Sirleaf Credits Bush for Ridding Liberia of Charles Taylor
22 March 2006
Warns Washington audience of "despot's" continued influence
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says President Bush was instrumental in freeing Liberia of Charles Taylor, whom she described in a speech in Washington as an exiled "despot" who still exerts "influence" on the struggling nation.
After a runoff election in November 2005, Sirleaf became the first elected woman head of state in Africa.
On March 21, Sirleaf spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington.
Sirleaf told the gathering of foreign policy specialists, "We made this visit essentially in response to President Bush's kind invitation, but to use that opportunity to thank him, to thank the U.S. government, to thank the American people for all that was done to support Liberia in its transition from war to peace.
"It took the courage of President Bush to actually put the pressure on that led to the process of change and took a despot into exile," she said.
During her visit to the United States, Sirleaf addressed a joint session of Congress and met with President Bush and other top U.S. officials. (See related article.)
At the CFR session she answered questions on various topics, including security and development.
Asked about the security situation in Liberia, Sirleaf said: "There's still pockets of discontent, persons who have lost power as a result of the election. We stand a chance of some insurgency," in part, she added, because "we still have the Charles Taylor issue and the influence which he continues to have on the country and the implications of that."
However, she quickly added, "But we believe that we've got enough going for us in terms of our commitment to the people, being responsive to their needs … that far greater numbers are on the side of peace and stability and that we can move the nation forward."
Asked about the current status of Taylor after her recent request to Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to release him from exile for trial by the International Criminal Court in Sierra Leone, Sirleaf said, "The process stands right now in the hands of the primary African leadership: the host of Mr. Taylor, President Obasanjo of Nigeria; the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States, President [Mamadou] Tandja of Niger; the current chairman of the African Union, [President Denis] Sassou-Nguesso of Congo-Brazzaville."
She added, "Liberia believes that this matter ought to be brought to closure, that we want to get on with the business of fulfilling our development agenda and responding to the needs of our people."
Sirleaf was asked about the assistance plan called the Government Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP), which is controversial because of a provision mandated by international donors calling for outside management of funds expended in the program. (See related article.)
Describing GEMAP as "a partnership arrangement," Sirleaf acknowledged: "It's a response to our own government, our transitional government's failure to manage our resources properly. It's a financial management mechanism, an arrangement to which we are committed."
She added, however: "GEMAP is a temporary arrangement. I should tell you that there is confidence in our own ability to manage our affairs, and it will come."
"If we did a 10-year development program, we'd say we need a billion dollars. But we also want to be pragmatic based upon our absorptive capacity, so that we take it progressively," Sirleaf said.
For more on U.S. policy, see Africa.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
