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O 091251Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0169
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONROVIA 000528 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR H AND AF/W 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON KCRI LI
SUBJECT: HDAC CODEL ENGAGES LIBERIAN LEGISLATURE ON ETHICS 
 
¶1. SUMMARY.  In a successful visit to Liberia June 29-July 1, 
the U.S. House Democracy Assistance Commission (HDAC), led by 
U.S. Representative David Price (D-NC), held six workshops 
for the Liberian Legislature in the newly renovated Capitol 
building.  The CODEL visited the port city of Buchanan, where 
they participated in a Grand Bassa County Town Hall Meeting 
with Legislators from the county.  The delegation also paid a 
courtesy call on Vice President Boakai, visited several USAID 
projects, and received a briefing from the Liberian Truth and 
Reconciliation Commission.  Throughout their visit, HDAC 
members stressed the importance of ethics and proactive 
representation of constituents.  END SUMMARY. 
 
HDAC PROVIDES TRAINING TO LIBERIAN LEGISLATURE 
 
¶2. The House Democracy Assistance Commission, led by 
Representative David Price (D-NC) made its third visit to 
Liberia in as many years as part of its ongoing partnership 
with the Liberian Legislature.  Five Members of the U.S. 
House of Representatives and eight Congressional staffers 
conducted six concurrent day-long workshops inside the newly 
renovated Capitol building June 30.  The National Democratic 
Institute worked closely with the Embassy to organize the 
substance of the training. 
 
¶1.    Standing Rules and Procedures (Members) 
¶2.    Standing Rules and Procedures (Staff) 
¶3.    Budget Analysis (Members) 
¶4.    Budget Analysis (Staff) 
¶5.    Committee Operations (Members) 
¶6.    Research and Analysis (Staff) 
 
¶3. Each of the sessions included a component on ethics, which 
led to a lively debate about the difference between 
"lobbying" and "corruption."  A few Liberian Members 
acknowledged that they had never heard of the concept of the 
"appearance" of wrong-doing vs. actual wrong-doing and 
pledged that they would do a better job of monitoring their 
behavior to avoid bad "appearances." 
 
¶4. Approximately 45 of the 64 Members of the House and most 
of the Senate's Leadership attended at least one of the 
sessions.  Each of the staff sessions were packed to standing 
room only (with approximately 50 attendees in each) for the 
entire day.  Both groups actively participated and asked 
enthusiastic questions, but the level of interest in the 
staff sessions meant they could have continued on for several 
more hours. 
 
HDAC PARTICIPATES IN GRAND BASSA TOWN HALL MEETING 
 
¶5. The delegation took part in a June 29 Town Hall meeting in 
Buchanan organized by the Grand Bassa Legislative Caucus and 
the National Democratic Institute.  The U.S. HDAC members 
were impressed by the tough questions the eighty citizens who 
attended the meeting asked the Liberian legislators and used 
those questions to stimulate discussion during the training 
sessions at the Capitol. 
 
VICE PRESIDENT GIVES DELEGATION OVERVIEW OF PRS 
 
¶6. Vice President Boakai and representatives of the 
Ministries of Planning, Justice, Defense, Foreign Affairs, 
and Education gave the HDAC delegation an overview of the 
objectives of Liberia's Poverty Reduction Strategy June 30. 
They explained that enhanced security, governance, rule of 
law, roads, education, and decentralization were crucial 
components of the strategy and thanked the U.S. for its 
assistance in these areas. 
 
HDAC MEMBERS AND SPOUSES VISIT U.S.-FUNDED PROJECTS 
 
¶7. All delegation members toured the Grand Bassa County 
Administration Building that USAID had just renovated and 
attended a presentation by Alfalit, a USAID-funded literacy 
program for market women.  The spouses visited a 
teacher-training program at the Kakata Rural Teacher Training 
Institute and toured Redemption Hospital, the recipient of 
medical equipment from the Africa Partnership Station. 
 
TRC GIVES BRIEFING TO DELEGATION 
 
¶8. Commissioner Coleman of the Truth and Reconciliation 
Commission (TRC) told the delegation that due to increased 
public interest in the process, the TRC will request to 
extend its mandate from December 2008 until June 2009.  The 
Commissioners are now sending letters asking suspected 
perpetrators to come forward and testify and telling them 
that their willingness to do so will affect the TRC's 
decision on whether or not to recommend them for prosecution. 
 Coleman said the TRC has the ability to grant amnesty to 
 
MONROVIA 00000528  002 OF 002 
 
 
those accused of anything except violations of human rights 
and war crimes, which means that it cannot grant amnesty to 
any of the suspected perpetrators it really wishes to hear 
from.  The TRC has the power to subpoena but has not used it 
yet.  Commissioner Coleman believes the current letter 
approach is more conducive to the healing and reconciliation 
the TRC hopes to achieve, but will not hesitate to issue a 
subpoena later on if necessary. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶9. The HDAC visit was a success on many levels, but 
particularly with regard to deepening its partnership with 
the Liberian Legislature.  Liberian staff participation and 
enthusiasm far exceeded anyone's expectations and both sides 
agreed to the need for more sessions at the staff level at 
future engagements.  A competent, professional staff in the 
Liberian Legislature would provide institutional expertise 
and give Members more time to visit their Congressional 
districts. 
 
MEMBERS OF THE HDAC DELEGATION: 
 
¶1.    Rep. David Price (D-NC), HDAC Chairman 
¶2.    Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA), HDAC Member 
¶3.    Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), HDAC Member 
¶4.    Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) 
¶5.    Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) 
¶6.    Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) 
 
SPOUSES: 
 
¶1.    Ms. Lisa Price 
¶2.    Ms. Eulada Watt 
¶3.    Ms. Martha Cooper 
 
STAFF: 
 
¶1.    John Lis, HDAC Staff Director 
¶2.    Brad Smith, Professional Staff Member, House Committee 
on Rules 
¶3.    Barbara Chow, Policy Director, House Budget Committee 
¶4.    Tommy Ross, Legislative Assistant, Office of Rep. David 
Price 
¶5.    Rachael Leman, Policy Director, Officer of Rep. David 
Dreier 
¶6.    Janice McKinney, Assistant Director, Office of 
Interparliamentary Affairs 
¶7.    Nicholas Cook, Specialist in African Affairs, 
Congressional Research Service 
¶8.    Lauren Ploch, Analyst in African Affairs, Congressional 
Research Service 
 
MILITARY ESCORTS: 
 
¶1.    Col. Paul Kennedy, USMC 
¶2.    Maj. Speros Koumparakis, USMC 
¶3.    Gy. Sgt. Ramses Cypress, USMC 
¶4.    Dr. Sam Wanko, USN 
BOOTH