that the CDC (Weah's party) will not exercise its option of taking the matter to the Supreme Court.”

Ambassador Weah is and has been a peace loving Liberian who has demonstrated this in several ways to the world, in his work as United Nations Peace Ambassador and most recently as a standard bearer of the Congress for Democratic Change, CDC of Liberia. In his everyday life, Ambassador Weah strives to promote peace, human rights and justice amongst humanity and not to promote violence of any kind.

When visions of the formation of a political organization came to us, we dreamt of an organization that would represent the interest of the Liberian people and not of ourselves; we dreamt of rebuilding the peace and stability once enjoyed by the Liberian people and not of creating conditions that would break peace arrangements or result into war; we dreamt of rebuilding the Liberian economy and empowering the Liberian people through the provision of economics, political and social services and not of accumulating personal wealth and enriching ourselves; more over, we dreamt of an organization that would promote peace, human rights and justice and not to promote violence amongst the Liberian people; and finally, we dreamt that our efforts, our time and our resources will contribute constructively to the development of our country's human and material resources, by creating a political arrangement that would fully participate in the policy making and administrative process in a transparent new Liberia and not destroy the human and material resources that are already very limited in our country.

In every stage of our dream, George Weah featured as a permanent icon and symbol required in fulfilling our typical Liberian Dream and that’s why we stood firmly around him in this process.  We've never imagine Teahjay anywhere in this dream, as he is a very corrupt and incompetent person who has aways aimed at jumping into political arrangement by making flaunt and rhetorical statements. I am very concern  because Teahjay wants to destroy CDC in the process of creating a scene that would make him a part of the Unity Party's Government; just as he displayed during the Taylor's Administration. We can not allow him to destroy the Congress for Democratic Change.

My involvement with CDC began sometimes in June of 2004, when some progressive young Liberians and myself residing on the Eastern Coast of the United States of America, specifically in the States of Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey and the District of Columbia, (Washington, DC) decided that it was now time for young people to get totally involved with the Liberian political process. Considering that, we as young people have never had our fair-share in political decision making in our country; though we are often victimized by decisions made on our behave. Over and again, we have seen the same group of people rotate in political positions to administer our nation's wealth; not considerate of young people who may have the qualification to participate in this process.

Liberia, coming from a 15-year civil war, which devastated all modern infrastructures including education and health care delivery mechanism; would required young people(who paid a higher toll of the civil crisis) to fully participate in the rehabilitation and reconstruction process in all aspects of the Liberian society, including policy making (the government). Upon this we decided that we as young people form a political organization that would represent us in the National Elections given that, we would not be considered or giving the opportunity to lead an already-existing political organization in the country. We proposed and began working on the formation of an organization to be called the “Liberian National Congress” setting the African National Congress, ANC of South Africa as a Model.

In the process of recruiting young people in Liberia and other parts of the world including the United States of America to implement our desired, we co-incidentally came across another “Liberian National Congress” already formed by some young and progressive Liberians in the State of Minnesota. We discussed our objectives with the organizing team of LNC, on the West Coast of the USA, at the time headed by Chairman Samuel D. Tweah and we both thought it was very necessary to have such organization unite as a common force against the political ill treatments we as young people have often suffered from the hands of re-cycled politicians in the Political Arena in Liberia. Chairman Tweah and I resolved to work together and I, Paul K. Kennedy, was named the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area Co-coordinator of the Liberian National Congress, at the time.

J. Milton Teahjay is not one of those names I remember seeing on the list of young architects and engineers who designed the model for the formation of CDC. How then did he become a member of this organization that we've carefully designed??

I have read multiple articles and heard of speeches made by Teahjay in Liberia, but my concern is, is he making these statements on behalf of CDC, if yes who's giving him the authority to do so? I shouldn't be asking this question to the Liberian people if I consider myself an organizing member of CDC. Instead I should be telling the Liberian people Teahjay exact role in CDC.

Therefore, I am writing this article to Mr. J. Milton Teahjay asking him to explain his role in CDC to the Liberian People; members of CDC and other colleagues who sympathized with our party. At this point, we are completely confused of how he Teahjay joined the CDC and have since become a major spokesman and decision maker of this party. We will decide further actions base on Teahjay's response to this article. As his remarks are raising concerns and have the ability to destroy the future of CDC as an organization and us as founding members.   

The Liberian Elections: Who to vote!

Saah Porter email: saahporter@yahoo.com| Fri October, 14 2005

Hi,

Thanks for your info. From the results we have seen so far, it appears that Liberians had a difficult time in choosing a new president. The preliminary results justify that majority of the voters could not come to a unanimous conclusion. As a result, each voter voted for his/her candidate base upon specific issues. For example, Mr. Weah supporters believe that he is not a member of the "old group Politicians," he understands the suffering of the common people, he has contributed to the development of the nation, he is a millionaire and therefore he is more likely to not engage in corrupting the nation’s wealth. For these reasons, they believe that his repetition shows that he is the best man for the job. Mrs. Sirleaf supporters see her as a unique character that can bring development to this devastated nation through her international experience and her economic skills.

Mr. Tubman supporters hold similar belief because of his United Nation reputation. In addition, Mr. Brumskine popularity as a lawyer and a well-known businessman has also attracted some of the voters. Ethnicity is another factor that has divided the voters. Mr. Koroma for example attracted many voters in Lofa County because of his ethnic affiliation with the Mandingoes. There are also others who attracted voter because of ethnicity reason. Finally, there are other reasons that prompted voters to vote for other candidates as where.

With these differences among voters, I perceive complications in the electoral process in the next couple of days. Weah who is now in the lead has been criticized for his academic deficiency. His main rival, Mrs. Sirleaf has also been blamed for supporting the war that killed many and wreck the nation’s economy. Others have been accused of waging war, which added insult to injury. Nonetheless, the remaining contestants who have not been accused of any major issues lack the support of the massive.

These factors above outline the complications that lie ahead of us in the coming weeks if no one candidate gets the fifty plus one majority vote for the presidency.
With this expectation, it is very important that Liberians all over the globe exercise patience and seeks remedies for what lies ahead of us in the next few days.

I am not concluding the final result, but I am anticipating that the electoral process will continue to the next stage base upon the results we have seen so far, and I assume that there will be some complications due to the division among voters and the volume of contestants.
My hope is that one candidate gets the number of votes needed for the presidency in the next few days. However, it is of very importance that we prepare for another plausible solution if our wishes are not met.