The Liberian President told the BBC in an interview while she was attending the AU summit in Ethiopia on Tuesday that she did not believe that there should be an imposition of a mandate by the AFRICAN UNION (AU) for African countries to resettle Haitians but instead it should be a voluntary effort.

"We certainly have a lot of free land and we certainly would support ..we have a long standing relation with Haiti...' the Liberian President added.

President Sirleaf said Liberia would welcome Haitians who chose to reside in Liberia.

The Liberian government has made a contribution of $50,000 USD to assist with relief efforts.The UN Mission to Liberia (UNMIL) on January 20th held a solemn memorial service in Monrovia to remember UN personnel and victims who died in the Haitian earthquake.

Additional relief efforts are underway in Liberia involving the Organizing Committee of Liberia for the Haiti Benefit Concert spearheaded by the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, the Press Union of Liberia and local media houses. A benefit concert featuring local Liberian artists is scheduled for this weekend in Monrovia. Liberians in the United States and Diaspora have been making personal contributions through their community organizations churches and charities including the Red Cross to assist with relief efforts in Haiti .

The initial proposal and offer of assisting Haitians with land was made by Senegal President Abdullah Wade immediately following the massive earth quake which is reported to have claimed an estimated 200,000 lives and destroyed most of that country's infrastructure.

Senegal has made a contribution of 1 million dollars to the Haitian relief effort.