Washington, D.C., July 8, 2003 - U.S.
troops deployed properly throughout Liberia, a country slightly larger
than Ohio, could help begin to stabilize West Africa, a region replete
with struggling democracies that host more than 1 million of each other's
refugees and their own internally displaced citizens.
According to the U.S. Committee for
Refugees (USCR), whose Africa policy analyst, Joel Frushone, is currently
in West Africa assessing the political and humanitarian crisis, "With
a clear mandate that includes creating a stable environment to enable humanitarian
assistance to reach hundreds of thousands of Liberians uprooted from their
homes, and with Liberian president Charles Taylor agreeing to leave, U.S.
military intervention in Liberia has the potential to do wonders for the
troubled neighborhood."
"Close examination of the current situation demonstrates that U.S. military intervention in Liberia is warranted and appropriate," said Frushone, writing from Guinea. "President Bush, who departs today on his historic trip to Africa, has shown his willingness to assist Africa confront the AIDS crisis and a commitment to promoting political and economic stability in the continent. He should act now to show that he means business."
According to Frushone, "The deployment of an adequate number of U.S. forces throughout Liberia can save thousands of lives, create the necessary security environment so that hundreds of thousands of Liberian refugees can go home, and put an end to the seemingly unending suffering of more than 1 million uprooted West Africans."
During the past 14 years, violence and massive human rights violations perpetrated primarily by Charles Taylor and his supporters have left at least 200,000 dead and uprooted more than 1.5 million Liberians, or half of the country's estimated 3 million residents.
The present crisis in Liberia extends beyond Monrovia, the capital. An estimated 300,000 or more Liberians are displaced throughout the country and hundreds of others are fleeing weekly to Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, joining an additional 300,000 Liberian refugees.
Last week, the Bush administration responded generously to emergency appeals issued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Côte d'Ivoire, contributing more than $10 million to the cash-strapped agencies for immediate humanitarian relief. Without improved security, however, the money may never reach its intended targets: tens of thousands of displaced Liberians, Ivorians, and other West Africans struggling to survive in areas still inaccessible to UNHCR, ICRC, and other humanitarian agencies.
"Taylor is not only directly responsible for instability throughout Liberia, he is a prominent instigator in the current instability that plagues Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia's previously stable neighbor to the east, and past atrocities in Sierra Leone, Liberia's western neighbor," Frushone said.
In September 2002, Côte d'Ivoire imploded into civil war after the Patriotic Movement of Côte d'Ivoire (MPCI), an insurgent group backed by Taylor, failed to overthrow Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo. A French government brokered cease-fire agreement between the Ivorian government and MPCI went into effect in May and is currently enforced by 3,000 French troops deployed throughout the country.
Despite the cease-fire agreement, MPCI and a multitude of related armed entities, many of which also receive their weapons and other support from Taylor, still control all of northern Côte d'Ivoire and most of the country's west. International humanitarian agencies estimate that nine months of violence uprooted as many as 1 million people and killed several thousand. The presence of armed groups-particularly in the west-continues to complicate the delivery of humanitarian relief to populations that remain displaced.
Taylor has also had a hand in Sierra Leone's problems. The Special Court for Sierra Leone, created by the UN and the Sierra Leonean government to prosecute war crimes, indicted Taylor last month for allegedly training and arming insurgents in Sierra Leone, where ten years of civil war killed 50,000 or more civilians, left tens of thousands maimed, and forced an estimated three-quarters of a million Sierra Leoneans to flee their homes during the 1990s.
The U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR) is a public information and advocacy program of Immigration and Refugee Services of America (IRSA), a nongovernmental, non-profit organization. Since 1958, USCR has defended the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced persons worldwide.
For further information:
Hiram Ruiz 202/347-3507
Evenings: 202/494-7790