HON. NYENPAN TO ADDRESS SINOE CITIZENS IN THE U.S.

PHOTOS:

Hon. Mobotu Nyenpan

Senior Senator, Sinoe County

Madam Carley Jegbadai

President of USAA


The Senior Senator of Sinoe County , Hon. Mobotu Nyenpan is expected to deliver the Keynote Address at the upcoming United Sarpo Association’s Leadership Conference slated to take place in North Carolina, the United States of America.
According to a dispatch published by the Liberian Media & Advertising Services, Senator Nyenpan will address the Startegic Leadership Conference which will run from MARCH 2 - 4, 2007 at DAYS INN 3460 HILLSBOROUGH ROAD DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA.

CHIMPANZEE TERRORIZING VILLAGERS IN LIBERIA, KILLED 1 PERSON

CHIMPANZEE

Chimpanzee in Nimba County is said to be terrorizing residents of a local town in the county leaving one child dead.
According to a local radio station in Monrovia, quoting residents in the county, said the Chimpanzee has made many of the local villagers in the County to abandon their farms because.
A resident who spoke to journalists said this chimpanzee for the past weeks has been chasing people mostly women from their farms, taken away their babies.
The resident told reporters that the most recent one is a lady who and her friend were making their way to the farm Monday, were chased out by this deadly animal, taken away a nine year old child.
According to residents of the County, a massive search for this animal has been launched, “hundreds of well armed men were seen today moving into forests with the hope of catching or to kill the beast.
Meanwhile, county authority has called on residents to be mindful daily as they try to visit their farms.

U.N Bangladeshi Peacekeepers Reconstruct Roads In Rural Liberia

PHOTOS

FROM THE PROGRAMS

J. Cholo Brooks/From Ganta
The Force Commander of the United Nations Military Mission in Liberia, Lt. Gen. Chikadibia Isaac Obiakor has called on Liberians to cherish current peace being cemented by the international community and the UN backed Peacekeeping Force in the country.Speaking in the provincial City of Ganta, Nimba County during the official inauguration of a 3.5 miles road recently rehabilitated by the Bangladesh Multirole Engineers – 5 (BANENGR-5) in the County, Gen. Obiakor said Liberians should be grateful for the restoration of peace, stressing, “today is the dividend of peace and so there should be no more war.’Gen. Obiakor said once peace reigns, there will be more development in the country, and then called on all Liberians to supplement the efforts of the International Community and the UN.Speaking earlier, the Contingent Commander of Bangladesh Engineer-5, Lt. Col Md Nurun Nabi praised local authority of the County for been cooperative during the road rehabilitation process, concluding, Col. Nabi said the road project took fifteen working days before completion.For her part, the City Mayor of Ganta, Madam Nohn Tehsnonneh expressed thanks and appreciation to the Contingent for the level of support in the County, specifically in helping to rehabilitate damaged infrastructural as a result of the Liberian civil war.She called on the Force Commander to prevail on his men to help the city rehabilitate sixteen (16) streets in the City, adding, “if this is done the road now been inaugurated will be named in honor of the Force Commander,” Madam Tehsnonneh amidst cheers from the audience said.Following several remarks, the Force Commander who was led to the entrance of the newly completed 3.5 miles road, cut the ribbon which officially declared the road open to the public.
The road which was named Bangla Road was build due to the desire of the people of the County, especially those in that provincial city of Ganta to develop the infrastructure of the City. This road is a link road connecting Monrovia - Ganta Highway and GANTA-Tappita Highway bypassing the City of Ganta.
Some residents of the city who spoke to the GNN after the ceremony expressed happiness over the opening of a new road by the Bangladeshi Engineers UN Contingent, and thanked them for a “job well done”.
According the a prepared statement read by a member of the Contingent during the program said “total length of this link road is 3.5 km, having a width of 11.5 m, which is a two way unpaved road having 3.8 m foot walk both side. It starts from 3.2 km short of Ganta city from Gbarnga and finishes at Coffee House, LPMC, Ganta i.e. right in front of our base camp. This road opens the possibility of setting up new habitation along the road, it also widens the horizon of Ganta city and facilitates the passengers of Tappita to steer clear of ganta city on the way to the capital and vis-à-vis.” He said few Stages of Construction- Survey and Alignment of the road, Jungle clearance, Pilot cut, Preparation of Base, Filling and grading, Provision of drainage and finally Preparation of Foot walks.Given detail of the road he stressed, “ 12 men headed by Capt Hafiz took 15 days to materialize this project as well as 1 x Excavator,1x wheel dozer, 2x Track dozer,1x Motor Grader, 4 x Dumpers were also used.”Explaining further he said, “ Bangla road is a milestone for Ganta City development.

UNMIL Boss Assures Liberian of Security As He Decorates 118 Nigerian Female Peacekeepers In Liberia

Photo:Alan Doss

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Alan Doss, has assured Liberians of UNMIL’s determination to maintain the right security environment in Liberia for the government to concentrate on the task of rebuilding the country. Mr. Doss was speaking at a medal parade ceremony in Gbarnga, Bong County, when he decorated 118 peacekeepers of the 5th contingent of the Nigerian Formed Police Unit (FPU) with UN peacekeeping medals for their contribution to peace in Liberia.

“UNMIL will remain vigilant and ensure that Liberia’s national security is not compromised,” the UN envoy stressed. He added that UNMIL was working closely with the Government to combat crime in the country as well as some of the causes of crime such as unemployment. The Secretary-General’s Special Representative lauded the peacekeeping role of the Nigerian police officers. “Your daily activities of anti-crime patrols, cordon and search, riot dispersal operations, and rescue missions have greatly helped to bring stability and order to the country.”
Mr. Doss commended the Nigerian police officers on going beyond the call of duty and providing medical outreach services to many communities in their areas of operation.
Nigerian Police officers put up an impressive display of advance riot control techniques while on parade
The UN Envoy then reminded the Nigerian police officers and other UN personnel in Liberia to strictly abide by the Secretary-General’s policy of zero tolerance to sexual exploitation and abuse and to honour the trust that Liberians have in them. “As peacekeepers, we are present in Liberia to help its people to recover from the ordeal of conflict, not contribute to it,” he emphasized.
The Nigerian FPU, deployed to Central Liberia, is tasked with maintaining public order in Bong and Nimba counties and providing security back-up to the Liberia National Police in the region.
The Nigerian FPU Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police, Julius Okoro, expressed the readiness of his contingent to quickly respond to distress calls. He thanked the Liberian counterparts for helping them in the discharge of their duties. Nigeria had in the past participated in 11 UN peace missions and currently has peacekeepers in nine missions including Afghanistan, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ivory Coast.
The medal presentation ceremony was attended by senior UNMIL military and civilian officials including the UN Police Commissioner, Mr. Mohammed Alhassan, Nigeria Ambassador to Liberia, Mr. Eneije Onobu, the Inspector General of Police, Ms. Beatrice Munah Sieh, UNMIL’s new Director of Administration, Mr. Stephen Lieberman, Sector III Commander, Brig.-Gen. Ziaur Rahman, Bong County Superintendent Ranney Jackson, as well as local authorities and UNMIL representatives.

BEN DOSTE MARLO CALLS FOR GENDER BALANCE IN LIBERIA

Mr. Ben Dortesy Marlo, Spokesman of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has called on male students in the country to help provide equal opportunity for their female counterparts aimed at developing their potentials.
The former BBC Presenter said it is very important for male students especially at the level of the university to take the lead in developing their female counterparts.
The UNMIL Spokesman spoke recently when he served as keynote speaker at the installation program of the University of Liberia Senior Class held on the campus of the university.
Mr. Marlo said female students should be seen as partners in progress but not subjects as it has been done in the past.
“Women or girls should not be given jobs in return for sex”, the UNMIL Chief Spokesman stressed.
He also called on male Professors, Lectures and Teaching Assistants to create favorable conditions for the smooth learning of female students, adding, “when you educate a woman, you have educated a whole nation,” citing President Sirleaf as an example.
Females on the other hand, Mr. Marlo said, must not be the one to provoke their male counterparts through their dress codes and must first show responsible altitude and respect for their sex in order to receive similar in return.

CHINA TO RECONSTRUCT UNIVERSITY OF LIBERIA, AS WORLD BANK OFFICIAL EXPECTED

Photo:Chinese Ambassador to Liberia

Lin Songtian

The team of Chinese experts has arrived in the Country as guests of the University of Liberia to ascertain information and areas where China could assist the University, the country’s highest institution of learning.
Speaking to the GNN the delegation disclosed plans to construct the engineering, soil testing, and computer laboratories at the Fendell Campus of the University of Liberia.
The eight-man Chinese technical team comprised of Civil, Geological, Electrical and Architectural Engineers held an acquaintance meeting with the University Administration on the main campus of the University.
The head of the Chinese delegation, Lui Shao, Vice President and Senior Engineer at the Architecture Engineering Design Research in China said the projects is part of the Chinese Government’s commitment to assist the country in the area reconstructing the University.
According to the spokesman of the University of Liberia, Augustine Boakai, while the Chinese delegation in the country, will hold talks with relevant government agencies to adopt methodology aim at enhancing the project.

In a related development, a team of World Bank delegation is expected to arrive in the country next week as guest of the University of Liberia and several privately owned radio stations in the country. The team headed by its Senior Consultants, John Lafefe and Kofi Lawel.

Speaker Snowe Held Hostage, Was it Masterly Planned?

Efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis which engulfed the House of Representatives for almost a month now has again received a serious setback when hundreds of ‘would be supporters’ stormed the residence of the embattled Speaker, Honourable Edwin Melvin Snowe to prevent him from joining his colleagues at the Unity Conference Center.

Earlier the Speaker in his Wednesday called press briefing promised that he would join his colleagues (the minority bloc) at the Unity Conference Center in Virginia, outside the City of Monrovia in a bid to end the crisis in the legislature.

He told reporters that his decision to go to Virginia was not our of what he called “weakness” but a patriotic effort to end the crisis, following several appears from church leaders, youth and women groups and diplomatic circles.

The following day, the day he should have left for the Virginia meeting his house was surrounded and barricaded by hundreds of youth and women groups preventing him from leaving his house for the meeting.

The supporters mostly women and youths who converged at his residence and barricaded both gates to his house also threatened to smash his convoy if he attempted to come out of his house, the supporters insisted that they elected Speaker and as such he must obey their wishes.

The dramatic which lasted up to six hours yesterday surprised many, especially those in the diplomatic circles as normal activities were paralyzed due to the movement of the Snowe supporters in the Paynesville area.

Observers believed that this action on the part of Speaker Snowe’s supporters was said to be a master plan of the Speaker himself, “perhaps this whole thing was organized so that people will feel that Snowe is up to peace and that he wanted to attend the Virginia meeting, but was stopped,” a residents of Paynesville in a chat with the GNN said.

However, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Togbah Mulbah was at the Conference Center to join his colleagues. He told reporter that he was there in order to move the country forward through their deliberations on national issues.

As Speaker Agrees to Join Colleagues at Virginia Conference Center, Support Threatens to Smash his Vehicle

The Speaker of Liberia’s House of Representatives, Edwin Snowe and a handful of lawmakers have now agreed with majority members of the House to use the Unity Conference Center in Virginia outside Monrovia as temporary seat of the legislature.
The agreement was reached Wednesday when they met at the capitol building in Monrovia under the gavel of Speaker Snowe and passed a resolution accepting Virginia. Snowe and the minority have been sitting at the Centennial Memorial Pavilion rejecting the Virginia venue where majority lawmakers met recently and obtained 43 votes to remove him as Speaker.
During a brief news conference yesterday, Speaker Snowe said he and his minority group will attend session in Virginia this Thursday. It quotes Snowe as saying the move to Virginia should not be seen as a sign of weakness but strength to move Liberia forward.
The Speaker told the news conference that as much as he and his Monrovia colleagues were on the side of the law, they could not disobey the advice of prominent people.
He commended women groups, prominent people in the society, the U.S. government and traditional leaders for their efforts in resolving the crisis.
Upon his arrival in Virginia, Mr. Snowe is expected to preside over the session, in which many observers believe, lawmakers will again begin the process of removing him as Speaker. To do so, the legislators are expected to act in accordance with the due process of law, and as required by the constitution of Liberia.
A brief sampling of legal opinions conducted by senior writers and commentators of this website seem to indicate that the number of votes obtained recently to remove Snowe could shrink as a result of behind-the-scene maneuverings by the embattled speaker and his handful of followers. The legal implications of this latest move by the minority lawmakers and Speaker Snowe are not yet fully determined, but some Diaspora observers see it as a positive sign towards extinguishing the constitution tension and moving the country forward.

However, today promises to be a dramatic day in the ongoing crisis concerning embattled Speaker of the House of Representatives, Edwin Snowe. He was removed earlier this year by a majority renegade group because they said his actions brought the House in disrepute. But the Liberian Supreme Court ruled that his removal was illegal.

On Wednesday, Speaker Snowe met with the renegade members and decided that in the interest of peace and political expediency, he would join them Thursday at their meeting place outside the capital, Monrovia. Civicus Barsi-giah is leader of the youth of District Five, Speaker Snowe’s constituency. He said the citizens plan to barricade the Speaker’s house to prevent him from meeting with the renegade members.
“The Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives made a statement Wednesday on the national radio that he will be able to cross the bridge (Gabriel Tucker Bridge) to go and discuss issues with those renegades across the bridge, and we are saying no! It will not happen in the Fourth Republic because as far as we are concerned the Johnnie Lewis (Chief Justice) bench has given us justice that the Honorable Speaker is on the right side of the law. So he will not defy the right side of the law while he has been told that he is on the right side,” he said.
Barsi-giah said the renegade members should instead come to Speaker Snowe if they really want to resolve the matter. “In the interest of Liberia, then of course, they should be able to cross the bridge and value the rule of law because the rule of law has said that everything that will go on there will be illegal. We are not going there, and he will not go there.

We will barricade every area and every zone so that he will not be able to penetrate and go anywhere. We will make sure he stays in his yard and be kept hostage so that the rule of law will be respected in the Republic of Liberia,” he said.
Barsi-giah said the Supreme Court ruled that the speaker’s removal was illegal, and that the renegade members had violated the Liberian constitution.
“The Johnnie Lewis bench did us justice by prevailing and telling us that those across there referred to as the renegade and rebels had gone against and defied the constitution. Besides and above all, it said they had created an affront against the constitution, and because they had done that, there is a contempt charge hanging over them. And in fact, the president of the Republic of Liberia also will be charged for contempt for defying the law,” he said.
Barsi-giah said Speaker Snowe should not join the renegade members at their meeting place in Virginia, outside Monrovia, because he said the Supreme Court has already ruled that whatever the renegade members do there is illegal.
He reiterated that the constituents of District Five, which is represented by Speaker Snowe, intended to barricade the speaker’s house to prevent him from meeting with the renegade members in Virginia, outside Liberia's capital, Monrovia.his supporters have threatened to smash his vehicle if any attempt is made to go to the Virginia conference

FEATURE: Will Charles Taylor Get a Fair Trial?

Culled from New African Magazine
The trial of the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, is expected to begin in The Hague on 2 April 2007, but administrative and other bottlenecks have prevented his defence team from functioning properly.

The defence has not yet been given an office or even a correspondence address in The Hague, and it is threatening to pull out if no remedy is immediately found by the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) which transferred Taylor’s case to The Hague. Osei Boateng reports on a messy pre-trial period that has brought no honour to the international justice system.
With Saddam Hussein executed after what human rights groups have widely criticised as a “flawed trial”, which itself followed a similarly “flawed trial” of the former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague (Milosevic died before the prolonged trial was concluded), concerned voices have now been raised as to whether Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president, who is now in the custody of the ICC at its detention facility at Scheveningen (The Netherlands), will get a fair trial.
His defence team, led by the UK-based lawyer, Karim Khan, has threatened to walk out if certain pre-trial violations of Taylor’s legal rights and the lack of simple basic facilities and time to prepare his case are not immediately remedied.
“We have woefully inadequate resources and we will not take part in a charade unless matters improve,” says one defence team member. “Human Rights Watch [the US-based rights group] have criticised the Saddam trial and the operation of Milosevic proceedings. It seems as if no lessons are being taken on board by the SCSL and ICC, and they seem intent on making it a triumvirate of flawed trials.”

UN Bangladeshi Engineers Contingent Improves Liberia's Infrastructures, Dedicate 3.5 Road Project In Nimba

J. Cholo Brooks/From Ganta

The Force Commander of the United Nations Military Mission in Liberia, Lt. Gen. Chikadibia Isaac Obiakor has called on Liberians to cherish current peace being cemented by the international community and the UN backed Peacekeeping Force in the country.
Speaking in the provincial City of Ganta, Nimba County during the official inauguration of a 3.5 miles road recently rehabilitated by the Bangladesh Multirole Engineers – 5 (BANENGR-5) in the County, Gen. Obiakor said Liberians should be grateful for the restoration of peace, stressing, “today is the dividend of peace and so there should be no more war.’
Gen. Obiakor said once peace reigns, there will be more development in the country, and then called on all Liberians to supplement the efforts of the International Community and the UN.
Speaking earlier, the Contingent Commander of Bangladesh Engineer-5, Lt. Col Md Nurun Nabi praised local authority of the County for been cooperative during the road rehabilitation process, concluding, Col. Nabi said the road project took fifteen working days before completion.
For her part, the City Mayor of Ganta, Madam Nohn Tehsnonneh expressed thanks and appreciation to the Contingent for the level of support in the County, specifically in helping to rehabilitate damaged infrastructural as a result of the Liberian civil war.
She called on the Force Commander to prevail on his men to help the city rehabilitate sixteen (16) streets in the City, adding, “if this is done the road now been inaugurated will be named in honor of the Force Commander,” Madam Tehsnonneh amidst cheers from the audience said.
Following several remarks, the Force Commander who was led to the entrance of the newly completed 3.5 miles road, cut the ribbon which officially declared the road open to the public.

The road which was named Bangla Road was build due to the desire of the people of the County, especially those in that provincial city of Ganta to develop the infrastructure of the City. This road is a link road connecting Monrovia - Ganta Highway and GANTA-Tappita Highway bypassing the City of Ganta.

Some residents of the city who spoke to the GNN after the ceremony expressed happiness over the opening of a new road by the Bangladeshi Engineers UN Contingent, and thanked them for a “job well done”.

According the a prepared statement read by a member of the Contingent during the program said “total length of this link road is 3.5 km, having a width of 11.5 m, which is a two way unpaved road having 3.8 m foot walk both side. It starts from 3.2 km short of Ganta city from Gbarnga and finishes at Coffee House, LPMC, Ganta i.e. right in front of our base camp. This road opens the possibility of setting up new habitation along the road, it also widens the horizon of Ganta city and facilitates the passengers of Tappita to steer clear of ganta city on the way to the capital and vis-à-vis.”
He said few Stages of Construction- Survey and Alignment of the road, Jungle clearance, Pilot cut, Preparation of Base, Filling and grading, Provision of drainage and finally Preparation of Foot walks.
Given detail of the road he stressed, “ 12 men headed by Capt Hafiz took 15 days to materialize this project as well as 1 x Excavator,1x wheel dozer, 2x Track dozer,1x Motor Grader, 4 x Dumpers were also used.”Explaining further he said, “ Bangla road is a milestone for Ganta City development.