Sunday, Jul 18, 2004

Liberians wait for liberty

Iraq is far from the only current experiment in building a modern democracy in a nation shattered by war. Thousands of miles away in west Africa, a cigar-chomping former US general is trying to bring order to another resource-rich country that has suffered prolonged political repression and civil war. Jacques Paul Klein heads a United Nations peacekeeping mission for Liberia that is, for the moment, the biggest in the world.

Klein, a former diplomat (in name if not character) and US Air Force major-general, is a bear of a man with an intimidating rhetorical style to match. His direct approach pleases some people but has dismayed many others, inside and outside the UN, who accuse him of autocracy and a blithe dismissiveness of those he sees as hindering his project - a refrain familiar to Iraq watchers.

Even his spokeswoman grimaces as he makes sweeping criticisms to Observer of the non-governmental organisations with which the UN has to work. "She says, 'Don't say that'," Klein grins. "I am honest."

A UN colleague says his boss does not always stick to his own rules. "He likes efficiency and he likes few words," the official confides. "But sometimes he likes to talk himself."

Wobbly Lurd

At least Klein's frustration with the former combatants who dominate the country's fractious transitional government is shared by most Liberians. The government, installed after the dictator Charles Taylor fled into exile in 2003, is set to rule until after elections in October next year.

It could be a difficult 15 months, if the bizarre squabbles within Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), the main movement of former rebels, are any guide.

Aisha Conneh, wife of Lurd leader Sekou Conneh, tried to oust the Lurd-nominated finance minister in a clear challenge to her husband's political authority. The attempted putsch by Aisha - who is nicknamed the Iron Lady - provoked further infighting between Lurd's political and military leadership, leaving it unclear who was in charge.

In Lurd's headquarters town of Tubmanburg, large portraits of a smiling Conneh have recently been on display, describing him as "the liberator". But who will save him?

All at sea

Whatever the result of Lurd's power struggle, the new finance minister might want to take a look at the country's maritime industry.

Like oil in Iraq, ship registration is a big source of hard currency for the impoverished country. Like the Iraqi oil industry, Liberia's shipping registry is the world's second-largest, although the revenues involved are tiny by comparison.

During the Taylor era, a UN report described the Bureau of Maritime Affairs as "little more than a cash extraction operation" and a cover for breaking a UN weapons embargo. So Observer sought signs of improved performance by the government in managing its prime industry.

Eventually a kind official in the capital Monrovia provided a copy of the bureau's 2003 annual report. The enigmatic document shows a slide in maritime and corporate revenues from $18m in 2000 to less than $10m in each of the following three years. Also mysterious is that recent figures omit December. Is Christmas too busy?

Observer can only assume that a European Union-funded audit, planned for this year, will explain the apparent discrepancies. Brussels knows a thing or two about vague accounts.

Brotherly bill

Some Taylor heirlooms endure. One is a billboard highlighting the relationship between the US and Liberia, which was founded in 1847 by freed American slaves. It depicts a path scattered with notable dates in Liberia's history, at the end of which a small figure in shorts talks plaintively to a tall figure in a Stars and Stripes hat.

"We've come a long way, big brother, but it's still rough. We are suffering," he says. "For true?" is his American counterpart's uncomprehending reply.

The message is strategically placed at the turn-off to the presidential mansion, offering passing US diplomats pause for thought. Washington's aid to its little brother for peacekeeping and reconstruction amounts to about $445m, almost all of which was tacked on to last November's $87.5bn bill for spending in Iraq.

Heels and deals

Liberia does register on the diplomatic radar in at least two capitals. After Taylor's departure, the country has decided to cosy up to Beijing at the expense of Taiwan.

Observer hitched a ride with General Joseph Owonibi, the quietly spoken Nigerian deputy UN force commander, to the commissioning of a smart Chinese-run hospital in the eastern town of Zwedru. Friendly female Chinese troops in raised heels mingled surreally with the guests.

On the journey back, the general's helicopter had to wait as some late-departing Liberians on the outing dashed across the airfield to board. "Always civilians controlling the military," joked a Chinese officer, raising a tension-relieving laugh.

Michael Peel

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