Liberia: You're Right Mr. President, But... - AllAfrica.com

U.S. president George Shrub gets in the state today at the caput of a high-power U.S. deputation to stop a five-leg circuit of Africa. We welcome him with the hope that he is here to do a particular lawsuit for Republic Of Republic Of Liberia vis-à-vis his place prior to coming.

He will be the peak U.S. leader to see Liberia for decennaries since President Jimmy Howard Carter sometime in the late 1970s. The President's visit to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Republic Of Ghana had raised hopes and there is no inquiry that it will raise even larger hopes in Liberia. The simple ground is that having locked itself in decennaries of ferocious civil warfare that proverb monolithic death, devastation of basic substructures and establishments and prompted monolithic encephalon drain, the country's economic system is in tatters. More than that, the state stays insecure and the nation's estimated three million population stay despairing for aid even with the presence of a robust international peacekeeping military unit and attempts by the U.S. and its allies revitalize the economy.

IT IS AGAINST this background plus more than that the U.S. President, unlike his predecessors who attempted to work out Liberia's jobs from a distance of disaffection, is visiting this Africa's oldest democracy that throws particular historical neckties to the U.S. and beholds it as its mentor. Unfortunately, the President may make very small for this hopeful population if we judge his visit from the warning he gave in his Valentine's Day computer address last Thursday in Washington. The President declared paternalism over! He then accused states that are trying to do available grants for Liberia's post-war development of "exploiting the continent's resources or irresponsibly offering assistance as charity". Finally, he hit place the point that possibly put the docket for his visit to Liberia: "America is serving as an investor, not as a donor." In other words, he have come up to state to the authorities and people of Republic Of Republic Of Liberia that the policy of restricting the freedom and duties of subsidiaries or dependants in their supposed best involvement no longer throws H2O in U.S.-Liberia relations. This also means, inch our view, that Liberia's best argument, which is that it was founded by U.S. philanthropists, sided with the U.S. in its way to greatness, and therefore rates that nation's particular favour and attending specifically during this clip of crisis and path-finding, hold's no H2O also!

BUT THE president did not bury to be a small spot ambiguous, perhaps for political reason: he remained emphatic that the United States still have a moral imperative mood and a critical security involvement in helping Africa defeat disease, poorness and instability. It is where the leader of the world's most functional economic system and democracy saw the necessity to stress America's moral imperative mood and critical security involvement that we derive a lawsuit for hope for Liberia.

WE AGREE THAT paternalism have outlived its utility especially where it aided marionettes and autocrats across Africa during the Cold War old age to stamp down and oppress its people into abject want and poverty. We also back up the United States' demand for "clear consequences for the millions of taxpayer dollars it directs to Africa". We salutation the state for revolutionizing the manner it nears development to Africa. This is because we understand the President's statement that "Too many states go on to follow either the paternalistic impression that handles African states as charity cases, or a theoretical account of development that seeks only to purchase up their resources. United States rejects both approaches." We therefore welcome the U.S. committedness to treating African leadership as equal spouses who must put clear ends and accomplish mensurable results.

BUT WE privation to remind the President that the equations and concretion of development and foreign assistance that inevitably fatten only the business relationships of the moneymen in development partnerships in Africa will not throw in the lawsuit of Liberia, if peace, justice, and stableness is America's wishing for Liberia. First, because the Republic Of Liberia have enormous, pressing economical and security necessitates that the United States cannot possibly divorcement from its avowed moral imperative mood and a critical security interest. With the nation's logging, mineral, and India rubber industries just freed from U.N. countenances to confront extended technical reappraisals and alteration of concessioner understandings some of which are shrouded in power-keg controversies, the niceties of Bush's new business-front attack will be a extravagance for Liberia. It is a extravagance that despairing Liberians will run out of forbearance waiting for. And holds are too unsafe for Liberia.

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WE ARE REMINDED that warfare that rocked the foundation of this democracy for more than that two decennaries is a warfare to convey the ends and aspirations of Liberians within hope's reach. President Shrub did not travel far from this world when, in mention to Zimbabwe's security problem, he said, "These are great security challenges, but there is even greater cause for hope." It is our hope that the U.S. leader will apparent that hope by taking a critical expression at Liberia's security because wicked makes not travel away simply because beleaguered authorities and their international spouses will it so. It makes when work force and women of committedness and madcap courageousness to salvage world - phone call that paternalism if you will -stand up and prehend the reign of panic at the minute of hope and expectation. For President Bush, it's now or never.

IT IS THEREFORE our hope that President Shrub will widen that hope to the billions of displaced Liberians who have got got nowhere to go back to; to the road-locked territories outside Monrovia, to the deprived population of Liberian Capital that misses everything from save-drinking H2O to power, and to billions of women, children, and the aged that have no entree to sound and low-cost wellness and education. The President's Malaria Program is a good lawsuit that may be expanded by supporting the Liberian government's wellness programme and interim poorness decrease strategy.

STAY AND DISCUSS well, Mr. President.