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Presidential and
Parliamentary Elections October 2005
Archive Issues and Articles
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DAKAR,
21 Dec 2005 (IRIN) - The UN Security Council took just four
minutes to unanimously extend bans on the sale of arms, diamonds
and timber for six to 12 months in post-conflict Liberia.
“The Security Council, determining that the situation in Liberia
continued to constitute a threat to international peace and
security, decided today [Tuesday] to renew its ban on the sale
or supply of arms, diamonds and timber,” read the statement.
The arms embargo will remain in place for a further 12 months,
while bans on the sale of diamonds and timber will stay in place
for six months. Travel bans on individuals identified by the UN
as a threat to peace in Liberia will also remain in plcae until
June 2006.
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Taylor's
grand scheme exposed:
The
Analist April 26, 2005
The Washington Post April 25, 2005:
A Protected Friend of Terrorism:
The
Bush administration is touting the rule of law and
democracy as priorities in its effort to create stability
and defeat terrorism. Yet it remains curiously apathetic
about the activities of one of the world's most notorious
indicted war criminals, a man who is also an abettor of al
Qaeda and Hezbollah. I am speaking of former Liberian
president Charles Taylor, who has not only escaped
answering for his crimes so far but who may be given an
opportunity to repeat them if the United States does not
act.
(Douglas Farah)
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We are taken
aback!
"Mr. James Fromoyan, Co-Chairman of NEC, disclosed that the commission was facing a number of obstacles that may mar the smooth conduct of the October polls.
(...)
he lamented the delay in the procurement of electoral materials which is supposed to be undertaken by UNMIL.
(...)
The lack of logistics at this point of the implementation of the NEC guidelines and timetable must be a cause for concern that must force NEC and those responsible for logistics and funding back to the drawing board. In Accra, it was clear that a free,
fair, and transparent election paid for, supervised, and certified by the United Nations, and the donor and human right communities is the only vehicle that will take Liberians back to civility, peace, and democracy.
(...)
One thing is clear, and we demand it: No one shouldcontemplate a replay of 1997 for God's sake, if not for the sake of humanity. The Liberian people are human beings; they are not guinea pigs for today's dollar diplomacy that emphasizes employment for individuals who have very little or no regard for the sanctity of human life. Like we said in our previous editorials, those who pledged to fund this election must buckle up and stop relying on the widow's mite of the NTGL that is struggling to hold its balance.
Another thing is the election we are talking about is not a mere chit in a calendar of events; it is the finale and the deciding fact between stability and continued chaos in Liberia. Do you remember Somalia, Uganda, Angola, and Burundi after their post-
war elections? Well their stories are more than instructive for Liberia."
More: The
Analyst
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Dr.
Amos Sawyer, former
interim president calls for the postponement of the
2005 Elections - pleads for the extension of the term of
the Gyude Bryant interim government (August 2004). More
'I do not
think Mr. Sawyer's call is in the interest of Liberia at
this time.' - Mr. Nat
Galarea Gbessagee former high ranking civil servant,
Liberia (September 2004). More
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Liberia could have at least 26 registered political parties before the
October 2005 General and Presidential Elections. Already there are 18
registered political parties in the country and more than 30
presidential candidates, including George
Weah.
The National Elections Commission (NEC)
says it has received applications from about ten additional
proposed political parties. The growing number of parties is a
cause for concern; there have been calls for the
reduction of political parties as well as the number of presidential
aspirants taking into consideration the size and population of
Liberia. (Elca.org)
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The United Nations Security Council has renewed all its trade sanctions on Liberia, extending a ban on timber exports until after the country's first post-war elections in October 2005, but raising the possibility that a ban on diamond exports may be lifted beforehand.
Its ban on arms exports to Liberia was extended for a further year.
More: AllAfrica.com
After determining that Taylor's government had backed rebels in Sierra
Leone, the Security Council approved arms and diamond embargoes and a travel ban in May 2001.
In May 2003, the council approved a one-year extension of the arms and diamond embargoes and the travel ban. It added a new ban on the timber trade which took effect
July 2003. Still in June 2004 the UN
Security Council decided that peace is still too fragile to lift
sanctions.
More:
JCK
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