EX- LIBERIAN WARLORD, GEORGE BOLEY, IN TROUBLE WITH U.S. IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES
The ground in America is becoming too hot for the dramatis personae of the Liberian war. Dr. George Seigbe Boley , the one-time afro-haired Minister of Education in the People’s Redemption Council government, who also became one of Liberia’s warlords during the bloody Civil conflict , is in serious trouble with the United States Immigration authorities.
Boley , one of the principal players in the PRC military junta , headed by his late cousin, Samuel Kanyon Doe, was picked up by Federal Immigration officers at his home in Clarkson , Monroe County, on Tuesday for allegedly violating U.S green card and visa regulations . He faces deportation to Liberia if found guilty of the criminal charges against him.
EX- LIBERIAN WARLORD, GEORGE BOLEY, IN TROUBLE WITH U.S. IMMIGRATION AUTHORITIES
THURSDAY JULY 13, 2006
The ground in America is becoming too hot for the dramatis personae of the Liberian war. Dr. George Seigbe Boley , the one-time afro-haired Minister of Education in the People’s Redemption Council government, who also became one of Liberia’s warlords during the bloody Civil conflict , is in serious trouble with the United States Immigration authorities.
Boley , one of the principal players in the PRC military junta , headed by his late cousin, Samuel Kanyon Doe, was picked up by Federal Immigration officers at his home in Clarkson , Monroe County, on Tuesday for allegedly violating U.S green card and visa regulations . He faces deportation to Liberia if found guilty of the criminal charges against him.
Yesterday’s ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE reported the following about Boley, among other things
In a federal court hearing Tuesday in Rochester, Boley seemed unfazed by the immigration charges against him.
Clad in a white short-sleeved shirt, the solidly built man comfortably fielded questions about his family finances from U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Feldman. His voice steady and tinged with his homeland accent, Boley was gracious as Feldman tried to determine whether Boley qualifies for a public defender — a question not yet resolved.
At the hearing, probation officials detailed Boley’s unremarkable local history: Liberian native, State University College at Brockport graduate, married father of seven, and former City School District administrator who now works at a temporary employment agency.
What went unnoted in court was Boley’s past as an LPC leader. To this day, questions remain in Liberia about whether Boley was a would-be liberator who wanted nothing more than democracy for his homeland or, instead, a warlord who closed his eyes to the brutality of his troops.
“He wouldn’t be at the top of my list (of former Liberian leaders) for whom an accounting should be demanded,” John-Peter Pham, the author of Liberia: Portrait of a Failed State, said of Boley by phone Tuesday. “But he wouldn’t be on my amnesty list either.”
Despite its name, the Liberian Peace Council targeted civilians who did not share the party’s politics, according to the international watchdog group Human Rights Watch. In 1994, Human Rights Watch reported that both the LPC and its adversarial political party were “responsible for widespread looting, arbitrary arrests, beatings and extrajudicial executions.”
“There were credible reports that George Boley … authorized the summary execution of seven of his fighters November 14 for harassment of civilians,” stated a 1996 U.S. Department of State report on human rights in Liberia.
On Tuesday, Boley surrendered a passport and was allowed to go home to Clarkson without bail, awaiting his next court date in early September. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bret Puscheck did not ask for Boley to be jailed because of Boley’s ties to the area, but his travel is restricted to western New York.
Boley refused to comment after court, as did his wife, Kathryn. His attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Mark Hosken, said he will soon receive the prosecution’s evidence that Boley misused immigration documents.
“We look forward to investigating this case,” Hosken said.
According to a criminal complaint by ICE Special Agent Matthew Meyer, Boley was supposed to turn in his green card in 1988 after he abandoned his lawful resident status in the United States. However, he continued to travel on the green card, the complaint alleges.
Meyer said in court Tuesday that ICE would pursue immigration charges, which could lead to deportation, after the resolution of the criminal case.
COCORIOKO REPORTS :
George Boley is the second former Liberian official tied to the civil war who is in trouble in the United States. The other is the son of former President Charles Taylor. .
Charles “Chuckie” Taylor, Jr., son of the former Liberian president, is also in trouble in Miami on a U.S. passport violation.
George Seigbe Boley : He was also Minister of Education in Doe’s PRC
HON. ELIZABEH ALPHA LAVALIE IS ELECTED UNOPPOSED AS DEPUTY SPEAKER OF SIERRA LEONE’S PARLIAMENT
Story: Joseph Kamanda from Freetown
Incumbent Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Elizabeth Alpha Lavalie of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party ( SLPP ) was today re-elected unopposed for another term. The motion was moved by the Hon. Fatmata Hassan of the SLPP and seconded by Hon. Victor Chukwuma Johnson of the All Peoples’ Congress ( APC ).
Thanking members for their support, Hon. Lavalie acknowledged the overwhelming support of all parties in the House. She assured the House that she will live up to their expectations and will justify the confidence reposed in her . She was loudly applauded by other members of parliament.
Mrs. Lavalie’s election was received with great appreciation by parliamentarians and politicians alike because she is a woman of substance in a country recovering from war. Apart from being a parliamentarian, she is a human rights advocate . The Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Sierra Leone’s Parliament is also treasurer of the Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians (NEWMAP) Mrs. Lavalie is involved in gender-based advocacy and is committed to the eradication of poverty and hunger, as well as achieving universal primary and secondary education, reducing child mortality and controlling of HIV/AIDS and Malaria.
PORT LOKO TEACHERS’ COLLEGE STUDENTS ELECT A NEW LEADER
Story : Joseph Kamanda in Freetown
A second year student of the Higher Teachers’ Certificate Primary Division , Miss Leonatu Kamara of the Cause Camp has been elected president of the Port Loko Teachers’ College Student Union.
The election was reported to be held in a fair and transparent manner between Leonatu Kamara and another second year HTC Primary Student, Mohamed Bangura of the Wush Camp.
Leonatu Kamara polled three hundred and fifty-eight votes’ whiles her opponent Mohamed Bangura got two hundred and seventy-seven votes.
SLPP MOURNS FALLEN COMRADE KILLED IN BO DISASTER
Story : Joseph Kamanda in Freetown
The ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party ( Bo ) has been undergoing a preiod of intense mourning for its collegue, Youth Leader South, Alhaji A. O. Mansaray who died last Sunday 8th July while welcoming the Leader and Presidential candidate of the party, Vice-President Solomon Berewa , to the Southern Province headquarter town of Bo.
Mansaray’s death came as a result of a road accident while the Vice-President was in Bo. He lost his grip and fell from one of the vehicles in Mr. Berewa’s motorcade heading for the Presidential Lodge at Congo Valley , Reservation , Bo . The sad and shocking event saw party stalwarts alighting from their vehicles and rushing Comrade Mansaray to the Bo Government Hospital , but he died the following day from what doctors desctibed as Head Trauma.
Since Mansaray’s death, the SLPP in Bo had been emersed in mourning. Mansaray was described as one of the driving forces behind the ruling party’s ascendancy in the Southern Province . He was also one of those whose vigorous campaigning gave the Vice-President confidence that the SLPP would capture Bo, one of its traditional strongholds , in next year’s General Elections. A big program is being planned for the 40-Day-ceremonies of his death , a party member told COCORIOKO .
VICE-PRESIDENT BEREWA SAYS HE WILL MAKE SURE ROAD PROJECTS BY SLRA ARE NOT CONFINED ONLY TO A PARTICULAR REGION
During his recent visit to Bo, Vice-President Solomon Berewa made a promise that struck a chord with residents of the Southern Province capital. Berewa, ahead of next year’s Presidential and Legislative Elections, has promised that he would ensure that infrastructural developments carried out by the Sierra Leone Roads Authority ( SLRA) were not confined to only one region. The Vice-President made the pledge while commissioning the New York Bridge in Bo.
Earlier before the opening the bridge, Director General of the Sierra Leone Road Authority, El Hadji Mohamed Kebbay told Mr. Berewa that the New York Bridge has been a long touching dream of the community which came to reality through the intervention of the SLRA. He said the old bridge was made of palm logs at the detriment community.
Officially declaring the Bridge opened, the Vice President assured the people that as a responsible government , he will ensure that the activities of the SLRA, in terms of road net work, will not be limited to one area but nationwide. The people expressed thanks to the government for the developments in their community and assured the Vice President of their firm support.
