POLITICS: Peacekeepers Tread Carefully in Liberian Capital

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Aug 6 2003 (IPS) - West African peacekeepers, who deployed in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, this week, say they will start to enforce a cease-fire and clear the way for humanitarian aid soon.

"My soldiers are up to the task," remarks Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Mudamayo, commanding officer of the Nigerian-led regional peacekeeping force known as ECOMIL.

"I think that the people of Liberia have suffered for far too long. It is time to end the carnage" Mudamayo told IPS when leading the first batch of 300 or so troops to Liberia from neighbouring Sierra Leone this week.

The exact number of Nigerian troops that will be deployed in the embattled West African state of Liberia is not immediately clear. But defence sources in the capital Abuja say the Nigerians will soon be joined by their counterparts from other West African countries. More than 3,000 West African peacekeepers are expected in Monrovia within a few weeks.

In the Liberian capital Monrovia itself, the Nigerians have taken positions around the Roberts airport, about 40 kms from the city centre, and have already opened talks with commanders of the main rebel movement, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD).

The ECOMIL Field Commander Colonel Theophilus Taroya, a Ghanaian, said in Monrovia Tuesday that the rebels promised to co-operate with the peacekeepers and so far, he has urged them to lay down their arms.

"They do have some concerns and may not be willing to hand over their weapons just yet," he added.

Taroya also asked the LURD rebels to give up part of the sea port that they now control to allow the flow of humanitarian aid into the beleaguered city.

The deployment of Nigerian troops in Monrovia has given a sense of relief to the traumatised population there. Many want them to take positions throughout the city, but the peacekeepers seem to be treading carefully in such a dangerous situation.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been lobbying its 15 members to contribute troops instead of waiting for the Americans who are clearly playing the wait-and-see game. The Americans have naval vessels stationed off the coast of Liberia, with 2,000 marines on board. They say they will send in a small "assessment team," before considering sending in peacekeepers.

Nigerian troops first went to Liberia in 1990 during that country’s first round of civil conflict, with the current embattled President Charles Taylor, then leading the main rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). Hundreds of Nigerians were killed in that mission and their return this time has given hope to the sub-region that the "big brother" is willing to help.

Part of their role will be to secure humanitarian supply route. The United Nations, which says it will deploy 17,000 peacekeepers in October to replace the West Africans, has appealed for some 90 million U.S. dollars to urgently meet such needs as food and medicines to avert epidemics like cholera.

With the deployment of regional peacekeepers, the capital has witnessed a lull in fighting, but the peacekeepers insist they will only separate the fighting sides if they lay down their arms.

As for the embattled President Taylor, doubts are now being expressed as to whether he will step down on Aug. 11, as he has promised. The wily Taylor has now taken the matter of his indictment by the UN-backed Special War Crimes Court for Sierra Leone for arbitration. His press Secretary Varney Passeweh said Wednesday: "that (special) court has no jurisdiction over the President of Liberia, a jurisdiction over the President of Liberia, a sovereign state that has not signed up to the treaty of the court".

"President Taylor is willing to step down but the indictment from Sierra Leone must be dropped," he said. Taylor is indicted for "bearing the greatest responsibility" for horrific crimes committed during the civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

ECOWAS leaders, who have been mediating between the Liberian government and its rebel adversaries, in Ghana, hope to broker a peace deal that will see an interim government to replace Taylor’s administration.

All hopes are that the deployment of peacekeepers may bring an end to hostilities, while diplomatic channels are being pursued to set back on course the democratic process.