Monrovia — President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has warned Liberians not to allow a quarrel over Liberian refugees in Ghana to spill across the border.
In a major policy address delivered Monday, Sirleaf said the action of the Ghanaian government in quelling protests by Liberian refugees facing repatriation "should not be the basis for reprisals against Ghanaian citizens living as brothers, sisters, business partners and peacekeepers in our country."
In the same address, she acknowledged that high commodity prices were causing difficulty to Liberians and outlined the government's planned response.
The situation of Liberian refugees in Ghana has been a topical issue since they recently demonstrated in support of demands either that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) should increase tenfold their repatriation stipends, or that they should be resettled in a third country.
The reaction of the Ghanaian government to the protests, which included arrests, provoked emotional reactions in Liberia. It was therefore no surprise that Sirleaf made the issue a top priority in her address.
She said neither the refugees' demonstrations nor Ghana's harsh response could be condoned. "I talked to President [John] Kufuor [of Ghana], who responded positively to my appeal for moderation," Sirleaf said.
Conditions at the Bujuburam refugee camp in Ghana had returned to normal, she added. Refugees who had been relocated from the camp after the protests had now returned, and the UNHCR was once again in charge of the "staggered" process of repatriation to Liberia.
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A tripartite commission consisting of Liberia, Ghana and the UNHCR had been established to evaluate the repatriation process, she said. She also reminded Liberians that refugees from the country had enjoyed the hospitality of the Ghanaian government and people for more than 15 years.
On high commodity prices, Sirleaf said the government intended creating more jobs and increasing civil servants' salaries in the next fiscal year.
The president said the government had already taken several measures to reduce high prices, especially that of the country's staple food, rice, which currently stands at almost US$30 a bag.
She emphasized that high prices were a global problem outside the control of her government, but that it could nevertheless "do something on the domestic side to bring relief to our people."
She reiterated that a tax levied on the importation of rice into the country would be lifted. "Without this action," she said, "the price of a bag of rice will be more than the current official price of US$26 to $28 a bag."
However, she stressed, the real solution was that Liberians should grow their own food by making use of every available piece of land to plant food crops.
