Bryant to Settle Confusion at the Liberian Embassy in Washington Soon

The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia

January 30, 2004

 

On December 10, 2003, Abdoulaye Dukule wrote an article about the prevailing confusion at the Liberian embassy in Washington DC. He reported that, according to Aaron Kollie, Abdullah Dunbar was recalled by the Taylor government in May or June of 2003 but refused to go to Monrovia. After the departure of Taylor Mr. Dunbar traveled to Liberia at which time he was made chargé d'affaires at the embassy. We later learned that Deputy Minister Mr. Abel Massaley gave Mr. Dunbar two letters: one appointing him as the chargé d’affaires at the embassy and the other letter recalling Aaron Kollie. Mr. Dunbar, accordingly, delivered Kollie’s letter. A copy of the letter recalling Kollie was contained in an article written by Cllr. Mohamedu F. Jones.

In part III of the series of articles written by Dr. Dukule, he reported:

The Deputy and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Abel Massaley, signed the two letters. In the first letter, the Acting Minister wrote that by directive of the Chairman of the Transitional Government, Mr. Abdullah K. Dunbar was summoned to return immediately to Monrovia for reassignment. The second letter was addressed to Mr. Aaron Kollie, instructing him to remain at the helms of the mission until further notice. An official at the US State Department confirmed that they received copies of the letters through their embassy in Monrovia, adding, “As far as we are concerned, these letters settle the matter as to who runs the Embassy of Liberia in the US unless we receive a new clarification."

When we contacted Dunbar, he confirmed having seen the letters but said: "I was appointed and dispatched here by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liberia and I will be here until he tells me to leave. If he asked me to return to Monrovia tomorrow, I will be on the first plane."

But upon his return from Ghana, we learned that Foreign Minister Nimely reversed the directives given to Mr. Massaley by Chairman Bryant. He wrote a letter to Kollie in which he recalled him (Kollie) and wrote another letter to the State Department informing the US that Abdullah Dunbar is the chargé d'affaires of Liberia in Washington, DC.

However, according to information reaching The Perspective, the Bryant administration has taken steps to put an end to the confusion some believe has been caused by both the executive mansion and the Liberia Foreign Ministry. Mr. Charles Minor has been selected to serve as Liberian ambassador to the United States. When contacted, a credible source at the executive mansion that insisted on condition of anonymity confirmed the information. The source stated: “Mr. Minor has a very impressive resume”.

Since the process of appointing and accepting ambassador takes long, Mr. Bryant also named Prince Porte as the new charge d’affaires at the embassy. Aaron Kollie is to be recalled, while Abdullah Dunbar will be reassigned. Both Mr. Porte and Mr. Minor are members of the Liberian delegation to the February 4-5 Donors Conference on Liberia. Charles Minor was head of LPMC at the time of the April 12 coup. He was detained and after his release from detention went into exile in Ghana. Prince Porte is believed to have served at the Liberian embassy in Nigeria during the Tolbert administration.