13 December 2005
(Page 2 of 2)
We want to see how [charitable] foundations can support some of our repatriation efforts and getting communities back at the farms and working again. There is so much that we think will put Liberia on the right track, and we know that the key to all of this is our own performance, both in terms of policy and in terms of management of our resources. We are confident that if we do our part, we will get the support from the United States, the European Commission, the United Nations.
More importantly, we need support in restructuring and professionalizing the security forces, because we will not be able to move forward with our development agenda unless the nation is secured. Those are the areas we are having discussions on right now. We have had discussions with the west African leaders. Ecowas and the African Union are very supportive of our efforts. We have also had some talks with the European Commission, while I was in transit, and now with the United States. I feel very confident that, if we do the right things, we will get the support that we need.
You were well received in west Africa. How does regional cooperation fit into your plans?
That is very important. We must have the support and understanding of our neighboring countries to make sure that regional stability is secured. Then there is the whole issue of regional cooperation, being able to work with the Ecowas [Economic Community of West African States] secretariat, [Ecowas Executive Secretary] Dr. Mohammed Chambas and his people who are promoting regional integration. We want to come up with common economic programs to improve the mobility of goods and services across borders and thereby create the economies of scale and the potential to attract private investment on a regional basis in those cases where domestic markets are quite small. I am grateful I was well received by the African leaders, and I think we are going to have clear understanding as to how we can get the countries working together to achieve these regional development objectives.
Are you confident that the region has turned the corner on conflict, which has created so much pain and destruction in recent years?
No. The peace is still extremely fragile in Liberia and in the sub-region as well. We have pockets of disenchanted elements in the society that have not accepted the fact that the Liberian people have given us a mandate for change. They haven't accepted that the Liberian people want to move forward. These elements like the status quo. They have a vested interest in seeing the current situation remain in place, and we know they are going to try to do things to undermine the potential and the progress that we are setting in train.
We are not out of the woods yet, but we have to take all action with the support of our regional partners and the international community, including the United Nations mission in Liberia, to address those pockets of discontent. We will try to reach out to them in a positive way and get them to see the benefit for joining in the development effort. But in those cases where they remain very recalcitrant, then they will have to be identified, to deal with it, so that the nation's progress is not impeded.
One issue you are facing is what to do about Charles Taylor. There are strong voices here in the United States calling on you to request his extradition from Nigeria, so he can be tried by the Special Court in Sierra Leone, where he has been indicted for war crimes in connection with the civil war in that country.
Let me say that in the consultations that I have had recently with the African leaders and European leaders and now the United States, we are going to find a solution that resolves the Charles Taylor issue. I think we should leave it at that for now. Proper solutions that meet African leaders' requirements as well as the international community's requirements will be found, and we will deal with it.
So you feel that you can move forward, despite the effort of George Weah and his supporters to contest the election outcome?
The Liberian people have given us a mandate for change, a mandate to set our country on the road to respectability, to peace, reconciliation and development, and we should all continue to be committed to that goal, despite the distractions that are taking place. I am convinced that the Liberian people, with the support of the international community will move on and will see progress in a very, very short period of time.
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