User:Shotwell/Liberian relations unstable

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Liberia maintains diplomatic relations with many western nations, as well as Libya, Cuba, and the People's Republic of China[1].

Liberian-African Relations[edit]

The Liberian Civil War instigated by Charles Taylor and the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) on December 24, 1989 eventually spread to neighboring Sierra Leone in 1991 when dissidents of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) led by Foday Sankoh began using Liberia as a staging ground for NPFL backed military assaults on border in Sierra Leone.[2][3][4]

By 1992, 120,000 people had fled from Sierra Leone to Guinea due to the RUF's practice of targetting civilians. In 2001, Liberian forces along with the RUF began attacking and burning refugee camps and Guinean villages along the border. This led to an inflammatory speech by Guinean president Lansana Conte which blamed the refugees for the border destabilization and alleged that the vast majority of refugees were rebels. He called for the Guinean population to defend its nation and this subsequently led to a large number of attacks, beatings, rapes, and abductions of refugees by Guinean police and military forces. This was a reversal of Guinea's previously open policy towards refugees and it further escalated the refugee crisis as refugees attempted to cross back through RUF territory. By 2002, the United Nations estimated that three million people, or one in five people of the Mano River Union countries, were displaced. [2][3][4][5]

Relationships between Liberia and the United States[edit]

U.S. relations with Liberia date back to 1819 when the US Congress appropriated $100,000 for the establishment of Liberia. The United States officially recognized Liberia in 1862 and the two nations shared very close diplomatic, economic, and military ties until the 1990s. During World War Two, Liberia joined the Allied Forces and Monrovia was host to important Allied logistics bases. Liberia was also home to Firestone's rubber plantation, which was established shortly after World War One. This plantation was a large arms manufacturer for the Allied Forces during Word War Two. [1][6]

Liberian and United States relationships became strained between 1971 and 1980 due to Liberian president William R. Tolbert's establishment of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. In 1978, United States president Jimmy Carter made the first official presidential visit to Liberia.[7][8]

During the 1980s, the United States forged especially close ties with Liberia as part of a Cold War effort to suppress socialist and Marxist movements in Africa. Samuel Doe's government was seen by American strategists as being especially important to their Cold War policies in Africa and his government took actions to protect American interests in the region. Liberia received between $500 million and $1.3 billion dollars during the 1980s from the United States government through direct and indirect channels. Furthermore, Liberia was home to a relay station for Voice of America, a large navigation tower, and the CIA's main African base for the majority of this period.[8][9][6]

The rise of Charles Taylor's government, the Liberian Civil War, regional instability and human rights abuses interrupted the previously close relations between Liberia and the United States. Although Charles Taylor's election in 1997 was monitored by the Economic Commission of West African States and Jimmy Carter, the United States officially held that Taylor was illegitimately elected due to the violent circumstances leading up to his election. During Taylor's presidency, the United States cut direct financial and military aid to the Liberian government, withdrew Peace Corps operations, imposed a travel ban on senior Liberian Government officials, and frequently criticized Charles Taylor's government. Much of the Liberian-American tension from this period stems from the Liberian government's acknowledged support for the Revolutionary United Front, a rebel group in Sierra Leone and surrounding region. Due to intense pressure from the international community and the United States, Charles Taylor resigned his office on August 11, 2003.[8][6][7][1][10][11]

The resignation and exile of Charles Taylor in 2003 brought changes in diplomatic ties between the United States and Liberia. On July 30, 2003, the United States proposed a UN Security Council draft resolution to authorize the deployment of a multi-national stabilization force. Despite cited concerns about prosecution in the International Criminal Court, United States president George W. Bush sent 200 marines to Monrovia's airport to support the peace-keeping effort. The United States also deployed warships along Liberia's coast as part of the stabilization effort. The United States committed $1.16 billion to Liberia between the years of 2004 and 2006.[12][10][1][13][14]

Relationships between China and Liberia[edit]

Relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Liberia have been broken and reestablished several times since February 17, 1977, when diplomatic relations between the PRC and Liberia were first formed. The PRC broke off relations with Liberia on October 10, 1989 in response to Liberia's recognition of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Taiwan had offered $200 million in aid to Liberia for education and infrastructure in exchange for this recognition. The PRC reestablished relations with Liberia on August 10, 1993 and opened an embassy in Monrovia, making Liberia one of the few nations with established diplomatic ties to both the PRC and POC. In 1997, Charles Taylor's government proclaimed to recognize "two Chinas" and the PRC subsequently severed diplomatic relations. [15][16][17][18]

Liberia dropped diplomatic relations with the ROC on October 12, 2003 and reestablished ties with the People's Republic of China. This move was seen largely as a result of the PRC's lobbying in the UN and plans to deploy a peacekeeping force in Liberia. [19][20]

Diplomatic Agreements[edit]

Liberia is a founding member of the United Nations and its specialized agencies and is a member of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Development Bank (ADB), Mano River Union (MRU) and the Non-Aligned Movement. Liberia is also a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the US-military (as covered under Article 98). [1][21]


References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e State Department Profile of Liberia
  2. ^ a b Guinea: Refugees Still at Risk, Human Rights Watch, Vol. 13, No. 5 (A)
  3. ^ a b Yekutiel Gershoni. War without End and and End to a War: The Prolonged Wars in Liberia and Sierra Leonne, African Studies Review, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Dec., 1997), pp. 55-57
  4. ^ a b Blood diamonds: Timeline of conflict, CNN, January 18, 2001
  5. ^ United Nations Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for West Africa, 2001, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), March 23, 2001, section 2
  6. ^ a b c Liberia: America's impoverished orphan in Africa, Washington Post, Retrieved October 2, 2006
  7. ^ a b http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/globalconnections/liberia/timeline/time4.html
  8. ^ a b c Liberia and the United States: A Complex Relationship, PBS Global Connections, Retrieved October 2, 2005
  9. ^ Monrovia - US Embassy, http://globalsecurity.org, Retrieved October 2, 2006
  10. ^ a b Taylor sets date to step down, CNN, August 2, 2003
  11. ^ U.S. offers U.N. resolution on Liberia, CNN, Friday, August 1, 2003
  12. ^ Liberian president invites rebels into government, CNN, August 12, 2003
  13. ^ Welcome for US Liberia deployment, BBC News, 26 July, 2003
  14. ^ Liberia's Historic Ties to America, Zachary K. Johnson, May 2005
  15. ^ Taiwan as an Emerging Foreign Aid Donor: Developments, Problems, and Prospects, Gerald Chan; Pacific Affairs, Vol. 70, 1997
  16. ^ Cross-Strait Scramble for Africa, A Hidden Agenda in China-Africa Cooperation Forum, Harvard Asia Quarterly, Volume V, No. 2. Spring 2001
  17. ^ ' China and Liberia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, August 8, 2003
  18. ^ Taiwan Edges Out China for Liberia's Diplomatic Recognition, Global News No. GL970-25, February 21, 1997
  19. ^ http://www.china-un.org/eng/xw/t29261.htm
  20. ^ Taiwan plays down Liberia blow, BBC News13 October, 2003
  21. ^ CIA Factbook, Retrieved October 2, 2006]
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