Society-Legislature Senate Split Over President Sirleaf’s Letter By Winnie Dixon MONROVIA, October 10 (LINA) –The Liberian Senate is split over a communication from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf seeking the body’s endorsement for additional powers to fight the Ebola virus in keeping with the current State of Emergency. The Senate had set Thursday, October 9, to discuss the letter President Sirleaf sent on October 1, when a second communication from the President dated October 8 outlining reasons for wanting extra emergency powers, was also received by the upper House. After the two communications were read in plenary by the Secretary of the Senate on Thursday, several senators decided that the President’s request be rejected, while a others appealed for consideration of the document. Senators Isaac Nyenabo of Grand Gedeh, Frederick Cherue of River Gee, John Ballout of Maryland and Sumo Kupee of Lofa counties, were among the lawmakers who opined that the Presidents request be granted. According to them, their plea was based on the August 8 Joint Resolution adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives, which acknowledges the outbreak of Ebola and its spread as a clear danger to the state and its people. They said under the circumstances the president should be granted extraordinary powers within existing agreements to provide other measures for the containment of the virus. They stressed that in the President’s formal request for the first emergency powers, she stated that the list of all the emergency powers required to contain the further spread of the virus was not yet exhausted, and would have informed the body of additional measures when necessary. The Senators further argued that added powers to the existing ones pose no danger to the citizenry, as the present emergency in the country demands tough measures, adding, “There is no danger, manipulation, plot or conspiracy in the president’s decision to deal with difficult times as this.” But, Senators Alphonso Gaye of Grand Gedeh, Peter Coleman of Grand Kru, Geraldine Doe Sheriff of Montserrado, George Tengbeh of Lofa, Sando Johnson and Lahai Lassanah of Bomi, Nyonblee Kangar Lawrence of Grand Bassa, Dallas Gueh and J. Jonathan Barney of River Cess, Jewel Howard Taylor of Bong, Mobutu Vlah Nyenpahn of Sinoe counties, among other senators, argued that there was no need for such power to be granted the President. According to them the main topic that needs redress apart from current Ebola crisis is Article 83, and not Articles 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 24. They said while they appreciate the spirit of coordination in government, any attempt by them to alter any portion of the Constitution as requested by President Sirleaf, especially Article 1, will pose danger to the country. Article 1 of the Liberian Constitution states that all power is inherent in the people who have the power to alter the manner, “one man, one vote, secret ballot” through the process of referendum. According to them, Articles 13, 14 and 15 which deal with religion, free movement and freedom of speech, were part of the August 8 resolution, and need no further stringent measures, while 12, 17 and 24, dealing with labor, assembling, and private property, are delicate matters that form part of the judicial jurisdiction. After several hours of debate on the floor, the body could not come up with a concrete decision, as they were seen in groups chatting about the way forward, until a motion for adjournment was made at 7:45p.m. It can be recalled that President Johnson Sirleaf wrote the Legislature on October 1, followed by a clarification letter on October 8, in quest of more emergency powers to sustain the State of emergency, with Articles 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 24 being areas to effect some changes. LINA WTD/PSN/TSS/PTK/JKW Politics-Elections-Landgren UN Envoy On Presidents Suspension Of Senatorial Polls By Prince Nagbe MONROVIA, October 10 (LINA) -The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Karin Landgren, has said the proclamation by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf suspending the October 14, 2014 Special Senatorial Election has given Liberians clarity on the matter. According to Landgren, keeping the public informed of the options under consideration will reduce uncertainty and speculation. The UN envoy noted that the proclamation by the Liberian leader is in line with the National Elections Commission (NEC) recommendation, which was prompted by the Ebola epidemic and the State of Emergency. According to an UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) press release, Madam Landgren made the statement at a press conference she hosted Thursday in the conference room of UNMIL at the Pan-African Plaza in Sinkor. “I remain confident that Liberia will move forward in addressing the timing and manner of these elections in a way that best serves the interests of the country and its people,” Landgren pointed out. In her proclamation, President Sirleaf requested that NEC consults with a broad range of stakeholders, including political parties, independent candidates, civil society organizations, as well as national and international health authorities to determine the way forward, including finding a new date for the Senatorial Elections. LINA PSN/TSS/PTK/JKW Ebola-Islam- Quarantine Muslim Cleric Links Quarantining to Islamic Teachings By Wilfred Gortor MONROVIA, October 10 (LINA) - The Chairman of the National Muslim Council of Liberia, Sheik Kafumba Konneh, has said the Muslim community sees quarantining as a mandate “deeply rooted” in the teachings of Islam intended to keep the land safe from further infection. “If you heard that there is a plague in a land, do not enter it, and if a plague visits a land while you are there, do not go out of it,” Sheik Kafumba Konneh recited a quotation from the Quran. The Muslim Cleric made the statement at the Ministry of Information regular daily Ebola press conference on Thursday. Sheikh Konneh, who also provided a research analysis about quarantine, told journalists that according to Wikipedia, the word originates from an Italian word called quaranta giorni, which means forty days’. According to him, quarantining was practiced as a measure of disease prevention related to the ‘Black Death’ of 1348 AD, which wiped out an estimated 30 percent of Europes population, and a significant percentage of Asias population. According to the Cleric since the declaration of Liberia’s independence, the country has never experienced a disease outbreak of this scale and, as such, every Liberian should apply more energy to fighting the virus as well as adhering to measures put in place by authorities. He said religious principles should not only be practiced or upheld when people enter the Church or Mosque, but it should also be applied during every aspect of human existence, “especially when we need it most to survive.” “Health workers have told us that the virus has no known cure, but we can all say that the only available cure that we know is ‘prevention.’ So, when people are isolated from others in an effort to fight the disease, I think people should accept the conditions,” Konneh emphasized. Meanwhile, Sheikh Konneh said the Muslim Council of Liberia has agreed to a decision reached by the International Muslim Council prohibiting Muslims of Liberia from traveling to Saudi Arabia until the epidemic subsides as it is in accordance with the Quran. LINA WSG/PSN/TSS/PTK/JKW Health-Ebola-Campaign NGO Conducting Ebola Awareness With Health Centers By D. Ignatius Roberts, Grand Cape Mount County Correspondent ROBERTSPORT, October 10 (LINA) -The international NGO, Medical Teams International (MTI), a partner of the Grand Cape Mount County Health Team (CHT), is conducting an Ebola prevention campaign with 32 health facilities in the county. This was disclosed by the MTI representative, Oretha Paye, at the County Ebola Task Force coordination meeting held in Sinje Town Wednesday. She said the campaign is intended to empower health workers to perform their functions with professionalism in the interest of the people. The MTI official indicated that they are also conducting Ebola sensitization and prevention campaigns in towns and villages in the county. According to Ms Paye the sensitization program has so far covered over 90 towns and villages in Porkpa District. Madame Paye, however, said bad road condition is hampering the smooth functioning of MTI, noting that they cannot reach certain villages and towns that are not accessible by vehicles and motorbikes. She pledged MTIs commitment to provide 100 gallons of fuel monthly to the county health team to enhance its capacity in the fight against Ebola. LINA DIR/TSS/JKW Society-Penalty EU Remains Opposed To Capital Punishment MONROVIA, October 10 (LINA) – As nations observe World Day against the Death Penalty on Friday, October 10, member states of the European Union (EU) have noted that no execution has taken place in their respective countries for the past 17 years. On the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, the European Union and the Council of Europe reaffirm their strong and absolute opposition to capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances, and their commitment to its worldwide abolition,” an EU release said. The Union regretted the position adopted by other countries in subscribing to the protocol on the abolition of Capital Punishment. “We are deeply concerned about setbacks in some countries, such as recent mass trials leading to a vast number of death sentences, the extension in domestic legislation of the scope of the death penalty use, or the resumption of executions after a period of several years,” the release said. The EU and Council of Europe added that they welcome the fact that all Member States of the European Union have now ratified both Protocols 6 and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, and urged all other European States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify these instruments that are aimed at abolishing the death penalty. They welcomed the recent steps taken by the African Union towards the adoption of an additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Abolition of the Death Penalty, the release added. The two bodies also welcomed the recent ratifications of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 15, 1989, aimed at the abolition of the death penalty, which have brought the number of States Parties to eighty-one. They encouraged all states which have not yet done so to ratify this protocol on the occasion of its 25th anniversary in 2014. LINA GDJ/TSS/PTK/JKW Society- Court Judge Orders Release of Accused Murderer From Jail By Comfort M. Johnson MONROVIA October10 (LINA) –Tarpeh Davidson, an accused murderer who was jailed at the Monrovia Central Prison for five years without trial, is now a free man. Davidson’s release Thursday was the result of a judicial order prompted by a defense motion to dismiss the murder charge against the defendant due to the prosecution’s failure to pursue the case, according to the Liberia News Agency. In his judgment, Judge Johannes Zlahn of the Criminal Court “A” at the Temple of Justice ordered the clerk of court to prepare a release in favor of Davidson from further detention at the Monrovia Central Prison. It can be recalled that Davidson was arrested by police on August 9, 2009 for allegedly killing his friend, whose name was not disclosed, and was incarcerated at the Monrovia Central Prison for five years without trial. Predicated upon the above, his defense team, led by Tobey Raynes, on September 30, 2014, filed a motion to dismiss the case due to the failure of the prosecution to proceed with the indictment that led to the detention of the defendant. In his ruling, Judge Zlahn said “the Executive Branch of government has deprived the defendant of his liberty, rights and privileges without due process of law and has acted illegally,” noting that he must forthwith release the defendant from further detention.” He added: “All civil rights, constitutional and statutory rights and privileges denied the defendant are hereby immediately restored.” LINA CMJ/JGT /TSS/PTK/JKW Society-Donation Pres. Sirleaf Turns Over Two Vehicles To Nimba Health Team By Wellington G. Patrick, LINA Nimba County Correspondent SANNIQUELLIE, October 9 (LINA) –President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has turned over two vehicles donated by a concessionaire to the Nimba County Health Team (CHT) to enhance the fight against Ebola in the county. Turning over the vehicles Tuesday, October 7, at the G.W Harley Hospital in Sanniquellie, President Sirleaf said the vehicles are among several gestures from the government and its partners to help eradicate the Ebola virus from the county. Jonah Capital is a company prospecting for minerals in Gbehlay Geh Statutory District in Electoral Districts #4 and 5. Receiving the keys to the vehicles, the CHT head, Dr. Collins Boah, thanked Jonah Capital and the Liberian Government for the logistical support, noting that such support will help address major constrains hindering the smooth operation of the County health Team. LINA WGP/GDJ/TSS/PTK/JKW Politics-Brown ‘Nation’s Interest Bigger, Paramount Over Personal Concerns’ - Brown By Prince Nagbe MONROVIA, October 9 (LINA) – Information Minister Lewis Brown has said the national interest is “bigger and paramount over any personal or partisan concerns,” and Liberians can only pursue the bigger interests of the nation. Brown pointed out that former Justice Minister and However Attorney General Tah’s resignation was based on “personal interest.” He noted that though the former Minister “may be deeply bitter and angry “It is easy to ask others to show respect for the decisions of the courts when they fall to the sword of its judgments but as leaders, we must also demonstrate public respect for the decisions of the courts when we fall to its judgments,” Brown also said. He made the statement at the Ministry of Information regular press conference in Monrovia on Thursday was in reaction to assertions made by ex-Justice Minister Cllr. Christina Tah at a press conference upon in her resignation, claiming that the Supreme Court’s decision to suspend her license was a “parody of justice.” According to Brown, since the suspension of Tah’s license by the Supreme Court for six months, the “former Minister of Justice has been bitter and angry” with the Supreme Court and the President. According to the Information Ministry boss, Cllr. Tah also claimed that her counsels were “browbeaten into offering an apology to appease the judiciary, something, she said, brought her hard-earned professional skill and credibility into question. ry”, the good was best served in preserving the sanctity of the Supreme Court from presidential interference, “something which may prove to be among the finest moments of this administration and a proud legacy for the institutionalization of the rule of law.” Brown emphasized that it is sad for the former Justice Minister who superintended the rule of law by her own skill of justice for nearly six years to measure the rule of in her resignation to her own safety and freedom. He quoted the former Justice Minister as saying “What is the ‘rule of law, if a duly appointed Minister of Justice with oversight for security has grave concerns about what her volitional resignation will mean for her own personal security and freedom as a Liberian citizen?” The Information Ministry boss told journalists at the press conference that the government welcomes the decision of the former Minister, knowing that “leadership is not about how much power we can each muster, or how much control we can each command.” LINA PSN/GDJ/TSS/PTK/JKW Politics-Legislature-Election Legislature Adopts Joint Resolution To Postpone Senatorial Polls By Hilary Vasco Wiagbe MONROVIA, October 10(LINA) - The Liberian Senate and House of Representatives have adopted a joint resolution on Article 83(a) of the Liberian Constitution to postpone the October 14, 2014 Mid-term Senatorial Election. Article 83(a) of the Constitution provides for the conduct of a Special Senatorial election every 9 years. The Liberia News Agency (LINA) reports that the Legislature signed the resolution on Friday, October 10, 2014, at its First Special Sitting of the Extraordinary Session at the Capitol Building in Monrovia, describing the postponement of the election as a further measure by the government to stop the Ebola virus from spreading. They noted that the decision to postpone the election is triggered by the fact that the environment for the conduct of free and fair elections in Liberia remains “impracticable” due to the outbreak of the Ebola disease. In the Resolution, the First Branch of government mandated the National Elections Commission in consultation with stakeholders to set a new date to conduct the Special Senatorial Election not later than December 20, 2014. LINA HVW/GDJ/TSS/PTK/JKW Society- Gov’t-Clarification Govt. Debunks Report Of Island Clinic Closure By Richard Stephens MONROVIA, October 10 (LINA) -The Government of Liberia has described as untrue and misleading information that Island Clinic on Bushord Island in Monrovia has closed down its operations due to the lack of logistics. Making the clarification, Deputy Information Minister for Public Affairs, Isaac Jackson, said though there are some challenges at the Clinic that need to be tackled quickly, the Officer-in charge, Dr. Augustus Quiah, has informed him that the Clinic remains fully operational. Addressing the Ministry of Information regular press briefing in the Charles Gbenyon Press Hall Friday, Minister Jackson disclosed that the Island Clinic on Tuesday discharged 60 Ebola survivors and is expected to discharge additional 40 persons on Friday. Jackson said that the government and its partners were tackling the challenges to ensure that the health center remains functional. The Deputy Information boss has, meanwhile, emphasized the need for media institutions to form a partnership with the government by reporting factual stories that would enable the nation to overcome the Ebola epidemic. LINA RS/GDJ/TSS/PTK/JKW Health-Ebola-UNMIL UN Envoy Pledges Support To Build ETU In Bassa Johnson Liway, LINA Grand Bassa County Correspondent BUCHANAN, October 10 (LINA) -The Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Karin Landgren, has pledged the UN’s support to the construction of an Ebola Treatment Unit in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County. Addressing a meeting with the Grand Bassa Ebola Task Force at UNMIL compound on Thursday, Landgren said there is a need for such a treatment center, assuring that “UNMIL will do everything in that direction.” The UN Special Representative’s visit to Buchanan was to familiarize herself with the work of the Ebola Task Force during which she praised the group for its effort in containing the Ebola virus. The visit also took the UN official to the offices of the Bassa Women Development Association (BAWODA) and the Liberian Government Hospital. “We are very impressed, we’ve seen the smooth effectiveness of Superintendent (Etweeda) Cooper, the health team and Bassa Ebola Taskforce’s plans of action,” she said. Landgren added: “I should also say that we are interested in Ebola challenges and responses more broadly. We’ve seen security problems as well as political issues, but your collective efforts will help eradicate Ebola from Liberia, and we can help,” she stressed. In her welcome statement, Superintendent Cooper outlined the Taskforce’s constraints and challenges, and lauded the UN official for coming to Grand Bassa to acquaint herself with problems in the county. She praised UNMIL and other contributing partners for their continuous support to the County Ebola Taskforce in the fight against the pandemic. LINA JBL/JGT/TSS/PTK/JKW Society-WFP “WFP’s Mandate Goes Beyond Food Distribution”; Says Deputy Country Director By Richard Stephens MONROVIA, October 10 (LINA) - In the wake of the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Liberia, the World Food Program (WFP) has said its mandate now goes beyond mere food supply. According to Alghassim Wurie, Deputy Country Director WFP Liberia, the UN agency is now involved in the construction of several health centers, flying in aid workers and life-saving supplies as its support in the fight against the Ebola virus in Liberia. Speaking at the Ministry of Information regular press briefing Friday, Mr. Wurie also said WFP has established a common logistics Hub in Monrovia with the capacity of 3,000 square meters for humanitarian organizations and the government, adding that it has been operational since September 25 this year. He said WFP Liberia is responding to government’s request for support with a scale up of its emergency operation aimed at providing food to over 400,000 people by February 2015, saying, “so far, WFP has reached over 100,000 people since the Ebola virus was announced in Liberia.” The WFP Official further disclosed that his Organization is also providing unprecedented engineering support to the World Health Organization (WHO) through the construction of four new Ebola Treatment Units in Monrovia that will provide 400 beds. Wurie pointed out that an FAO-WFP joint assessment mission is currently touring the country to ascertain how much Ebola has affected people’s access to food and food production in Liberia. He noted that this will have an impact on future decisions on which type of food assistance is most suitable. According to the WFP Deputy Country Director, the initial results are expected in about a week. LINA RS/GDJ/TSS/PTK/JKW --
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 00:28:11 +0000
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