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A House Divided: ULAA
and ALNC's Painful Saga
Thursday, March 24,
2005
By
Tewroh-Wehtoe Sungbeh
Political activist, J. D.
Siagarr Smith, who is also a friend is fond of throwing this line around, whenever
he's asked to share his insight after attending one of those
events that bring Liberians together to discuss the future
of their country.
"A jawbone exercise," he
would quickly say, because Smith has attended many of those
forums over the years, and is aware of how brilliant the
Liberian intellectuals can be when it is about discussing
and proposing text-book solutions to Liberia’s mounting
problems, and how quickly those same individuals seem to
forget how to implement their vision once they become
employees of the Republic of Liberia.
In no way am I suggesting
that the ALNC's March confab in Washington D.C., in any shape or
form resembled a jawbone exercise. Looking back days,
months and years after past forums, and not realizing how
those events helped shaped Liberia after the hoopla has all
vanished, has given me reasons to be a bit apprehensive
about this one or any other one in the making.
However, when asked what he
make of the comment that the recent forum could be a
possible “jawbone exercise.” Bodioh Wesseh Siapoe, one of
the organizers vowed to “implement the resolution that were
reached,” adding that “the conference that just ended is not
going to be just another convention with no purpose, but one
that will be taken to the Liberian government and other
international stakeholders for implementation.”
What about the apparent
conflict between the All Liberian National Conference and
the Union of Liberian Association in the Americas, (ULAA),
which intends to hold its own conference April 14-16 in
Columbia, Maryland?
Arthur K. Watson
James Teah Tarpeh
Bodioh Siapoe answered:
“That will not happen. According to the laws of the State of
Maryland, loosely knit groups are not legal. We invited them
to join us and they refused.
All they did was insult us
throughout the entire time. Those people – the ULAA boys
tried all they could to discourage people to come to the
conference but their efforts failed, because our convention
was a huge success,” Siapoe said.
The ALNC’S forum may have
been a success because of the attendance, its crafted
deliberations, the serious nature of the event and perhaps
the expertise shown by the participants, who probably
enunciated their chosen topics with passion and ease. It is
the hope of Liberians that the success Bodioh Siapoe and
others highly spoke of would be translated into practical
results to help transform that nation and help its
people.
Arthur K. Watson, president
of the Union of Liberian Association in the Americas, whose
organization is planning its own conference April 14-16, see
it differently. “There meeting was not an All Liberian
Conference. It was a meeting of PhDs,” Watson said.
“To think because you have
a PhD you have the requisite solution to our problems is a
joke. I will honestly assure you that our convention will be
representative of all Liberians, nursing home workers,
restaurant workers, janitors and ordinary Liberians, and not
a list of PhDs.”
When the Union president
was asked what did he think about the threats made by Bodioh
Siapoe that the April ULAA meeting will never take place in
Maryland? Watson said, “anybody is free to make threats. The
good thing about America is there are legal safeguards, and
people do not just trample on your rights.”
“Just like anybody or a
group, we have the right to convene anywhere, and any place
in the United States. If these guys are for freedom and
democracy, they will not try to stop other Liberians from
gathering in a free country,” he remarked.
On the issue of James Teah
Tarpeh, which started the confusion, Watson spoke in details
about Tarpeh’s penchant for acting like a dictator, “and it
created an impasse within the steering committee.”
“Tarpeh wanted to
incorporate the organization and begin to send out letters
without the consent or approval of committee members. During
a teleconference with other Liberians and committee members,
Tarpeh spoke for 45 minutes without anybody saying a word.
And when he got through talking, he abruptly hung up.
As a result, the committee
members had no confidence in Tarpeh’s leadership, and they
voted to remove him as chairman of the committee. “As soon
as Tarpeh was removed from his role as chairman, his buddies
insist that he remained chairman, and never accepted the
decision.” For the record, Mr. Tarpeh couldn't be reached
for this article.
Morris T. Kofa, one of the
presenters at the ALNC’s forum is unhappy with the way
things are going with the two groups, especially “when it is
this close to national and general elections in Liberia.”
Since previous conferences
held under similar topics never materialized, Kofa “expect
every aspect of the issues like decentralization, the tenure
of future presidents be given serious consideration and
reduced from 6 to 4 years, local officials like
Superintendents be elected, instead of being appointed by
the president.” The Liberian people, Kofa said “want the
implementation of everything discussed.”
Mr.
Kofa added that after ULAA's forum is over, the findings of
both groups, (ALNC and ULAA) be given serious attention,
merged then send to Monrovia for possible implementation.
Like another All Liberian
Conference (minus the (National) of the early 90s which
played to the hype and quickly folded into oblivion, the new ALNC seen by many as an offshoot of the last “All Liberian
Conference”, whose Georgia chapter was once chaired by the
presidential candidate George Klay Kieh Jr, almost folded
before it even started.
Back then in 1993, Mabel
Jaryenneh Green, who was president of the Liberian Community
Association of Georgia, (LCAG) together with like-minded
Liberians organized the All Liberian Conference, with its
narrow agenda, was intended to unite Liberians in the
Americas.
Just as it is now with the
current All Liberian National Conference and its conflict
with ULAA, many in the former All Liberian Conference wanted
their organization to operate as a separate entity; while
others preferred their All Liberian Conference to be a part
of the Union. “When the parties couldn’t reach an agreement,
the All Liberian Conference quietly dissolved,” said Mabel
Jaryenneh Green.
It is not a coincidence
that the controversy to be, or not to be part of ULAA is
once again showing its ugly head at this time, when unity
should have been the preamble for Liberian organizations
everywhere, whose critical roles are needed in this election
year.
ULAA is an organization
still struggling to define itself, and its mission
to Liberians in the Americas. ULAA is on life support and
needs resuscitation, if that organization is ever going to
survive. Defining that mission is an uphill battle, because
nobody, or any organization is listening, but wants to get
away from ULAA.
President Arthur K.
Watson, is aware of the enormous problems in the Union, but
like any leader, believes otherwise, stating that “the
organization is not a bad one, but we have inherited that
bad image.”
It is that negative image
of corruption, opportunism, and not doing for the average
"Joe Blow" or a
newcomer to America, which is driving away Liberian
organizations and their members to focus more on their
ethnic associations, school associations, county
associations, prayer bands, susu clubs, birthday clubs and
many more groups in the continental United States. ULAA must
wake up and do more, because a rival All Liberian National
Conference scheduled for April will not bring those
Liberians back or help its tattered image.
The All Liberian National
Conference, whose objectives of peace, reform and
reconciliation are spelled out boldly on its elaborate
website, is in danger of being cited for hypocrisy, when the
organization that wants to “mobilized Liberians to dialogue
and define a way forward,” cannot even find a way to
dissolve a dispute between themselves and another group of
Liberians.
The All Liberian National
Conference, still glowing from the success of its recent
forum, is moving backward as the organization continues to
be distracted, while brushing off accusations of fomenting
disunity, instead of capitalizing on its success.
With its interesting
laundry lists of issues, the All Liberian National
Conference must move quickly and make sure that its ideas
are implemented, and cannot afford to be seen as just
another “talking head” Liberian organization whose eloquent
recitation of Liberia’s problems are only good on paper.
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