–Former Official Atty. Isaac Jackson Says, Warning Signs for Liberia Are Worrying

IPNEWS: In one of his recent Op-Eds (denoted to feature article, analysis & commentary) written and published via his social media posts, Liberia’s former Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and also former Deputy Information Minister for Press & Public Affairs, Atty. Isaac Jackson fears what he calls a ‘deteriorating or a decline in the long-lasting relations between Liberia and her number-one ally in world politics, the United States of America.

According to Atty. Jackson, “If recent reports are to be believed, all is not well in US-Liberia relations.” He writes in his Op-Ed that it was reported that Liberian President George Weah and his delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, were said to have not been presidentially received. “Visas for the President and entourage were restricted to a 25-mile radius of the UN Headquarters, and reports are that the President and delegation were delayed, at least for a few hours, at the JFK International Airport.”

What is the 25-mile radius rule for some diplomats in New York City measured from Columbus Circle? According to diplomatic sources, due to the presence of the United Nations (UN) in New York City (NYC), the United States can’t practically prohibit certain people from countries with which the US does not have diplomatic relations from coming to NYC on diplomatic business.

But they can restrict them to a certain area. Columbus Circle seems a convenient point, and 25 miles encompasses (1) the UN, and (2) major airports (JFK, Newark).

Diplomatic sources hints IPNEWS that a certain member of delegations to the UN are required to notify the US government or obtain permission prior to travel outside of a 25-mile radius of Columbia Circus in New York City. These travel restrictions are imposed for various reasons, including National Security.

The United Nations headquarters is situated in New York City, but the building complex itself is considered international territory, what would happen if a crime was committed within this building? (eg. theft, assault, homicide etc)

According to a former New York City (NYC) government (Health and Police Departments) official, “we were told that the UN complex was not part of our jurisdiction. We were also told that we needed to arrange all official visits to the UN complex with a counterpart at the UN in advance of our visit. Alternately, they could invite us to give them assistance if something happened that their own security was unable to deal with.

Of course, their own jurisdiction ended at the property line, so unless the criminal wanted to hide on the UN site indefinitely they had to leave at some point – at which point the NYPD could step in an arrest them.

We also worked cooperatively with them (as well as a number of state and Federal agencies) for large events such as the General Assembly. I’m not sure if any non-UN personnel worked on the UN site – but we certainly had it surrounded with rings of security.”

And so, according to Liberia’s former Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Atty. Isaac Jackson, these are not signs of a healthy relationship between the two countries. Visa restrictions to the UNGA are usually reserved for leaders and delegations from countries with strained relationships with the United States. Increasing public corruption is believed to be responsible for the chilling of the relations between the two historically-friendly nations.

Atty. Jackson notes, earlier, in mid-August, the United States Government imposed sanctions on three Liberian Government officials including Weah’s now former Chief of Staff for “ongoing involvement in public corruption”. According to the US Department of Treasury’s Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, “Through their corruption, these officials have undermined democracy in Liberia for their own personal benefit”.  Nelson further informed that the designations of the three officials “demonstrate that the United States remains committed to holding corrupt actors accountable and to the continued support of the Liberian people.”

“President Weah responded to the designation of sanctions with an announcement of unspecified suspensions and investigations. Although the Liberian Constitution authorizes the President to hire and fire officials of the Executive that are not tenured ‘according to his will and pleasure’, the President claimed he could not outrightly dismiss his close officials out of respect for their ]due process rights”.

“This position was widely condemned, including prominently by the Liberian Council of Churches and opposition leader Alexander Cummings in addition to my OP-ED entitled, ‘Weah could be Toying with Fires’. All the positions argued for more decisive actions to rescue the image of the country and the reputation of the presidency. About a month later, as President Weah prepared to depart the country for the UNGA, the three sanctioned officials resigned, and the President promptly accepted the resignations. Nothing further has been said of the investigations announced by the President, nor has there been any indication of one which is ongoing.”

Atty. Jackson, further writes in his Op-Ed that long before the sanctions were announced, separately, US Government officials had called on the Liberian Government to reign in corruption and abuse of public offices by officials.  “Liberia still has work to do to seriously address and root out corruption. We bring this up as your friends who are eager to help. Corruption is an act of robbery. It robs Liberia’s citizens of access to healthcare, to public safety, to education”, Dana Banks, Special Assistant to US President Joe Biden publicly pronounced when she spoke on behalf of the United States Government at official program marking the 200th Year of the return of freed slaves to Liberia.

Speaking at the Woodrow Wilson Institute in March this year, the US former Ambassador to Liberia and current Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield said, “Liberia has a serious problem right now, and that’s taking on a number of issues, the foremost among them is the issue of corruption.” Ambassador Greenfield added: “Corruption is a democracy killer. It prevents the country from having the healthy business environment that it needs to lift Liberians out of poverty. And we cannot have that in a place like Liberia which we are counting on as a bulwark for Africa’s democracy.”

According to the former Deputy Information for Press and Public Affairs, the stark public warnings by officials of the US Government appeared to have been largely unheeded by the Liberian Government. According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index and Rankings of countries, while Liberia achieved its best ranking of 75 out of 180 nations during the administration of President Weah’s predecessor, the country has consistently recorded its worst rankings and scores under President Weah which is now reported at 136 out of 180 countries from a previous of 137.

Atty. Jackson went on to further state, “Despite spending millions of Liberian taxpayers’ dollars on public relations and lobbies in Washington, DC, President Weah and his officials have now turned their guns on Alexander Cummings, a former Coca Cola Executive, who is running to unseat Weah, for their current misfortunes in the chilling relationship with the United States.

 Cummings identified corruption as a cancer he promises to fight against, and has repeatedly called on President Weah and other elected and appointed officials not to engage in corruption, repeatedly claiming that “Liberia is too rich for Liberians to be so poor”. He blames this unfortunate situation on corruption.”

According to Cummings, a highly regarded international corporate executive, “Rather than uselessly shifting blames, all President Weah and his administration officials need to do is commit to doing the right thing for the country and our suffering people, including by stopping the stealing in the government.” He added: “There must be consequences for stealing from the poor Liberian people, mismanaging our country’s resources, and abusing the privileges the Liberian people have provided to leaders to serve them. We will not end the suffering and poverty in our country until we ensure our leaders are accountable for the power, we gave them to serve our nation.”

“It cannot be said that all is well in US-Liberia relations. By law, the Liberian President is the Chief Architect of the country’s foreign policy. To the extent that the relationship between the US and Liberia is deteriorating, the responsibility falls on the shoulders of President Weah to reverse this course. Liberians and Liberia are too connected to the United States to ignore worsening diplomatic relations between the two countries.

 The warning signs for Liberia are becoming ominous. Unfavorable relations between the US and Liberia cannot benefit Liberia. Restricting President Weah to only within the vicinity of the UN amounts to declaring the Liberian President unwelcome to the United States. For Liberians, this collapse in relationship, after Weah inherited a healthy one with the United States, Liberia’s biggest development partner and historic friend, should be concerning,” Atty. Jackson concludes.

Did President Weah Actually Travel outside of the 25-mile Radius Restriction by His visit to Queens?

As the debate on the type of visas given to President George Weah and his delegation by the United States Government for his trip to the recently-held United Nations General Assembly continues, a Liberian-owned online platform, Smart News Liberia has investigated the Borough of Queens, where President Weah has his home falls within the 25 Miles radius reportedly placed on the Liberian Government delegation based on the type of visas.

Recently, a video showed the Liberian leader visiting his Queens home in New York in an apparent reaction to reports he travelled to the U.S. on a restricted visa.

An investigation conducted by Smart News Liberia has revealed that the distance from the Borough of Queens to the Manhattan District is 16 kilometers (10 miles) and that the driving distance from the Borough of Queens to Manhattan is 28 kilometers (17 miles).

This means that by the President’s visit to his home in the Borough of Queens, he did not violate the alleged 25 Miles radius by his visit to his home in Queens, New York.

The Liberian government was given restrictive visas for its trip to the ongoing United Nations General Assembly, according to media reports.

As a means of verifying the viral report that Weah and the delegation got restricted visas for the UN trip, the Online Platform contacted the Public Affairs office at the U.S. Embassy near Monrovia to ascertain whether it is true that the Liberian Government delegation was given visas that restrict their movements.

In reply to the inquiry, the U.S. Embassy Public Affairs office said: “Thank you for your inquiry.  The type of visa required for personal, business, or government travel is defined by U.S. immigration law. Regarding the UN General Assembly, the purpose of travel (UNGA) and the traveler’s official status informs the type of visa that the official would receive.”

The U.S. Public Affairs office further directed Smart News Liberia to further check the State department website for more information on visa categories; especially for additional inquiries about UNGA and visas.

During our check, it was discovered that the C-2 visas are appropriate for an applicant who qualifies as a person entitled to pass in transit to and from the United Nations Headquarters District and a foreign country, under the provisions of paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) of section 11 of the Headquarters Agreement with United Nations.

The investigation further revealed that a second visa type may have been given to some other Liberian government official(s) who may have wanted to use the UNGA mission to hold bilateral or multilateral meetings in a few states, especially in the Washington D.C. area.

And that is the C-3 Visa. According to U.S. Immigration laws, an accredited official of a foreign government proceeding in immediate and continuous transit through the United States on official business for that government is classifiable C-3, provided the foreign government grants similar privileges to officials of the United States.

Some Current Government Officials Have US-Resident or US Citizens Status

Meanwhile, the authoritative Independent Probe Newspaper (IPNEWS) has uncovered that some current Liberian government officials either have US-resident status and/or US citizenship, so those officials were at liberty to travel outside of the reported 25-mile restricted zone.

IPNEWS learned that some of the officials who traveled on the Liberian delegation to the UNGA immediately following the end of the session, moved on to other destinations within the UN to either attend to personal matters.

In that regard, those Liberian government officials with US resident or citizenship status were free to travel to any part of their adapted country without any restriction.