Washington, DC — The government of Liberia is at "the epicenter of a system of conflict," says Amos Sawyer, formerly president in the interim government of Liberia, 1990-1994. He says the West African nation "has become an explosive device in the sub-region and the fuse of that device [Liberian President Charles Taylor] needs to be removed."
Sawyer, who is currently based at Indiana University, was speaking at a forum sponsored by the U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP) entitled "Eye of the Hurricane: Liberia and Instability in West Africa" on Monday.
He shared a platform with the leader of the opposition Unity Party of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the State Department William M. Bellamy; and USIP board Chair and Professor of Strategic Studies at Georgetown University, Chester Crocker, who was himself an Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs during the Reagan Administration.
Liberia is an "dysfunctional, autocratic kleptocracy," Johnson-Sirleaf declared to a packed room of about 200 people. It's a country in which nobody is safe, she said.
Like Sawyer, Johnson-Sirleaf accused Taylor of destabilizing the entire region. "We all know who will benefit the most from the destabilization of the countries of West Africa," she said, suggesting a Liberian hand in the current Ivory Coast civil conflict. "It's Cote D'Ivoire today. Give it a year or so, Ghana will be in trouble."
Although the State Department's Bellamy described Liberia as "an important predatory actor in the region," he offered no clear signs of what U.S. efforts to assist in dislodging Taylor might be. Right now, Bellamy suggested, despite a "very strong commitment to dealing with the crisis in Liberia," Ivory Coast is more important. "We're not saying that Liberia is going to trump Cote D'Ivoire."
Both Sawyer and Johnson-Sirleaf complained that with the end of the Cold War, the United States lost interest in Liberia. Administration officials have been telling allAfrica.com, always speaking on condition of anonymity, that while they would like to see Taylor gone, they see no leaders capable of taking up the reins of government afterward.
"I don't accept that," Johnson-Sirleaf told allAfrica.com. "That's just an excuse." She acknowledged, however, that there is a problem "with the way that the opposition is fractured." However, she says, "to conclude that there is no substitute for Taylor is to do Liberians a great injustice. The U.S. just doesn't want to step up to the plate."
Bellamy says the United States "will do everything we can to enable and empower democratic opposition." Sanctions will also continue and possibly be extended. Still, Johnson-Sirleaf described herself as "disappointed" with Bellamy's response to their call for a stronger U.S. role. "When one tried to pinpoint a U.S. role or responsibility in effecting change, he backed away."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Sawyer proposed that the war crimes tribunal taking place in Sierra Leone should indict Taylor. "There is enough to secure his indictment and his trial by the Special Court [in Sierra Leone].
Such action would make him an outlaw. "Then we could say, 'This man is wanted by the court. Obasanjo - or whomever there might be in Nigeria - and the West African community could say: 'We are prepared to work with you to ensure that this cancer on the subregion is removed.' And I think that it is possible that the West African community that went in some twelve years ago to talk to Doe and say 'maybe it is time you look at other options', might well be in the position, with the backing of the United States, France, Britain, and international commitment, to fashion a way to remove Charles Taylor and his cancer," Sawyer concluded.
This is what most Liberians are hoping for," says Johnson-Sirleaf. But,"we know the Sierra Leone government is afraid of Taylor and they're not going to push that agenda." And she is uncertain as to what the U.S. role might be, even if such an indictment occurred. "You heard what Bellamy said in response to that question; he said if Taylor is indicted he expected that the Liberian people would put him on a plane."
