Category Archives: Liberia

Face to face with Charles Taylor (Part 2)

Posted on 7 April 2009 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

(continued from April 6) It was to be expected that the defence would like to have all charges against former Liberian President Charles Taylor dismissed. His counsel, Mr Morris Anyah, argued in a lenghty submission that took all day (yesterday) … Continue reading →

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The Special Court for Sierra Leone – Face to face with Charles Taylor (Part 1)

Posted on 6 April 2009 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

He was impeccably dressed, wearing a double-breasted suit, a blue-silver tie and shaded, gold-rimmed glasses, each hand decorated with a big golden ring. When former Liberian President Charles Taylor entered the court room at 9:25 A.M. this morning, he cordially … Continue reading →

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Turmoil in the region

Posted on 3 March 2009 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Are we witnessing another period of political instability in West Africa? After the August 2008 military coup in Mauritania, overthrowing the democratically elected government of President Sidi Ould Cheick Abdallai, and the military coup in Guinea-Conakry following the death of … Continue reading →

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A glimse of Liberia in the 1950s

Posted on 18 January 2009 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

A good friend of mine sent me an interesting link to a 1958 movie of the visit of Prince Bernard of the Netherlands, the Prince Consort of Queen Juliana, to Liberia. The short movie, made for the Dutch National News … Continue reading →

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Good news: Debt relief for Liberia

Posted on 11 January 2009 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

>Monday, January 12    Last year Liberia obtained an important debt relief when in March it fullfilled a number of conditions under HIPC which cleared the way for an agreement with the Paris Club. The following month, Paris Club creditors … Continue reading →

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Will Guinea be next? After the death of President Lansana Conteh

Posted on 23 December 2008 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Today the death was announced of President Lansana Conte of Guinea-Conakry. President Conte, 74, died on Monday night after a protracted illness. He had ruled the country with an iron fist since 1984. The news of his death came as … Continue reading →

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Liberia: A Visit Through Books

Posted on 15 December 2008 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Two weeks ago I wrote about Matilda Newport – myth or reality, facts and fiction – and another previous post was on three Liberian women, Elma Shaw, Helene Cooper and Diana Taylor, who wrote three remarkable books on Africa’s oldest … Continue reading →

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Matilda Newport (1822) and the civil war

Posted on 1 December 2008 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Today, December 1, I had to think of Matilda Newport, a Liberian heroine. Generations of Liberians of all walks of life and every possible background have grown up with ‘Matilda Newport’. For over a century, December 1 was celebrated as … Continue reading →

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Nine Blogs and Three Books – The True Liberian Spirit

Posted on 20 October 2008 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

The civil war left more than 200,000 peope dead and made many more victims: wounded or disabled people, child-soldiers, orphans, who had to restart their lives, often struggling with a trauma caused by unforgettable cruelties. When President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf … Continue reading →

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Rape of a Nation

Posted on 5 October 2008 by Dr. Fred P.M. van der Kraaij

Today, by accident, I stumbled upon the magnificent website of Marcus Bleasdale, a former trader of interest-rate derivatives for the Bank of America, turned photojournalist. In 1998, after having won an award for being a rising young photojournalist, he worked … Continue reading →

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