Africa Action Urges Cancellation of Debt

Africa Action Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Diana Duarte (202) 546-7961

Africa Action Urges Cancellation of Liberia’s Illegitimate Debt

Debt Campaigners Stage Action Outside Treasury Department; Thousands of Valentine’s Cards are Delivered, Demanding Debt Cancellation Now

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 (Washington, DC) – In advance of an international donor conference for Liberia to be held in Washington, DC on February 13-14, Africa Action today joins Jubilee USA Network and other debt campaigners in an action outside the U.S. Treasury Department, calling for the cancellation of Liberia’s external debt.

Today’s action urges the U.S. administration and the international community to cancel Liberia's $3.5 billion illegitimate debt burden, which was accumulated during politically abusive regimes and which now hampers the economic growth that is essential for the country to recover from over two decades of conflict.

Jubilee USA Network, with the help of Africa Action and other groups, has gathered over 10,000 Valentine’s cards to be delivered to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. This campaign, titled “Have a Heart for Liberia”, emphasizes how debt cancellation would allow additional resources to be devoted to spending on social services and reconstruction of Liberia.

Speakers at today’s rally, which takes place outside the Treasury Department at 2:00pm, include Marie Clarke Brill, Director of Public Education and Mobilization at Africa Action, and Emira Woods, Co-Director of Foreign Policy in Focus (FPIF) and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of Africa Action.

Nii Akuetteh, Executive Director of Africa Action, said today, “As Liberia embarks on a new era, the country remains weighed down by a debt that is fundamentally illegitimate. In the interest of justice, international creditors must remove this burden immediately. The Bush Administration’s repeated pledges of support for the reconstruction of Liberia must now translate into action to cancel the debt.”

Ahead of next week’s donor conference, Africa Action emphasizes Liberia’s efforts to overcome the devastation wrought by two decades of dictatorship and civil war. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically elected female president, continues to tackle numerous challenges, with 85% of the country's population unemployed and more than 75% of Liberians subsisting on less than $1 per day. At the same time, the country now faces creditor pressure to begin repaying up to $100 million per year, while the government’s annual budget is only $129 million.

Africa Action calls for the immediate cancellation of Liberia’s illegitimate debts as a matter of justice, and as a necessary contribution to that nation’s development.

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