|
Bush pledges support for Liberia post-war recovery
2008-02-21
President George W. Bush promised U.S. support for Liberia in its recovery from a crippling civil war as he visited the close U.S. ally on the last stop of a five-nation tour of Africa on Thursday. The U.S. leader and his wife Laura received an enthusiastic welcome from Liberians led by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist who took office in 2006 as Africa's first elected female leader. "I want the people of Liberia to know, Madam President, the United States stands with you. We want to help you recover from a terrible period. We want you to build lives of hope and peace," Bush told Johnson-Sirleaf in Monrovia, the war-damaged coastal capital of the small West African state. Africa's first republic, Liberia was founded by freed slaves from America in 1847 and has close ties with the United States. Bush's visit was the first by a U.S. president in three decades. While other African countries have spurned U.S. overtures for a greater military presence on the continent, Liberia has said it would willingly host a new continental U.S. military command, known as Africom. Crowds of cheering Liberians, some waving U.S. and Liberian flags, lined the streets as the presidential motorcade passed by after Bush and his wife Laura arrived at the international airport which was guarded by U.S. marines. Large billboards carried the message: "President and Mrs. George W. Bush. Welcome to Liberia." Bush received the key to the city at the foreign ministry, which is surrounded by tin-roofed shacks in a dilapidated capital that still bears the scars of a 1989-2003 civil war that killed 200,000 people. Praising her "courage and leadership," Bush presented Johnson-Sirleaf with the National Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award that a U.S. president can bestow. Bush was also due to speak at a U.S.-funded military training facility where U.S. defense contractors have been training the new Liberian army following the end of the war. Since 2003, Washington has spent $139 million to help modernize Liberia's armed forces. There are still 10,000 United Nations peacekeepers in the country. Bush is also due to announce a donation of 1 million textbooks and desks for 10,000 Liberian school children. Liberia is the final stop on the tour of Africa by the U.S. leader, who in the last year of his presidency is seeking to highlight foreign policy success stories backing health, education and good governance projects on the continent. During visits this week to Benin, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ghana, Bush has promoted his multi-billion-dollar anti-malaria and anti-AIDS projects in Africa and backed efforts to solve crises in Kenya and Darfur. MIXED FEELINGS With its strong links to America, Liberia has long regarded the United States as its "big brother." During the Cold War, it served as the CIA's main listening post in Africa. But there were mixed reactions to Bush's visit. Some Liberians have complained that Washington ignored the West African country during the civil war. "What have we gained from America for the past time that we have been friends? There is nothing we can show from the relationship. America only wants to promote its own interest," said a newspaper seller, Sylvester Smith. "I see it as a very important visit ... It will serve as a means to encourage people to come and invest in Liberia ... This visit will open this country to the outside world," said Rebecca Togbah, a businesswoman. In Ghana on Wednesday, Bush said his government did not plan to build any new military bases in Africa, but could still put "some kind of office" representing Africom on the continent. Some Liberians said Bush's arrival was prompted by concern at China's growing commercial presence on the continent. Relations between China and Liberia have flourished since Monrovia severed ties with Taiwan in 2003. Bush's trip follows a visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao just over a year ago. (Additional reporting by Alphonso Toweh in Monrovia; Writing by Pascal Fletcher)
| 
