|
|
Liberia: President Sirleaf Urges African Union to Denounce Zimbabwe Election Results
 |
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Liberia Government (Monrovia)
2 July 2008
Posted to the web 2 July 2008
Sharm el Sheikh
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has called on the African Union to pronounce the June 27th elections in Zimbabwe as not credible and declare the results unacceptable, if the Union is to maintain its credibility.
The President spoke today during the 13th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, when she made her intervention to colleagues during a closed session. She said the international community should work with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to find a permanent solution to the situation in Zimbabwe. She put forward Liberia as a case in point, saying the 1985 election was endorsed by Africa and the world, which frustrated the true will of the people of Liberia and subsequently engendered a fourteen year civil war that left over two hundred thousand persons dead. The Liberian leader called on the African Union to be courageous to say that 'all is not well in Zimbabwe' and that the request by SADC for a postponement of the June 27 Zimbabwean elections should be heeded.
The President reminded Summit participants that the African Union Observer Mission declared the June 27th elections fell short of the accepted AU standards, and that this was a similar position taken by the Pan African Parliament and the United Nations Security Council. She urged Summit participants to take a firm stance as well: 'All these persons and institutions cannot be wrong, cannot be conspiratorial as we may be made to believe,' she stressed. President Johnson Sirleaf also emphasized that the call for a peacekeeping mission in Zimbabwe is not realistic, adding that it may be necessary for SADC, in concert with the African Union Peace and Security Council, to put in place some civilian peace monitors who might constitute an early warning system in order to monitor and prevent further escalation of the crisis. She finally called on the AU be consistent with the standards it promotes.
The 13th AU Summit ended with its Chairman and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete giving a summary of what the leaders had achieved during their two-day deliberations. President Kikwete said the leaders of Africa had shown what he referred to as 'the cause of Africa.' He said they had discussed the pivotal issue of water and sanitation and agreed on how best to proceed as well as manage scarce resources and scale up consumption in the water sector.
He further revealed that the leaders had discussed the global food crisis and have received commitments from multilateral organizations on ways in which they can assist in alleviating the crisis. The AU Chairman added that the Union discussed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and launched a landmark consensus report on how to achieve the benchmarks in Africa. He said the report states that Africa is now only half way in achieving the MDGs by 2015.
President Kikwete also revealed that the leaders had a lengthy discussion on the way forward towards a Union Government of Africa, adding that an implementation of the process should commence by the next Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2009. He said the Union looked at its conflict areas on the continent and commended the AU for its work in restoring peace in Kenya. President Kikwete also said the leaders had discussed what he referred to as 'a way forward on Zimbabwe' as well as the progress made in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). The AU Chairman then characterized the Sharm El-Sheikh gathering as a landmark Summit and declared its adjournment.
|
President Johnson Sirleaf has left Egypt at the end of the AU Summit for the United States for a private visit. She is scheduled to return to Liberia next week.
Which country is next? My advice to those who did not denounce Zimbabwe election are missing out from thousands of dollars being handed out for saying so. In fact, it is a pity those African governments who pretend standing up for the well being of Zimbabwe people are doing business by shouting out and get the hand-out at the expense of Zimbabwean people. How sad!
So the government of a country=the populace of that country?
Maybe the reason why some countries are urging a rejection of the run-off is because they would dislike a neighboring incentive to return to their own violence-marred pasts.
Plus, no matter that they were ruled by chronic authoritarian kleptocrats or the more liberal minority of governors, they were getting hand-outs from the EU member states and the U.S. before this crisis occurred, so why would an outcry from countries like Kenya, Botswana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Zambia engender a spike in those hand-outs?
I could see conditions on foreign aid... [Read Full Text]
I think President Sirleaf is right on this and the previously writer does not know what he/she is talking about. Despite milatary rule in the early 80s in Liberia, we were a very peaceful country. However, when African leaders remain silent in the face of gross election and human rights violation, the result is what happened in Liberia. Greater than 200,000 killed and scores of others displaced (Liberia's population in 1985 was 2.5Million). We in Africa should stop blaming the west for the ills brought on our people by rulers like Mugabe, Taylor, Doe, etc. I think it... [Read Full Text]
I don't believe anyone is blaming the west for Africa's ills. But if any does they have a strong reason for doing so. Take for example Zimbabwe, These white settler came to this country and forcibly take the land of these africans and have them lead a very difficult life. If the president decides to right the wrong that were done to these people, is that not justics? But most african leaders like sirleaf are agents of the west. They will always do what the west ask of them. SHAME ON THEM ALL. LONG LIVE COMRAD... [Read Full Text]
I am replying to a comment about how white settlers have ruined life for Africans. Africans should clearly realize that the truth of the matter is that there was ZERO development in sub-Saharan Africa before the white man came here. Secondly, when one witnesses how African people treat their own kind one is tempted to think that life was actually better under white rule! Isn't it ironic that the Nigerian government has welcomed white Zimbabwean farmers into Nigeria to farm the land. No prizes for guessing why! And NO, I don't support apartheid at all, but we all need... [Read Full Text]
I strongly desagree with the idea that Mugabe did not win the election.and there is a reason for him to dislike the white.Sarlif is blaming Mugabe because is in the good box with America.Mugabe idea of taking the farm back was a good one, since it gives power to the black.Today the crisis in Zimbabwe does not mean Mugabe is unable to lead, but it is due to the presure of the outside.They want all the people to see that mugabe is the one behind the crisis while they are the one trying to detroy the economy.Mugabe is the only... [Read Full Text]
I am still waiting for the power Mugabe gave to the BLACKS after taking the land from the WHITES. We are so shortsighted that we can kill our own people for our own selfish interest and go ahead blaming others. If Mugabe was truly that Nationalistic, why did he give more than 70 percent of the land to his cronies- some of whom have never-ever-visisted the land. If this so much touted land is actually the basis of ZIMBABWE's crisis, why is Mugabe not feeding his own people today.
Have you ever sat down and asked yourself why Mugabe only... [Read Full Text]
Agray, I was saying that I agree with Johnson-Sirleaf. I was pointing out what you mentioned concerning Liberia's history since 1980.
But what I was simply saying about hand-outs was that most African economies are shattered or barely sustainable because of either civil war or lack of viable natural resources within their own borders to market to international buyers, thus it makes sense to maintain favorable conditions for foreign aid.
However, I think that to make one's foreign aid donors a reason for why one speaks against another country's policies is a logical fallacy, similar to an ad hominem (or... [Read Full Text]
Agrae doesn't understand the tactics and economics of a control freak. Do you have a control freak in your life? I am sure you do not eat with them on the same table. If you do, just constantly controlled??
Agray I mean.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Liberia Government. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
