The Liberian President made some bad decisions in her past.
Liberia's truth and reconciliation commission has recommended barring President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and dozens of other high-profile figures from public office for 30 years for supporting armed groups in the country's civil wars.
Sirleaf, 70, acknowledged before the commission in February that she gave up to $10,000 to a rebel group headed by Charles Taylor. Sirleaf said the money she sent while an expatriate was meant for humanitarian services and that she was never a member of the group, the National Patriotic Front.
Sirleaf, to her credit, has performed well during her Presidency. The civil war could have resumed but it did not. She has pushed for educational reforms. Aapparently many knew about the financial support for Taylor. But should she be barred from public office? Tentatively, I think not. Let the Liberian people decide. If she made an honest mistake, why punish her. If she supported him, throw her out. How barring her from public office attains the goals of reconciliation, I am not sure.
