Thursday, December 9
Liberia and the Ivory Coast Crisis

For more than 30 years Ivory Coast was a beacon of prosperity and peace in West Africa (1960 - 1993). The economic miracle that took place in the worlds' number 1 producer of cocoa attracted millions of migrant workers from neighboring states, notably Mali and Burkina Faso. The country's first President, Houphouët-Boigny, was a national hero, nearly a saint. However, he did not allow any contestant to oppose to his rule and popularity. When he died, almost exactly 17 years ago, on December 7, 1993 a power struggle emerged which initially was won by the president of the country's parliamant, Henri Konan Bedié - who defeated the then Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara - but who already in 1995 had to face a coup attempt and who four years later was forced out of power by a military coup whose leaders asked one of Bedié's enemies, General Robert Guéï, to lead the junta. The 2000 presidential elections, from which Alessane Ouattara was excluded because of his alleged Burkina origin, were boycotted by the major political parties. General Guéï claimed to have won the elections but street protests eventually brought Laurent Gbagbo, leader of a small and relatively insignificant political party, to the presidential palace. Two years later the civil war started, General Robert Guéï was assassinated. Since 2002 the country has been divided: the north under control of the 'rebel forces', the south 'governed' by President Gbagbo whose presidential mandate expired in 2005 but who managed to postpone presidential elections until recently, in 2010.

According to virtually all observers the recent presidential elections were won by Alassane Ouattara - who won 54% of the vote - but Laurent Gbagbo claimed he had won the elections. Subsequently both men had themselves sworn in as the country's new president.

The 68-year old Alassane Dramane Ouattara aka ADO is a former Vice Governor of the BCEA, the Central Bank of West African States, and a former high ranking official of the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. Prior to his appointment by President Houhouët-Boigny as Prime Minister, in 1990, ADO was Director of the Africa Department of the IMF. After Houphouët-Boigny's death he returned to Washington as the IMF's Deputy Managing Director.

Alessane Ouattara is supported by France, Europe, the US and UN. Also the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) back Ouattara and reject Gbagbo, and have decided to suspend Ivory Coast from the regional organization. Former South Africa President Mbeki mediates on behalf of the African Union whereas the chair of the Mano River Union, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, has warned former Liberian warlords against interference in the Ivorian crisis. All fear that Ivory Coast is heading to civil war. Gio speaking Ivorians from the Yacouba tribe, supporters of Gbagbo, are fleeing to Liberia. They consider this neighboring country a safer heaven than their own country where 9,000 UN peacekeepers are stationed. Despite the unfolding tragedy in Ivory Coast, it is something the Sirleaf Administration can be proud of - only a few years ago Liberia was a hell from which tens of thousands fled: to neighboring countries, to Europe, and to the USA.

What will happen in the near future is uncertain. Politicians, mediators and other stakeholders will try to find a political solution, maybe a power-sharing agreement but it is not likely to work. Experiences in Kenya and Zimbabwe are not giving us much hope. The country may slip into chaos again. Both contestants - Gbagbo, an academic historian, and Ouattara, a development economist - are going for the highest prize: the presidential palace. Only one can win. I fear that the real losers will be the population of Ivory Coast and in neighboring countries including Liberia.

Sunday, November 21
Presidential elections in Nigeria and Liberia: the stakes and the contenders

The October 1 Abuja bombings and the catch of heavy weapons, artillary rockets and mortars, and ammunition in Lagos in the same month may be related to an international gang of drug traffickers or to Nigerian militants of MEND, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta - or they may be inspired by the forthcoming National and State elections. In any case, it seems increasingly likely that next year will be a violent one in Africa's most populous country. The stakes are getter higher in Nigeria's 2011 presidential elections: not only national unity and the distribution of the oil revenues amounting to tens of billions US dollars - see my November 14 post - but also regional peace and even Nigeria's ambitions to join the world's top twenty economies by the year 2020. The presidential elections are likely to be accompanied by political instability and north-south clashes.
Over 60 political parties have registered with the Independent National Election Commission (INEC), for the National and State elections, but for the presidential elections the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) is the only one that has a nation-wide base, all other parties being based on specific regions or States. The battle for the presidential nomination divides the north and the souyh of the country. Under the unwritten regional power sharing rules of the PDP a President - from the south or the north of the country - may serve two terms. After the southerner Olusegun Obasanjo had served two terms, the northerner Yar'Adua became President but he died before the end of his first term and was succeeded by the Vice President, Jonathan Goodluck who hails from the south. The latter hopes to win the party's nomination for next year's presidential elections but the northerners are convined that it is their turn. Four northerns hope to win the PDP's nomination: General Ibrahim Babangida (aka IBB), former military ruler (1985 - 1993) and one of the wealthiest men in the country; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Kwara State Governor Abubakar Bukola Saraki, and former National Security Advisor Lieutenant-General Aliyn Mohammed Gusau. Governor Saraki is with his 49 years the youngest of the four, IBB being the oldest (69), closely folowed by Gusau (67) and Atiku (65). It is hard to tell who will be the consensus candidate from the north but that a consensus candidate will have to be found is certain. If the northerners fail to realize this, Jonathan Goodluck is sure to win the PDP's presidential nomination. What will happen if Jonathan Goodluck does not win his party's nomination is a big question mark, but increased violence is very likely.

In Liberia 72-year old President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf hopes to win a second term. Her party, the Unity Party (UP), successfully merged with the Liberian Action Party (LAP) and the Liberia Unification Party (LUP) which significantly increased her chances to win the presidential elections. However, the outcome of the 2011 presidential elections will depend much on two factors. First, the verdict in the Taylor trial, expected at the end of this year or early 2011. If Charles Taylor would be acquitted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone - which cannot be totally ruled out - everything is likely to change. Secondly, the winner of the power struggle within what is sometimes called 'the coalition of rivals': former footbal star George Weah's Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) which also includes the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) of former LURD leader Sekou Damate Conneh, the National Patriotic Party (Taylor's party), and the Liberia National Union of Winston Tubman. George Weah ended second in the 2005 presidential elections and with his 44 years he stands for the candidate of the youth. For the past few years he has studied business administration in the USA to improve his experience and reputation.
Other presidential candidates are Charles Brumskine, a former Taylor ally, who ended third in the 2005 presidential elections, Dew Mayson, academician, businessman and politician who was ambassador to France under President Doe, Varney Sherman, now leader of the New Unity Party after winning an internal struggle from Henry Fahnbulleh, Sherman was fifth in the 2005 elections, and - last but not least - former warlord and Senator for Nimba County, Prince Johnson (see my October 13 post commenting on his candidacy).

Also in Liberia the stakes are high: peace, political stability, national reconciliation, economic recovery and the country's international reputation. Until the elections, peace will more or less be guaranteed by the UN Mission to Liberia; UNMIL may even stay beyond October 2011 which will favorably affect the much needed political stability. However, national and foreign investors will need guarantees to expand investments: political stability, national reconciliation, economic reforms, and less corruption which nowadays is rampant. National reconciliation will have to come from within and Liberia will need leaders who are objective, competent, visionary and - above all - unpartial. The ethnic divide and the still existing cleavage between 'Americo-Liberians' and 'Afro-Liberians' will have to disappear if Liberia is to develop and prosper.

Most if not all presidential contestants - both in Liberia and Nigeria - are silent about their views and strategies to tackle the most important political, economic and social problems of the country of which they aspire to be President. The objectives of the political parties which they represent are largely unknown - if they even exist. In both countries the struggle for the presidency seems to be held between politicians who only seem to be interested in power or money - or both.

Sunday, November 14



Presidential elections in Nigeria and Liberia: The issues at stake



Abuja officially became the capital city of Nigeria in 1991, replacing Lagos. It is located in the centre of the country in the Federal Capital Territory. Built in the 1980s and 1990s, it is a planned city, comparable to the capital of Brazil since 1960, Brasilia, which must have inspired the Nigerians. The Federal Republic of Nigeria comprises of 36 States. Click here if you want to know more about each State and here for a map showing the 36 States. Lagos is by far the largest of the Nigerian cities and with an estimated population of some 15 million people it is the second largest city on the African continent, after Cairo. Nobody knows how many mega cities Nigeria counts, there must be at least 20. With an overall population of 150 million people (estimate) and black Africa's second largest economy, after South Africa, Nigeria is a giant.



With a total population of 3.5 million and a modern economy still devastated, seven years after the end of the Second Civil War and the departure of warlord-president Charles Taylor, Liberia cannot compare to Nigeria. Yet, in my opinion the forthcoming presidential elections are equally important in both countries. I will clarify this statement because I do realize that there will be many people who disagree with this comparison.



In Nigeria, the 2011 presidential elections might stir unrest. After the death of President Yar'Adua, a 'Northerner', earlier this year, a 'Southerner' took over, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. With over 250 ethnic groups Nigerian politics are characterized by an uncertain balance. Broadly speaking, we may distinguish 'Hausaland' in the north and 'Yorubaland' in the southwest, whereas in the southeast of the country live the politically important Igbos - who unsuccessfully tried to break away from the rest of Nigeria in the late 1960s ('the Biafra war'). The political party of Yar'Adua and Jonathan Goodluck, the Peoples Democratic Party, is the only of the more than 60 registered political parties in Nigeria which does not have a specific, narrow regional base (read: ethnic base). However, the first successful presidental candidate of the PDP, Olusegun Obasanjo, a Yoruba and 'southerner', served two terms (1999 - 2007), after which a 'northerner' would serve two terms. Obasanjo was succeeded by Yar'Adua who, however, did not complete his first term. Consequently, northerners in the PDP now claim that not someone from the majority-Christian south - Goodluck Jonathan - but someone from the mainly Muslim north should be the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2011 elections. Nigeria is not only an ethnically diverse country but also there are important religious cleavages. But the most important difference may be yet to come.



The oil wealth of the country is exploited in the south, in the Niger Delta, and the proceeds are distributed among all 36 States though a complicated system which leaves the southern states - where the wealth is generated - unsatisfied whereas the northern states are always looking for ways to increase their share. The Nigerian constitution does not allow the Federal Government to intervene in the affairs of the States. The governors of these States are nearly allmighty people.

This is exactly what is at stake in the Nigerian presidential elections of next year: national unity, the distribution of oil revenues, and the immediate future of the continent's potential superpower. 'Nigeria is a nice set of countries' as someone once told me. In fact, the 36 States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are 36 mini republics, their Governors being the unproclaimed presidents of these mini republics. Some of these States have a larger Gross Domestic Product or population than in neighbouring independent countries - like Liberia.

To be continued

Friday, November 5

The 2011 presidential elections in Nigeria and Liberia

As of October 2010, it is foreseen that next year in one out of every three African countries presidential elections will be held, in 18 countries to be precise. In 9 more African countries parliamentary and/or local elections will be held too. This is a near-unprecendeted high number. Given the uneven distribution of Africa's population over the continent it is hard to tell how many people are involved in this democratic upsurge. My estimate would be that in total this may affect the lives of about 500 million people, slightly over half the total population of the continent. Three countries alone - Nigeria, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of Congo - account for over 300 million, a striking illustration of the uneven distribution of the population over the continent.

Presidential elections are going to be held - apart from unexpected postponements - in one North African country: Egypt, in 6 West African countries: Benin, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, in 5 Central African countries: Cameroun, Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sao Tomé & Príncipe, in three East African countries: Djibouti, Seychelles, Uganda, and in Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe in Southern Africa. Before readers of this blog will accuse me of diffusing misleading information, I will immediately add that the number of 'truly democratic countries' can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Many countries have seen the tenure of office of the sitting president repeatedly prolonged, and the rulers of four countries even are among the longest serving African presidents: Hosni Muburak in Egypte (29 years), Paul Biya in Cameroun (28 years), Yoweri Museveni in Uganda (24 years) and Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe (officially since 1987, de facto head of state since the country's independence in 1980). To call these countries democratic countries would be besides the truth. The same applies to a number of other countries mentioned above though I will not dwell on this issue.

I will focus on two countries where in 2011 presidential elections will be held: Liberia, where Africa's first democratically elected female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, aspires a second term, whereas in Nigeria the successor of president Yar'Adua, a 'northerner', who died in office earlier this year, Goodluck Jonathan, a 'southerner' hopes to be become elected as the leader of Africa's most populous country. The reasons why I selected these two countries out of the 18 where presidential elections will be held in 2010 are, first of all, that this blog is dedicated to events in Liberia, and secondly, because Nigeria - second in rank as Africa's most important economy - is going to be an economic superpower, comparable to the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) that impress us nowadays.

Last week when I was in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria - inspired by the capital of Brazil since 1960, Brasilia......

To be continued

Wednesday, October 13

The following post is repeating my September 28 post which was incomplete due to technical difficulties. I have now included the links missing in my previous post.

Democracy or Impunity? The Long Walk To Democracy In Africa

Last week - in mid-September - it was announced in Monrovia that the infamous former Liberian warlord Prince Johnson is to run for President. Nineteen years ago Prince Yormie Johnson captured then President Samuel Doe, ordered his men to torture, mutilate and execute him, while all gruesome details were videotaped. The tape, showing Johnson watching the spectacle while drinking a Budweiser beer, later found its way all over West Africa, was shown on TV all over the world and can still be seen on YouTube.

On September 22, James Fromoyan, the head of the independent Liberian National Electoral Committee (NEC), said that Johnson's recently created political party, the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP), met the constitutional requirements to compete in next year's presidential elections. Insignificant as this news may have been, it immediately made it to the major news sites (AP, AFP, BBC, VOA, etc.). Good news travels fast, but bad news sometimes even travels faster.

All news sites mentioned Johnson's responsibility for Doe's death, some also referred to the final report of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which left no doubt as to the criminal record of Prince Johnson - now an elected senator for Nimba County. None of these news sites, however, mentioned Johnson's claim that he murdered President Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso in October 1987. Although all circumstances surrounding Sankara's death are still (2010!) not yet known, there are very strong indications pointing to the involvement of warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor, Prince Johnson, and Blaise Compaoré, once Sankara's best friend, and since October 1987 President of Burkina Faso.

Like Prince Johnson, Charles Taylor, and numerous other Liberian warlords, Blaise Compaoré has blood on his hands. Yet he has been President of this poor Sahel country for almost 23 years (1987 - present). Compaoré is far from the only African president enjoying impunity for his crimes. He is in the company of a large number of other African presidents, ranging from small-size countries such as The Gambia, Equatorial Guinea and Rwanda, to medium-sized countries such as Chad, Uganda and Zimbabwe, and big countries such as Ethiopa and Sudan - to name but the most obvious ones.

The Gambian President, officially: His Excellency President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung Diliu Jammeh, seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1994 but is being held responsible for a number of human rights abuses in the small West African country which is completely surrounded by Senegal. Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is in power since 1979 (!) after chasing his uncle, dictator Macias Nguema, who was executed shortly after the military coup. The fabulous oil revenues of this small country only benefit a small group of people close to the President.

Paul Kagamé led an invasion into Rwanda where he emerged as the military strongman after the 1994 genocide. He rules the country with an iron fist. In Chad, Idriss Deby was at first welcomed as a liberator after Chadian President Hissein Habré fled to Senegal in 1990 - with millions of stolen funds - but has since disappointed many. He manages to stay in power, using the country's oil revenues, and has just celebrated his 20 years in power. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also came to power through the barrel of a gun - in 1985 - chasing his predecessor with a 'liberation army'. He was one of the first 'liberators' in Africa to use child soldiers to fight his opponents and was / is internationally admired for bringing stability to the 'Pearl of Africa'. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe (1980 - present) may not need any comments. Supported as a freedom fighter against the white minority regime of Ian Smith (1965 - 1980) he is a shame for Africa and the world. The atrocities in Matabeleland are - relatively speaking - small crimes compared to the devastation of the economy of what was once one of Africa's most promising countries at independence.

In East Africa, the peoples living in two big countries, Ethiopia and Sudan, are not luckier with their governments. Meles Zenawi, headed a 'liberation army' like many of his colleagues, and in 1992 chased the Red Emperor of Ethiopia, Mengistu Haile Mariam, who has since lived in exile in Zimbabwe. Like Hissein Habré of Chad, Mengistu is internationally wanted, but has managed to escape from justice though he was sentenced to death by an Ethiopian court. Meles Zenawi, now officially Prime minister, after being President for many years, is the real ruler of Ethiopia. Does anybody know the name of the present President of Ethiopia?! Like all other African presidents mentioned here who came to power by military means - without distinction - Meles Zenawi was elected and re-elected, but increasingly used force, undemocratic means and human rights abuses to achieve his goals. Last but not least, President Omar al-Bashr of Sudan. He came to power trough a military coup in 1985 and is now wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The foregoing overview focuses on sitting presidents and leaves aside former presidents who since have disappeared following multi-party elections, another coup d'état or civil war, or because of a natural death (apart from Habré and Mengistu). The most notorious of them are Abacha (Nigeria), Doe (Liberia) and Mobutu (Zaïre/DRC).

Conclusion

I do realize that Sub-Sahara Africa counts nearly 50 independent countries – 48 to be precise, or 47 when we exclude Somalia (and ignore the existence of Somaliland and Puntland). I have excluded from the foregoing countries where more or less recently military coups took place: Central African Republic, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mauritania, Niger, not to speak of countries with ‘civil unrest’ or with an unresolved civil war like Ivory Coast – not to speak of Sierra Leone or Liberia…

What has the foregoing to do with Liberia or Prince Johnson?

The answer consists of two words: ‘Impunity’ and ‘Democracy’.

Do I need to say more?

Tuesday, September 28

Democracy or Impunity? The Long Walk To Democracy In Africa.

Last week it was announced in Monrovia that the infamous former Liberian warlord Prince Johnson is to run for President. Nineteen years ago Prince Yormie Johnson captured then President Samuel Doe, ordered his men to torture, mutilate and execute him, while all gruesome details were videotaped. The tape, showing Johnson watching the spectacle while drinking a Budweiser beer, later found its way all over West Africa, was shown on TV all over the world and can still be seen on YouTube.

On September 22, James Fromoyan, the head of the independent Liberian National Electoral Committee (NEC), said that Johnson's recently created political party, the National Union for Democratic Progress (NUDP), met the constitutional requirements to compete in next year's presidential elections. Insignificant as this news may have been, it immediately made it to the major news sites (AP, AFP, BBC, VOA, etc, but not only foreign, also Liberian). Good news travels fast, but bad news sometimes even travels faster.

All news sites mentioned Johnson's responsibility for Doe's death, some also referred to the final report of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which left no doubt as to the criminal record of Prince Johnson - now an elected senator for Nimba County. None of these news sites, however, mentioned Johnson's claim that he murdered President Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso in October 1987. Although all circumstances surrounding Sankara's death are still (2010!) not yet known, there are very strong indications pointing to the involvement of warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor, Prince Johnson, and Blaise Compaoré, once Sankara's best friend, and since October 1987 President of Burkina Faso.

Like Prince Johnson, Charles Taylor, and numerous other Liberian warlords, Blaise Compaoré has blood on his hands. Yet he has been President of this poor Sahel country for almost 23 years (1987 - present). Compaoré is far from the only African president enjoying impunity for his crimes. He is in the company of a large number of other African presidents, ranging from small-size countries such as The Gambia, Equatorial Guinea and Rwanda, to medium-sized countries such as Chad, Uganda and Zimbabwe, and big countries such as Ethiopa and Sudan - to name but the most obvious ones.

The Gambian President, officially: His Excellency President Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung Diliu Jammeh, seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1994 but is being held responsible for a number of human rights abuses in the small West African country which is completely surrounded by Senegal. Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is in power since 1979 (!) after chasing his uncle, dictator Macias Nguema, who was executed shortly after the military coup. The fabulous oil revenues of this small country only benefit a small group of people close to the President.

Paul Kagamé led an invasion into Rwanda where he emerged as the military strongman after the 1994 genocide. He rules the country with an iron fist. In Chad, Idriss Deby was at first welcomed as a liberator after Chadian President Hissein Habré fled to Senegal in 1990 - with millions of stolen funds - but has since disappointed many. He manages to stay in power, using the country's oil revenues, and has just celebrated his 20 years in power. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni also came to power through the barrel of a gun - in 1985 - chasing his predecessor with a 'liberation army'. He was one of the first 'liberators' in Africa to use child soldiers to fight his opponents and was / is internationally admired for bringing stability to the 'Pearl of Africa'. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe (1980 - present) may not need any comments. Supported as a freedom fighter against the white minority regime of Ian Smith (1965 - 1980) he is a shame for Africa and the world. The atrocities in Matabeleland are even small crimes compared to the devastation of the economy of what was once one of Africa's most promising countries at independence.

In East Africa, the peoples living in two big countries, Ethiopia and Sudan, are not luckier with their governments. Meles Zenawi, headed a 'liberation army' like many of his colleagues, and in 1992 chased the Red Emperor of Ethiopia, Miriam Mengistu, who has since lived in exile in Zimbabwe. Like Hissein Habré of Chad, Mengistu is internationally wanted, but has managed to escape from justice. Meles Zenawi, now officially Prime minister, after being President for many years, is the real ruler of Ethiopia. Does anybody know the name of the present President of Ethiopia?! Like all other African presidents mentioned here who came to power by military means - without distinction - Meles Zenawi was elected and re-elected, but increasingly used force, undemocratic means and human rights abuses to achieve his goals. Last but not least, President Omar al-Bashr of Sudan. He came to power trough a military coup in 1985 and is now wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The foregoing overview focuses on sitting presidents and leaves aside former presidents who since have disappeared following multi-party elections, another coup d'état or civil war, or because of a natural death (apart from Habré and Mengistu). The most notorious of them are Abacha (Nigeria), Doe (Liberia) and Mobutu (Zaïre/DRC).

Conclusion

I do realize that Sub-Sahara Africa counts nearly 50 independent countries – 48 to be precise, or 47 when we exclude Somalia (and ignore the existence of Somaliland and Puntland). I have excluded from the foregoing countries where more or less recently military coups took place: Central African Republic, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mauritania, Niger, not to speak of countries with ‘civil unrest’ or with an unresolved civil war like Ivory Coast – not to speak of Sierra Leone or Liberia…

What has the foregoing to do with Liberia or Prince Johnson?

The answer consists of two words: ‘Impunity’ and ‘Democracy’.

Do I need to say more?

Monday, July 26

163rd Independence Anniversary Invites To Reflect And Celebrate

On July 26, Liberia and Liberians worldwide celebrate the 163rd anniversary of the independence of Africa’s oldest republic. On this occasion, two questions come to my mind. First, what explains that Liberia has managed to exist for over 160 years? Secondly, is it really an achievement??

It is quite a challenge to try to answer these questions in less than 400 words. Nevertheless, I will try it and tackle them.

How come that Liberia has survived despite all difficulties? ‘Cause difficulties, there were many. I will neither mention all nor elaborate on them: I would already exceed my maximum 400 words. The settler population that created the republic did not come voluntary to the shores of the Pepper or Grain Coast, definitely not all of them. Further, they had to start from scratch: there was nothing, all modern institutions a.s.o. had to be built. Moreover, the immigrants alienated the peoples living on the Pepper Coast by imposing their laws while at the same time excluding them from the benefits of these laws. Not surprisingly, after 133 years, the rule of the Americo-Liberians, as they preferred to call themselves, was violently overthrown. The chaos that followed led to an even more violent struggle for power which lasted some 14 years. Since then, Liberia re-started from scratch.

In my opinion, there are two major explanations for Liberia’s survival despite all these difficulties. First and foremost I must mention the US protection and support. Without the support of the American Colonization Society (ACS) in the 19th century and the US Government in the 20th century, for reasons of the Cold War, the Lone Star Republic would not have survived. It is not a coincidence that the worst part of Liberia’s contemporary history started after the end of the Cold War.

Secondly, the successive Liberian governments and foreign investors connived in the exploitation of the rich natural resources of the country. Under this arrangement – called the Open Door Policy – the governing elite used a portion of the proceeds of the economic development which took place – albeit in enclave sectors – to stay in power and live a comfortable life. The foreign investors were allowed to take the largest share of the cake. The foregoing is important since it contains important lessons for the future.

Then the second question. How much of an achievement is it to have existed for over 160 years?
According to most sources the world nowadays counts 195 independent countries leaving important aspects of constitutional law here aside. Only about a quarter of these 195 countries exists for more than a century.

In Africa there are three ‘old’ countries: The oldest one is Ethiopia, before the 20th c. called Abyssynia. The second oldest is Liberia. The third is the Republic of South Africa (officially the ‘Union of South Africa’) – besides, another country marked by immigration and ethnic conflict (!). The Republic of South Africa emerged in the early years of the 20th c. on the ashes of the defeated Boer Republics of which Transvaal (or South African Republic) and Orange Free State were the most important ones.

Throughout history many countries split, merged, changed their names or were swept from the world map as a result of war. E.g. the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe, the Ottoman Empire (aka the Turkish Empire) and, more recent, the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR).

‘Independent’ African countries that have disappeared are the Boer Republics in Southern Africa, created in the last quarter of the 19th century, and the Bantustans (aka Black African homelands) in particular Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei (the so-called TBVC states) created by the Apartheid regime but which did not survive the fall of ‘Apartheid’.

Consequently, many countries no longer exist.

In light of the foregoing there is reason to celebrate in Liberia 'July 26'. The answer to my second question is: ‘Yes, it is an achievement to have survived.’

But now, at the end of my reflections, a third question emerges: What else did Liberia achieve?

No doubt, a painful question. We will leave it until after the party.

I wish all Liberians a wonderful July 26!!

All Hail, Liberia, Hail! Click here for the music.

Saturday, July 10

Is debt relief the solution?

When in 1926 Firestone gained control over Liberia’s public finance through a new - and according to some unnecessary - US $ 5 million loan which replaced all existing foreign loans of Liberia, there was a public outcry. Some people were outraged. Firestone wanted some control over the Liberian Government to protect its interests which consisted of what later proved to be a historic concession agreement for the production of natural rubber. The loan put the country virtually under the control of Americans and administrators appointed by people on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The Liberian Government was even forbidden to contract new loans without the written consent of Firestone!

Although there are many differences between this famous Firestone Loan and the debt relief Liberia recently obtained, there also are important similarities and, what is even more important, lessons to be learned. Because that’s ultimately the usefulness of history: to learn from it in order to improve present and future actions.

Let there be no misunderstanding about my joy for this historic debt write-off. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her team are to be congratulated with this achievement. The US $ 4.6 billion (!) debt relief which Liberia thus obtained from multilateral, bilateral and commercial creditors erases a huge debt stock which contributed to discourage foreign and domestic investors to invest in the country and would have captured an important portion of public expenditures in order to service it – if the Liberian Government would have serviced its debt, which it did not do.

Since the 1980 coup d’état, followed by the 14-year civil war, none of the loans Liberia owed to foreign creditors were serviced, and thus penalties and arrears (interest payments and amortization of loans) grew every year. This had resulted in a staggering US $ 4.9 billion debt when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected president. As President Sirleaf said in a nation-wide address informing the Liberian population of the debt cancellation: ‘Our budget for 2009-2010 is US $ 350 million. To settle that US 4.9 billion debt, we would have had to pay our creditors our entire budget for 28 years!’

It all began in 2008. In March of that year, after two years in office, President Sirleaf and (then) Finance Minister Antoinette Sayeh had succeeded in normalizing relations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Being former World Bank officials, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Antoinette Sayeh are on good terms with the Bretton Woods Institutions and their staff. See my March 19, 2008 posting on this blog. I then announced that HIPC and PRSP would become household words in Liberia. HIPC stands for Heavily-Indebted Poor Country. Liberia joined this club of now 29 poor and heavily indebted countries in 2008, when it reached the so-called decision point (see the previous link, but scroll), the first step towards a more comprehensive debt relief. Shortly after Liberia became a so-called HIPC-country, Antoinette Sayeh was appointed Director of the IMF’s African Department, in May 2008, and returned to Washington DC where she had been living for 17 years, working with the World Bank, before joining Sirleaf’s administration in 2006. Also in 2008, the Sirleaf Administration submitted a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) to the IMF and World Bank, one of the many conditions for further debt relief. Liberia worked hard to meet the other conditions for a comprehensive debt relief agreement and to reach the so-called completion point (see this link and scroll). These requirements are very technical, interested readers are referred to the HIPC site just mentioned.

Finance and Planning Ministers Augustine K. Ngafuan and Amara Konneh, who led Liberia’s HIPC delegation to Washington DC, returned to Liberia on June 29, announcing that Liberia had reached the HPIC completion point, thus obtaining the green light from World Bank and IMF for a US $ 4.6 billion debt cancellation. One of the conditions they noted was that now Liberia is only allowed to borrow for development projects. Another condition prescribed that loans should not exceed 2% of the country’s GDP which means US $ 40 million annually. Once more Liberia is placed under guardianship. This time not of the US overnment or a US company, but of the Bretton Woods Institutions.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf immediately expressed great satisfaction over the debt relief in a nation-wide address, comparing it with another Independence Day for Liberia. Antoinette Sayeh said that Liberia now has a real chance to develop with the debt burden lifted. Dr. Toga McIntosh Gaewea, former Liberian Finance minister and one of the brains behind the PRSP - now World Bank executive in Washington DC - praised the commitment of the Sirleaf administration to pro poor growth, macroeconomic stability, fiscal and monetary prudence and sustainable development through the PRSP and other development frameworks.

It is important to mention that one of the weakest points in the performance of the Sirleaf Administration refers to public finance management. Liberia did not fully meet the standards set by IMF and World Bank. In popular terms, the management of the public sector still suffers from mismanagment, inefficiency and corruption. However, this has not prevented the EU to immdiately grant budgetary support to the Government of Liberia to the tune of US $ 8.5 million. In light of the budgetary deficit Liberia is facing due to the worldwide economic crisis, a present from heaven.

Liberia’s economic history is one of relying on foreign capital, be it direct foreign investments or foreign loans. Notably the latter proved to do more harm than good. It started with the 1871 loan which led to the country’s first coup d’état and the death of President Edward Roye, followed by the loans of 1906 and 1912, the infamous 1926 Firestone Loan, and many more. Will the present step, erasing once more all of its debts, enable Liberia to definitely leave its ugly past of notorious borrower failing to meet its obligations?

I will not conceal that I have mixed feelings with respect to this as well as other debt relief deals, notably since it concerns countries which are well endowed with natural resources and where outright thievery and corruption combined with mismanagement are among the root causes of the inability to service the debt incurred. Moreover, the economic potential of these countries, rich in minerals, and a huge potential in agricutural development, should enable them to finance their own development. In the same week that Liberia reached the HIPC completion point another Sub-Saharan African country, also well endowed with natural resources, reached the HIPC completion point. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of its independence, the Democratic Republic of Congo ('Congo-Kinshasa') reached the HIPC completion point. This paved the way for the Paris Club to cancel more than US$ 13 billion.

These amounts always puzzle me. US $ 4.600.000.000,00 That is what it is. Four thousand six hundred million American dollars. I bet nobody reading this blog can explain me how much this really is. Take one million for you - and one for me :-) and we still have an amount left of US $ 4.598.000.000,00 - unbelievable.

Comparing the two countries,DRC and Liberia, I will immediately admit that I am far more optimistic about Liberia’s future and prospects than those of the DRC. There are many reasons for it, one of the most important being the commitment of the country's leader.

Notwithstanding this difference, Liberia is far from leaving its ugly past behind. There still are many challenges. The country will need to regain the confidence of foreign investors – despite some recent successes in the agricultural and mining sectors. Liberia will have to stop borrowing for unproductive purposes. There are many, many more challenges.

Three priorities impose themselves. Failing to realize them will mean that the lessons of the infamous 1926 Firestone loan and the recent debt cancellation have not been learned. The proceeds of the infamous 1926 Firestone loan were not used for productive activities but were squandered. The HIPC debt relief of 2010 will also not benefit the people of Liberia unless the following three priorities will be rigorously pursued: 1) eradicate corruption, 2) improve infrastructure and 3) enhance agriculture.

Therefore, the answer to my question: 'Is debt relief a solution?' is an outright 'NO'. Debt relief is no panacea for Liberia's problems, as also Vice President Boakai and Finance Minister Ngaufuan said. But it represents an opportunity that should not be missed.

The penalty to miss it is misery and poverty. The Liberian people deserves better. It all depends on the leaders. Next year, presidental and legislative elections will be held. Who will be the new leader(s)? The country cannot afford missteps.

Sunday, June 27

THINK Liberia – Touching Humanity In Need of Kindness, a new web site

Earlier this month a new web site and related blog was added to the many sites and blogs devoted to Liberia and Liberians. On June 7, http://www.thinkliberia.com/ was launched.

THINK Liberia or 'Touching Humanity In Need of Kindness' is a faith-based, Liberian, non-governmental organization established seven years ago, in 2003 - when the civil war was still raging - , a few months before the resignation of President Charles Taylor. A humanitarian NGO, ThinkLiberia focuses on the rights and well-being of women and children, notably ‘war wives’ of fighting forces, other victims of sexual violence, and child mothers.

Since 2003, ThinkLiberia has provided the following services:

* Safe homes where victims of sexual violence are given psychological support;
* Rehabilitation homes in Paynesville/Monrovia and Buchanan;
* A Learning Enrichment Program where children are tutored;
* A Participatory Action Research Program focusing the reinteration of girl mothers;

Recently, the Director of THINK in Liberia, Rosana Schaack, was one of the recipients for the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals by the University of Minnesota. Schaack was a student at the university (Humphry Institute of Public Affairs, Humphry Fellow 2008-2009).

The Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals is a university-wide award for alumni, former students, and friends of the university who have distinguished themselves in their post-university work as leaders in their professional careers. The selection committee for the Award cited Rosana Schaack’s role as a public servant, her work to empower the poorest of the poor, and her mission to bring hope to those he need it most. The committee lauded her passionate voice for justice for the young woman and children of emerging Liberia and her total involvement in the fight against gender-based violence.

Both web site and blog are worth visiting, they merit to be added to your favorites. People like Rosana Schaack and her co-workers deserve our admiration and support, they are the builders of a new Liberia on the ruins of the old Liberia.

The plight of the victims of sexual violence should be a concern of us all. Whereas the victims need to be catered for, civil society, politicians and judges in particular should strive to bring to justice not only those responsible for these criminal and heinous acts, but also those responsible for creating an environment of lawlessness making these atrocities possible.

‘Let Justice Be Done To All’ (official Liberian motto ).

Monday, May 31

TPS and money transfer

The meeting between the President of perhaps the most powerful nation in the world and the President of maybe one of the weakest states on earth was historic.

On May 27, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was received by President Barrack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House. Other bloggers have already commented on this historic meeting. Therefore, I will focus on a particular aspect of their conversation.

President Obama did not hide his admiration for Africa’s first democratically elected woman-president when he publicly said that he had been an extraordinary admirer of her work for many years. President Sirleaf welcomed the US leader's commendation on behalf of the Liberian people and noted that what President Obama observed about Liberia would not have been possible without the assistance of the United States. Notably, she thanked the US government for allowing some 14,000 Liberians currently living in the US on Temporary Protective Status or TPS and the Obama administration for a recent action taken to extend the delayed enforced departure for another year.

At the height of the First Liberian civil war (1989 – 1997), the government of the United States extended ‘temporary protection status’ to all Liberians who could get to the USA, and 14,000 of them took advantage of that humanitarian offer. Temporary protection status is an immigration status somewhere between political asylum and refugee status. Administered by the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, it is extended to nationals of countries facing civil unrest or natural disaster.

How many Liberians are living outside Liberia?? Nobody knows, that’s for sure. Who dares to guess?

Official figures are by definition unreliable figures. My estimate is that at least 30,000 Liberians are living outside Liberia, half of them in the USA. The others are living in Europe or Africa. They represent at least one percent of the Liberian population, which may not be an impressive figure. However, though I have no firm figures at hand, I bet that their average educational level is above Liberia’s average. This means that the relative importance of the total number of Liberian abroad supersedes its actual number.

This phenomenon is not limited to Liberians. There are many Sudanese, Ethiopian and Eritrean people, varying from medical doctors to taxi drivers, working in the New England States and in the Washington DC area. The same is true for Europe. To just give one example: it is being estimated that about 1.5 million Nigerians are living outside Nigeria, legally or illegally. This number represents one percent of the most populated country in Sub-Saharan Africa: one out of every five black Africans is Nigerian. Interestingly, together they remitted home US $ 10 billion in 2009, according to the World Bank.

So, what could be the contribution of Liberians living outside Liberia to the survival of their relatives and friends, to the development of the Liberian economy, to the sustainability of the nation, to the future of their country?

If anybody knows the answer, please come forward. It could well be that Liberians abroad send, on an annual basis, remittances with an overall value of approximately US $ 30 million to Liberia, which represents about 10 percent of the National Budget. Not a huge amount, but for an unknown number of Liberians it may be the difference between life and death, it may pay for medicine or food which otherwise would not have been bought, or provide the small working capital for a market transaction or a small business.

Tuesday, April 20

Gus Kouwenhoven on trial again – Dutch Supreme Court orders

Two years ago – on March 10, 2008 - I commented on the acquittal of Gus Kouwenhoven, also known as Guus van Kouwenhoven, a Dutch timber trader and business partner of Charles Taylor, accused of illegal arms trade for his business partner, and I lauded the Dutch judiciary system – see my March 10, 2008 blog posting. Today I repeat my praise. I just heard the news that the Supreme Court of the Netherlands has overturned the acquittal of Kouwenhoven and ordered a new appeal hearing. The Dutch Supreme Court said that appeals judges had been wrong to reject a prosecution request to hear two anonymous witnesses. Consequently, Mr. Gus, as he is known in Liberia, will have to stand trial again. Meanwhile he remains a free man.

‘Mister Gus’

The Dutch businessman Gus Kouwenhoven first came to Liberia in the late 1980s after shady deals in the USA where he had been convicted and sentenced to two years jail. In Liberia he became General Manager of the famous Hotel Africa, near Monrovia, later he went into the logging business and became Chairman of the Malaysian Oriental Timber Company, one of the largest timber companies in the country, and Managing Director of the Royal Timber Company. He also was a member of the Board of the Forestry Development Authority, a Liberian governmental institution mandated to regulate and supervise forest exploitation and timber production in the country.

In 2000, it was reported that Gus Kouwenhoven belonged to Taylor’s ‘inner circle’ and in the UN’s Expert Panel Report on Sierra Leone (2000) he was accused of active involvement in arms smuggling. He subsequently was hit by an UN travel ban though this did not prevent him from seeking refuge in Congo. In March 2005 he was arrested in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where he had travelled to visit his family. In 2006, the District Court of The Hague sentenced Gus Kouwenhoven to 8 years in prison for illegal arms trade, but on March 10, 2008 the Dutch Court of Appeal overturned the 2006 conviction and acquitted Kouwenhoven of all accusations including allegations that he had participated in war crimes in Liberia.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL)

In December 2009 one of Charles Taylor’s secret bank accounts was revealed by Prosecutor Nicholas Koumjian during the cross-examination of Charles Taylor at the SCSL in The Hague. Nicholas Koumjian ended the last hearing of the year with a sensational piece of evidence: a hitherto unseen statement from a personal bank account opened by Taylor in December 1999. Even more sensational was Taylor’s admission that it was a “covert account opened up by the Government of Liberia during this period, to fight our war”. According to the evidence two major deposits were made in 2000: US $ 2 million from Natura Holdings, owned by Gus Kouwenhoven, and US $ 3.5 million from the Taiwanese embassy in Monrovia. Taylor admitted that the money was used to buy arms.

Taylor’s statement seemingly contradicts previous statements by Kouwenhoven denying accusations that money from his company or companies was ever used to buy arms. The UN Expert Panel Report of 2000 had already linked him to arms purchases from the notorious arms dealer Victor Bout, an allegation that was also rejected by mister Kouwenhoven.

Oscar Wilde in his The Importance of Being Earnest already acknowledged that ‘The truth is rarely pure and never simple’.

I wish the Dutch judges all the wisdom they need to arrive at the right conclusion and a fair judgement that does justice to the interests of all victims of the Second Liberian Civil War (1999 - 2003).

Sunday, April 11

April 12, 1980 – 2010

I can’t help but think of April 12, 1980 when the anniversary of Samuel Doe’s bloody coup d’état approaches. I happened to be in Monrovia on that historic day, en route to Burkina Faso, then still called Upper Volta, where I was to witness three more coup d’états of which Thomas Sankara’s seizure of power was the most impressive.

1980 – 2010. Liberia underwent more changes in the past thirty years than in the century before. Doe’s People’s Redemption Council marked a U-turn in the history of Africa oldest Republic where the roots of the recent turmoil had been developing since 1822. In that year the first freed slaves and free-born blacks set foot here on West African soil. Despised and unwanted in the land where their forefathers had been brought under coercion, they established a Republic based on the model of the land where they had been born and had grown up. And like the slave masters had treated them, they treated the aboriginal population they met on what used to be called the Pepper Coast.

1980 – 2010. In these thirty years Liberia had one military dictator-president who was the country’s first President of tribal origin, six Interim Presidents among whom Africa’s first female Head of State, one elected warlord-president who was forced to step down, one Vice President who after becoming President had the shortest Administration in the country’s history - three months. He was succeeded by a ‘caretaker’-not called President who in his turn was succeeded by Africa’s first elected female Head of State. Compare that with the previous 130 years which had known only 23 presidents, 12 of them born in the USA or the Caribbean, 11 born in Liberia, among whom the country’s longest serving President, 27 years.

1980 – 2010. The people of Liberia suffered from two civil wars which cost over 200,000 people their lives. Many more suffered, were wounded, and remained traumatized after the wars had ended. In the early years of the third millennium, Africa’s oldest republic had gained the reputation of a ‘failed ‘state’, a conclusion which I personally do not share, for various reasons.
But undoubtedly true is that when Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took over, in 2006, the modern economy was in ruins, the foreign investors had left, like most of the political and intellectual elite, and the people were poorer and more divided as ever. The latest census revealed that the total population now numbers more than three million, not much for a country well endowed with natural resources, but too large in view of the actual National Budget of about US $ 350 million. Compare that with total public expenditures thirty years earlier, which amounted to US $ 324 million, in 1979, and it may be difficult not to despair looking at this budgetary standstill.

However, I do not share this feeling of hopelessness, I also disagree with the qualification ‘failed state’. Yet I am puzzled how it can be possible that people inflict upon other people the cruelties which we have seen in Liberia. Though Liberia is not the only country in the world where people underwent these sufferings. What to think of the United States of America where a major civil war raged between 1861 and 1865, divided the country, and costs half a million people their lives? By the way, isn’t it an ironic coincidence that the US civil war started on April 12?

Who would have qualified the USA in 1865, when the civil war ended, as a ‘failed state’? And what about Europe? There may be no other continent where so many wars raged, yet most European countries rank among the richest in the world nowadays. And look at Asia, take the example of Vietnam. This country was virtually destroyed by the Americans in the 1970s. Nowadays it is one of the emerging Asian economies, with Indonesia, India and China.

Liberia, once Africa’s leading iron ore exporter and the third largest iron ore exporter in the world, with many other precious minerals, with the largest mercantile fleet in the world and the world's largest rubber plantation within its borders, has the economic potential to recover from the wars and their aftermath. Liberia has many strong and intellectual people, the organization of the civil wars proofs it, as contradictory as this may sound. Both within and outside the national territory there are many hard working, capable and motivated people who in good combination with the nation’s natural wealth can turn the ‘Land of Liberty’, the previous ‘Pepper Coast’, into a small paradise where people harmoniously live together. The recipe? It is not as difficult as people tend to think. Good policies, in combination with investments in people, infrastructure and institutions have proven to be the road to take, leading to economic growth, development and prosperity.

Liberia can realize another U-turn, I am absolutely sure. The economic changes which the country underwent in the 1950 – 1980 period are proof of that – despite the ravages of the last 30 years. Government revenues rose from less than US $ 4 million (!) in 1950 to US $ 200 million in 1980. The National Product (GDP) was roughly some US $ 35 million in 1950, at the end of the 1970s it had grown to US $ 750 million. This was considered a phenomenal performance in those days despite the criticism and the conviction of many that Liberia could have done better had it managed better its economy and controlled more some foreign investors.

Liberia and Liberians should learn from the past if the next U-turn is to be realized. Yes, it can!

Sunday, April 4

Ritualistic Murders, Voodoo and the Rule of Law

Eleven days ago, March 24, I wrote about ritual killings in Lofa County, Liberia, as well as in a number of other countries and the involvement of high ranking people, politicians and rich businessmen. Two days later a high profile ritual murder case was unearthed in Maryland County, involving several high-ranking government officials.

Former Interior Minister and Maryland Superintendent under previous Administrations, and at the moment of his arrest Ambassador-at-Large appointed by President Sirleaf, Dan Morias, former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and former Maryland County Attorney Cllr Fulton Yancy, together with at least eight other persons, were arrested following a string of ritual murders. They are now in custody in the county capital’s jail, according to the Harper police 'for protective reasons’. Some sources even report the arrest of as many as nineteen suspected ritual killers.

The circumstances surrounding their arrests caused President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to warn against voodoo justice and raise many questions about the rule of law in Liberia.

Maryland County is notorious for its history of ritualistic killings, one of the most sensational being the ritual killing of Moses Tweh in 1977 for which ultimately seven persons were condemned and publicly executed, among whom a member of the House of Representatives, Allen Yancy, older brother of Fulton Yancy, and Maryland Superintendent James Anderson, son of the Chairman of the True Whig Party, in those days the only legalized political party. Not surprisingly, Marylanders’ past of ritual killings and fears resurfaces, as reported by Tom Kamara in The New Democrat Online. Besides, the famous Liberian journalist presents a chilling report on the interrogation techniques (read: torture) of the Liberian police in the Moses Tweh murder case.

The list of disappeared and ritually murdered people in Maryland County is long, but nobody knows how long. When the Minister of Justice, Christiana Tah, visited the County in the wake of the recent arrests she met with citizens who told her that between 1999 and 2010, 16 people had been reported missing and are believed to be victims of ritualistic killings. The minister acknowledged ‘that there are still lots of unresolved cases of this nature.’ Meanwhile Government has deployed additional and more police officers to Maryland to ensure security in the area.

Cllr Fulton Yancy is accused of killing the 7-month pregnant Tomo Allison and pulling the unborn child out, killing the baby too. The circumstances surrounding the discovery of evidence in his home are astonishing. The Liberia National Police used the services of a witch doctor or voodoo priest who reportedly went into Mr Yancy’s house and with the ‘aid of a young girl’ discovered two bottles of blood and human parts, and the intestines of the unborn child. The woman and child were reportedly killed four months ago. The use of traditional doctors or voodoo priests to solve crimes is not new. President Samuel Doe hired a Kissi voodoo high priest Contabu who was even officially employed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It has been reported that citizens of Bong County are now demanding that traditional priests are employed to solve ritualistic murders in their county.

The Harper Police handling of the ritualistic case is increasingly being criticized, both by the media and individuals like Dr. James Elliot, a Liberian pathologist based in the USA. Also President Sirleaf was very outspoken. She was closely involved in the arrests and investigation. She warned local people in Maryland against ‘sassywood’ or voodoo justice.

Cllr Fulton Yancy denies any involvement in the ritual murder of Tomo Allison, her unborn baby and others. So does the other top official arrested, Dan Morias. The latter accused unnamed Liberians of attempting to destroy his ambitions to become a Senator in the forthcoming elections of 2011.

Dan Morias is not an unknown in Liberian politics. The former Superintendent of Maryland County and Interior Minister was a close ally of warlord-president Charles Taylor and also on good terms with Taylor’s successor Guyde Bryant – who hails from Maryland County - and since he was nominated Special Envoy by President Sirleaf I assume that Morias also enjoys (enjoyed??) President Sirleaf’s confidence.

I remember that in 2008 Morias' name was mentioned at a TRC hearing. Survivors recounted before the Truth and Reconciliation Committee the massacre of 369 civilians in 2003. In that year, militiamen loyal to Charles Taylor rounded up 369 inhabitants of Glaro and massacred them at various locations in River Gee County, which borders Maryland County. The killings, witnesses said, were executed by fighters of the ‘Mountain Lions Brigade’ under the supervision of former Maryland County Superintendent Morias and General William Sumo.

The definition of rule of law is a complicated issue and I will not attempt to provide one here. Nevertheless, a basic principle is that ‘Nobody is guilty unless found guilty after a fair trial.’ But who is meanwhile protecting ordinary people - men, women, children, babies even unborn -their basic human rights, in particular their right to freedom of fear?

Not only in Liberia this basic question remains increasingly unanswered, also in Uganda and South Africa, to name but two countries where new cases of ritual killings continue to emerge, criminals get away with their heinous crimes, and impunity is rather common than exception.

I am afraid the last statement of my March 24 posting is more valid than ever.

Wednesday, March 24

Ritual killings. Will it ever stop?!

I was struck by a recent article: ‘Concerns of ritualistic killings: Sirleaf meets with citizens’

On March 18, more than one hundred inhabitants of Zorzor District, Lofa County, residing in Zorzor and Monrovia, staged a peaceful demonstration in the capital following a string of ritual murders in Zorzor, Lofa County, in the northwest of the country. Afterwards, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf met with a number of them who offered her a petition. The statement was signed by paramount and clan chiefs representing clans in Bluyeama, Gizima, and Zieama. In their petition they expressed concern that the Government’s response to the recent incidents and fighting in Lofa County was overshadowing their concerns of ritualistic killings in the county.

In February, four people had been killed in Konia, Zorzor and Voinjama, the county capital in what some people say was a conflict between Christians and Muslims while others argue it was an escalated dispute over land. Much has been said and written about this. However, the representatives of Zorzor District who met with President Sirleaf were more worried about an age-old problem everybody knows and fears in Liberia. They spoke of three recent cases of ritualistic murders which have remained unsolved.

When reading the article, I almost could not believe my eyes. Nevertheless, I have no reason not to believe it. Ritual killings are - I dare to say - common in Liberia. Ritual murders are a form of juju, as sorcery is called in Liberia and a number of other West African countries. In Liberia, everybody is afraid of ‘heart men’. Centuries old traditional practices included ritual human sacrifice and sometimes even cannibalism. But from traditional practice it has turned into an important part of the political culture. Nowadays, ritual murders are also committed by ‘ordinary’ criminals who act on behalf of politicians and businessmen who want more power and wealth.

The list of victims is long and from everywhere: the southeast - Maryland County is notoriously known for it - the north, Nimba County, and as the people from Zorzor demonstrated, the northwest of the country, but also in the nation’s capital ritual murders occur. Many people live in constant fear. And not only in Liberia.

In Nigeria, every year, hundreds of children, men and women lose their lives to ritual murderers. Muti murders are widespread in southern Africa, notably in the Republic of South Africa. An estimated 300 people are sacrificed every year and their body parts used in Muti medicine. The recent wave of ritualistic killings of albino people in Tanzania and Burundi was – exceptionally – exposed in the international media. It was equally shocking to read about the child sacrifices in Uganda. Research which I conducted in recent years indicates that ritual murders occur all over the African continent. The victims are not only the slaughtered people, children, women, men, but also the entire population living in fear and too afraid to walk home after sunset or to leave for their farms before sunrise.

Freedom of fear is a human right. The rule of law is an obligation of the state.

Sure, an explanation for the phenomenon of ritual murders is the uneducated people’s belief in sorcery, but superstition alone does not explain the continuation of these barbaric and criminal acts. Moreover, the reality is that many ritualistic killings are committed by educated people. Many people in Sub-Saharan African countries believe that governments are not willing to stop and eradicate these practices since they are part of the system.

The only way these governments can prove their citizens to be wrong is to make an end to ritual murders and to give the citizens their freedom back.

Sunday, February 21

Coups and constitutions

Recent developments in the West Africa sub-region provided inspiration for this cursory view of events in a number of West African states during the past five years. The main question I asked myself was whether democracy was a right or a luxury – and who has the right to determine it.

The appetite of democratically elected Presidents to stay in power – by changing their nation’s constitution – seems to be a constant factor in politics in West African countries - to just limit myself to the sub-region. Last but not least, recent developments in Liberia are noteworthy, in particular President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's indication that she is considering a second term.

What is important, however, in all these cases, is whether the answer is coming from the ballot or the bullet.

Niger

February 18, 2010 – Today it was announced in Niamey, capital of the Republic of Niger, West Africa, that a successful military coup d’état had taken place. A spokesman for the junta, which seized power, announced on Thursday night in a televised address that the constitution had been suspended, parliament and other state institutions dissolved, the borders closed and a curfew imposed. The following day already the borders were re-opened and the curfew lifted. Shops and banks were open on the day following the coup, and traffic normal. The whereabouts of the deposed President, Mamdou Tandja, were unclear. According to some sources he was reported missing whereas the junta announced that he had been arrested.

The coup plotters said they were motivated to stage their unconstitutional act by President Tandja’s decision, last August, to change the constitution – allowing (only) two presidential terms - in order to remain in power indefinitely.
The junta, which has called itself the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy, is composed of four colonels. The coup leader is col Salou Djibo. The other junta members are col Djibrilla Hima Hamidou (who also particpated in a successful military coup d’état in 1999), col Goukoye Abdul Karimou (spokesman) and col Amadou Harouna. Uranium-rich Niger has known long periods of military rule since independence from France, fifty years ago.

Former colonial power France, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU) immediately condemned the bloody coup, in which at least ten people died. A US State Department spokesman publicly suggested that President Tandja may have triggered the coup himself by 'trying to extend his mandate', which led to speculation of a possible US involvement in what some called the 'Uranium coup'.

Nigeria

February 9, 2010 - A week earlier, a ‘silent coup’ had taken place in neighboring Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country, and the second largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. On that day, February 9, the National Assembly declared the Vice President, Dr Jonathan Goodluck, Acting President because of the prolonged absence of ailing President Yar’Adua who is undergoing medical treatment in Saudi Arabia. Yar’Adua had left the country in November 2009, apparently for a medical check-up, but without delegating powers to an interim leader.

The Nigerian Constitution did not foresee the situation which then emerged. Initially this led to much confusion and agitation, and to tough bickering among legal experts, who often took sides in the debate which reflected rather their regional origin than a constitutional view. The unanimous decision of both the House of Representatives and the Senate to designate Jonathan Goodluck Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria until the country’s legal President is fit to rule again, must be considered unconstitutional since officially a constitutional change would have been required to legalize this decision even when unanimously taken by the National Assembly.

The Nigerian political situation is a very complex one. The federal republic comprises of thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory (Abuja). Each of the thirty-six states could be considered a mini republic, the Governor as its President. The fragile peace and precarious balance among the states, in particular the North versus the South, has led to the present system in which the President alternatively comes from the North and the South. The previous President, Olusegun Obasanjo originated from the South. After failing to change the constitution and to stay in power for a third term, he gave way to the Northerner Umaru Yar'Adua – the winner of the contested 2007 presidential elections. But Jonathan Goodluck is a Southerner and his nomination as Acting President may disturb the precarious political balance. The contemporary history of oil-rich Nigeria is one of coups, counter-coups and military dictators.

Guinea

December 2008 - Another West African country, bauxite-rich Guinea, witnessed a military coup d’état, only hours after the death of military dictator, President Lansana Conteh. He had ruled Guinea with iron fist after seizing power in a military coup, twenty-four years earlier, after the country’s first President (1958 – 1984) had died, the charismatic but ruthless Ahmed Sekou Toure. Also see my December 2008 and March 2009 postings.

The December 2008 coup was strongly condemned by the international community, but welcomed by many Guineans. The junta’s strongman was Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, originally the junta spokesman but who soon became its leader. Like many ‘putchistes’ before him, the leader of the military junta, which called itself the National Council for Development and Democracy, promised speedy elections but soon changed his mind and clung to power.

In September 2009, over 150 people were killed and more than 1200 injured when soldiers opened fire on demonstrators who wanted military ruler Moussa Camara to step down. A couple of months later, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was shot in the head and seriously injured by a former aide. He now is recovering in Burkina Faso, upon the invitation of President Blaise Compaore. Camara was replaced by his deputy, General Sekouba Konate.

Mauritania

August 2008 – Another West African country where the military could not resist the temptation to intervene in domestic politics, was Mauritania. On August 4, Mauritanian army officers announced the overthrow of the country's president, Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and the creation of a military council to rule the country, named the Military Council for Justice and Democracy. More than two-thirds of the members of parliament, and the same proportion of senators, supported the coup. The politicians said the army had merely done its duty in removing President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, who they accused of acting anti-constitutionally.

The coup, which drew widespread international criticism, was given a mixed reception domestically. France and the US had cancelled their aid. The African Union also suspended the country following the 6 August coup. The governments of South Africa and Nigeria - both major players in the African Union - also criticized the military takeover. Mauritania has a long history of coups - more than 10 military coup attempts over the last three decades - with the military involved in nearly every government since its independence from France in 1960.

Togo, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia

The second half of the first decade of the third millennium had started with the young Eyadéma succeeding his father, Africa’s longest serving ruler who had died at the relatively young age of 69 years. In February 2005, 39-year old Faure Gnassinbe Eyadéma was hurriedly installed by the military as Togo’s new President after his father Gnassingbe Eyadéma had died. Dynestic succession is to become a constant characteristic in politics in African countries, notably in francophone Africa. In the Democratic Republic of Congo the murdered head of state Laurent Kabila was succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila (2001). When in another Central African Republic, Gabon, the then longest-serving African Head of State, Elhadji Omar Bongo, passed away, in 2009, he too was succeeded by his son, Ali Ben Bongo – albeit through democratic elections.

In three other small West African countries a new president was sworn in during the 2005 - 2010 period. In all three countries this happened after a civil war characterized by much violence.

In March 2009, President Vieira ('Nino') of Guinea Bissau was killed by renegade soldiers, apparently in a drugs-related conflict. Guinea Bissau has in a short span of time become Africa’s most notorious narco-state. See my March 2009 posting. Nino's successor Malam Bacai Sanha was installed in September of the same year - after elections in which one of the presidential candidates was killed by military policy, apparently in a bid to foil a coup.

After the end of Sierra Leone's civil war, in 2002, President Kabbah was sworn in as the country's president. In 2007, he was succeeded by his opponent, Ernest Bai Koroma. A commendable transfer of power, given the country's contemporary history of chaos and conflict.

In neighboring Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had become Africa’s first democratically elected female President, in 2006. Recently, she announced that she will contest the 2011 presidential elections. Her decision, announced at the State of the Nation address on January 25, 2010, surprised many. In her 2005 election campaign, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had indicated that she would not run for a second term.

The Liberian 1984 Constitution allows for a two-term presidential term, therefore Sirleaf is legally able to do so. But her position is a controversial one, in particular in view of the Truth and Reconciliations Commission’s recommendation that she be banned from public office for 30 years for her support of Charles Taylor when he invaded the country in 1989.

To be continued