Peace process in Liberia needs strong reinforcement

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 02, 2004

Peace process in Liberia needs strong reinforcement

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The recent-concluded summit of heads of state and government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Ghana's capital of Accra has taken a position to pursue vigorously the peace process in war-torn Liberia, though there is a long way to go.

The ECOWAS leaders reiterated their commitment to disarming the warring factions, protecting the transition government and restoring life among the civil population in the west African country whose 14-year-long bloody civil war claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced over 300,000.

"The peace process in the country is still fledging and needs strong reinforcement," said Abdusalami Abubakar, chairman of the ECOWAS Mediation Committee.

Abubakar, who was Nigeria's former president, also told reporters that the position of the African leaders and the sub-regional group "raise questions as to the prospect for peace in the country after 14-year ravages of war."

"A decisive position is imperative on Liberia," Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said, adding that though the country has not commanded the headline news as before, the situation in Liberia "is far from stable" after the departure of former president Charles Taylor on exile in Nigeria.

From the point of view of ECOWAS and the United Nations, peace will soon return to the west African country. Meanwhile, since the termination of the vicious circle of violence in mid-2003, the situation has also gradually improved because of the following three factors.

First was the breakthrough reached in Accra by the rival factions and opposition parties in June. The conflict's main protagonist Taylor opted to give up his desire to stand for a second term. He accepted to go in exile which he finally did on Aug. 11. His deputy Moses Blah took his position. That was seen as the biggest single jolt to the peace process.

Secondly, upon the exile of Taylor, the ECOWAS troops were drafted to Monrovia, capital of Liberia, to keep the warring sides apart and to hold fort for the United Nations.

The third factor is that less than two weeks after Taylor's exile, the three warring sides -- the Liberation United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the Movement for Democracy inLiberia (MODEL) and the militia groups loyal to Taylor -- met with Liberian politicians in Ghana under the auspices of ECOWAS and the United Nations.

The meeting elected the new transition government headed by Judie Bryant. The meeting mandated the LURD, MODEL and the government forces to relinquish their hold on Monrovia to enable the ECOWAS military force to take charge and facilitate humanitarian supplies to the beleaguered population. Thereafter, the UN forces joined by US troops began arriving in the country in September to replace the ECOWAS troops.

The change of baton paved the way for the inauguration of the power sharing government without Taylor.

So far, the ceasefire is still holding as more peacekeeping troops arrive in Monrovia but they have had to contend with the local militia groups.

Ten civilians and 20 combatants were killed in riots at the end of October after the official start to a 59-million-US-dollars UN campaign to disarm an estimated 40,000 fighters from three warring factions.

Reports of civilian harassment continued in recent months to filter around the country, with clashes between the former militia and the MODEL in the east or the LURD in the north. The Liberian militia have refused to disarm their fighters unless they are given ministerial positions. On many occasions, they have walked out of discussions on disarmament.

The peace process now faces tough challenges as former fighters demanding cash rioted in Monrovia and clashed with peacekeepers policing ceasefire in the war-torn country, which has led to the death of at least 12 people since December.

General Daniel Opande, commander of the United Nations MilitaryForce (UNMIL), said that they are ready for disarmament even with the current 6,000-man military troops.

The United Nations is preparing for 15,000-man peacekeeping force which will be the largest UN operation in the world since the one that helped end a decade-long conflict in neighboring Sierra Leone.

Lawrence Abeke, a member of the International Criminal Court in Sierra Leone, a body formed to make sure that Taylor is brought to book over alleged war crimes, said the UNMIL has to be careful in its operations if it has to succeed.

He said that the disarmament needs to be pursued with vigor because "delay in disarmament will lead fighters to remain in the bush for a long time. Such delay would force the warring factions to engage in acts that would only undermine the process," adding "young fighters have to be equipped to be useful to themselves after the disarmament."

On the whole, there is hope of lasting peace in Liberia in the new year with the combined efforts of the ECOWAS and the United Nations, which has budgeted for each disarmed soldier 300 dollars stipend, psychological counseling and vocational training.

A military official of the militia loyal to Taylor said "I want to disarm because I am tired of fighting."

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