Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf Speaks out Against Mugabe's sham election at AU Summit in Egypt.

A press release from the Liberian government outlines President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf call "on the African Union to pronounce the June 27th elections in Zimbabwe as not credible and declare the results unacceptable, if the Union is to maintain its credibility."

"The President spoke today during the 13th Ordinary Session of the African Union (AU) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, when she made her intervention to colleagues during a closed session. She said the international community should work with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to find a permanent solution to the situation in Zimbabwe. She put forward Liberia as a case in point, saying the 1985 election was endorsed by Africa and the world, which frustrated the true will of the people of Liberia and subsequently engendered a fourteen year civil war that left over two hundred thousand persons dead. The Liberian leader called on the African Union to be courageous to say that ‘all is not well in Zimbabwe’ and that the request by SADC for a postponement of the June 27 Zimbabwean elections should be heeded. "

"The President reminded Summit participants that the African Union Observer Mission declared the June 27th elections fell short of the accepted AU standards, and that this was a similar position taken by the Pan African Parliament and the United Nations Security Council. She urged Summit participants to take a firm stance as well: ‘All these persons and institutions cannot be wrong, cannot be conspiratorial as we may be made to believe,’ she stressed. President Johnson Sirleaf also emphasized that the call for a peacekeeping mission in Zimbabwe is not realistic, adding that it may be necessary for SADC, in concert with the African Union Peace and Security Council, to put in place some civilian peace monitors who might constitute an early warning system in order to monitor and prevent further escalation of the crisis. She finally called on the AU be consistent with the standards it promotes."

Important points raised by Sirleaf Johnson. In particular the comparison to the sham elections in Liberia in 1985 that legitimated Samuel Doe's presidency (with the full support of the United States at the time), and this was followed by 17 years of civil war in Liberia. One only hopes war will be avoided in the Zimbabwean case.

Another important point is that both the AU observers and the Pan African Parliament observers have reported back to say that the elections were not up to AU or international standards of fairness. Shouldn't that have been sufficient grounds for the AU summit to show Mugabe the door? Apparently the number of AU presidents who have been elected in less than legitimate ways outnumber those who have had fair elections. "Democracy" and "human rights" have been concepts to manipulate in the past, during the Cold War, during the Structural Adjustment period of the mid 1990s, and in recent times, but unfortunately this lowest common denominator mentality works to protect the worst offenders.

President Sirleaf Johnson deserves praise for her role as Africa's first elected female president. She consistently shows her abilities both in Liberia and in the AU. If only more of her counterparts in other AU nations had as much 'guts' as she does.