McAleese backs underfire UN premier Annan

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese yesterday gave her strong backing to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan who has faced calls for his resignation.

In Liberia to visit Irish troops, the President described his leadership as “steady”, saying the UN was undergoing a period of self-examination but is destined to be stronger and more effective.

“Ireland has actively supported this process for we believe the world’s problems are best solved by a thoroughly effective and efficient United Nations backed by the robust power of the nations of the world,” said President McAleese.

The UN secretary general has faced calls to step down, mainly from the US. He has been criticised for his alleged failure to oversee the Iraqi food for oil programme, under which his son Kojo is said to have benefited financially.

Accompanied by her husband and Defence Minister Willie O’Dea, President McAleese addressed troops based in Camp Clara outside the Liberian capital Monrovia.

More than 400 members of the Southern Brigade are in Liberia acting as a rapid reaction unit for approximately 15,000 UN troops.

Liberia, a west African country of just over three million people, is still recovering from a devastating 14-year civil war in which 200,000 died and 1.5 million fled their homes.

While the large UN presence has managed to largely keep the peace, the country remains volatile and just weeks ago 18 people were killed in riots in Monrovia, a desperately overcrowded and poverty- stricken city.

President McAleese is the first western head of state to visit the country since the end of the civil war in August 2003.

Elections are to be held next October and the UN is central to a successful transition, said President McAleese. She told the troops: “You are the hands of its (the UN’s) work, a clear example of its transforming power.”

She visited with the country’s interim leader, Gyude Bryant, met Irish aid workers and spoke with HIV and AIDS patients at St Michael’s Hospice in central Monrovia, an 85-bed Sisters of Charity facility that houses adults and children.

She cradled two-year-old baby Rebecca as young patients sang traditional Liberian tunes. During her visit to the camp, President McAleese laid a wreath in honour of Sergeant Derek Mooney, the army ranger who died in a car crash in Liberia last year.

Sgt Mooney was a 1.5 million fled their homes.

While the large UN presence has managed to largely keep the peace, the country remains volatile and just weeks ago 18 people were killed in riots in Monrovia, a desperately overcrowded and poverty- stricken city.

President McAleese is the first western head of state to visit the country since the end of the civil war in August 2003.

Elections are to be held next October and the UN is central to a successful transition, said President McAleese. She told the troops: “You are the hands of its (the UN’s) work, a clear example of its transforming power.”

She visited with the country’s interim leader, Gyude Bryant, met Irish aid workers and spoke with HIV and AIDS patients at St Michael’s Hospice in central Monrovia, an 85-bed Sisters of Charity facility that houses adults and children.

She cradled two-year-old baby Rebecca as young patients sang traditional Liberian tunes. During her visit to the camp, President McAleese laid a wreath in honour of Sergeant Derek Mooney, the army ranger who died in a car crash in Liberia last year.

Sgt Mooney was a friend of President McAleese. They met in 2000 during a joint civilian/army humanitarian mission in hurricane-ravaged Honduras. They lived and slept in a broken-down house.