WARN
Policy Brief - Liberia
June
4, 2003
The
Last Straw for Peace or Total Anarchy
Stakeholders Analysis
Stakeholders
in conflict are those with direct or indirect interest in the conflict. They may
either directly benefit or suffer the consequences of the conflict. National,
regional, international stakeholders are said to be behind the civil war in Liberia.
As negotiations continue this week WARN finds it necessary to shed light on the
current stakeholders in the Liberian conflict, their power bases, interests, and
alliances. The primary stakeholders are the government, rebel factions, political
parties, and civil society organizations.
The
Liberian United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD)
LURD
is made of elements from loyalist troops of late President Samuel Kanyon Doe and
the disbanded Liberian warring factions of ULIMO-J and K and LPC. That LURD has
succeeded to bring the government of President Taylor to the negotiating table
can be consider a victory. From obscurity LURD has become a party internationally
recognized. With current situation in her favour LURD may insist on its position
for President Taylor to resign.
However,
this political gain has brought to the surface the ethnic intolerance that has
persisted between the Krahn and Mandingo. At the inception the LURD deliberately
suspended decisions on its political leadership, knowing fully well that the ethnic
sentiments in the movement could jeopardize the military campaign. It has always
been known that the denial was only temporary and that the issue would haunt the
movement once there was military progress and political visibility. Once this
was achieved, the military leader, Sekou Conneh insists that he be transformed
from a soldier to a politician.
As
a result, LURD has now disintegrated with the Krahn element forming the Movement
for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). MODEL is making gains in the south-eastern region
of Liberia allegedly with the support of the Gbagbo government and their We cousins
in Côte d'Ivoire; while the Mandingo led LURD continues from the northwest with
alleged support from the government of Guinea. Both the Krahn and Mandingo elements
in LURD want political control primarily to assure the safety of their ethnic
groups.
Both
groups harbour mutual hatred for each other while the rest of Liberia's 16 ethnic
groups resent the Krahn and Mandingo for their actions in the current civil war.
They perceive political control as their only means of survival in Liberia. The
Mandingo in particular lost most of their personal properties to the Gio, Mano,
and Lorma in the first war. These ethnic groups simply seized the properties of
the Mandingo on ground that they were on their lands. The Mandingo ethnic group
has suffered political and social marginalization since the establishment of the
Liberian state. They view their present military success as redemptive and may
insist on political control to maintain it.
The
Mandingo belongs to the powerful Malinke nation of Emperor Massa Musa II of the
Malian empire. They are therefore scattered in every West African state. No one
is able to pin them to one country. This ethnic affinity is the source of their
power and therefore resentment from other groups. Guinea and some powerful nations
fully back the LURD. The first lady of Guinea is a cousin to Sekou Damante Conneh,
military leader of the LURD. Conneh has exploited this relation to win the support
of President Conte's government. Besides, Conte personally resents Charles Taylor
and perceives Taylor as a personal threat to Conte's leadership in Guinea. Other
powerful regional and international governments support the LURD just to get rid
of Charles Taylor.
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