THE VIRGINIA DECLARATION: A Call For a Way Forward to a New Liberia through Reconciliation and Justice resulting from the National Truth and Reconciliation Processes Culminating in the National Conference on Reconciliation Held at the Unity Conference Center in Virginia, Liberia

By Suge Roberts, Brooklyn Park     The African Youth for Progress (AYP)-a non-profit Youth Leadership Outfit based in Minnesota- is raising awareness in the United States aimed at generating $75,000 to do surgery on an 18-year-old Liberian man who was burned with acid water by armed robbers in Liberia.

  Executive Mansion, Monrovia Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says Government welcomes the participation of Liberians residing in the United States and other countries abroad in the country’s reconstruction. The President said such involvement would be more effective if Liberians unify their efforts and work to achieve national development and reconciliation. The President said Government remains open to ideas which will help enhance growth and national development and reconciliation.

UN News, New York A group of experts monitoring United Nations sanctions on Liberia has called for the extension of the world body’s peacekeeping mission in the West African country to assist the Government in regaining control of its natural resources.

  By Taylor Wiles,San Francisco   Most activists combat current threats to justice, but last Friday, at a private screening in San Francisco, the documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell demanded activism by revealing an egregious historic omission: women’s central role in the Liberian peace process.

Executive Mansion, Abuja The 36th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Authority of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) today opened in Abuja, Nigeria, with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in attendance.

By Amanda Fortier, Bonn A new study released by the Institute of Applied Media Studies (IAM) in Zurich and the Center for Media Studies and Peace Building (CEMESP) in Monrovia reveals Liberians ask for very high media quality in their country’s radio reporting. When it comes to the topic of reconciliation, however, discussions in this post-conflict nation remain remarkably absent.

UN News, New York The United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone today announced that lawyers for the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, will begin their defence against charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity on 13 July.

By Mambu James Kpargoi, Monrovia A cross section of disabled Liberians while demanding individual reparations Thursday insisted that Liberians who contributed to their disabilities bear some responsibilities for their conditions.

UN News, New York United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, has called on Liberia’s partners to continue support to the West African country, which, six years after the end of conflict, remains fragile but has the potential to be a beacon on stability in the region.