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Okay, as far as I can see:
Background:
Liberia was founded in the 1820s by America as a homeland for freed slaves. The process was backed by both abolitionists and slave-owners hoping to get rid of unruly slaves.
Liberia declared independence in 1847 and by 1860 had a population of around thirty thousand. The ministate was unpopular with its neighbours because it was missionary-Christian and expansionist (the latter perhaps by necessity).
In need of cash, Liberia encouraged forgein investment by leasing large areas of land for rubber plantations, and allowing labour conditions which the League of Nations described in 1930 as barely distinguishable from slavery.
Recent history:
Samuel Doe came to power in 1980, inheriting a country with deep social divisions between the original inhabitants and the descendents of settlers. Doe favoured his own tribe over other groups, and his government was repressive. He was also the recipient between 1980 and 1985 of $500 million in aid, and a pro-US anti-Communist - although it's hard to say whether his convinctions preceed the cash injection or proceed from it.
Doe was captured and killed in 1990, and in 1997 Charles Taylor was elected President. Taylor has continued Liberia's expansionism, and funded rebel groups in surrounding countries in an attempt to gain control of the whole region. In July 2000 the UN halted trade in Liberian diamonds in order to cut off Taylor's funding. Around the same time, Liberia's neighbours turned the tables and began funding insurgents in Liberia itself.
Now:
Last month, Taylor reneged on a promise to stand down in favour of a transitional government, triggering a resumption of violence. From there on, the timeline is here.
Notes:
Liberia's diamond production is limited. It is generally understood that it is a conduit for illicit diamonds from Sierra Leone.
The problems of this country are apparently deeply embedded in the problems of the region, in the global diamond trade, the international arms trade, and strangely also the timber trade, (2), which seems to have become embroiled in arms as well.
Sao Tome, which shares a decent-sized oil field with Nigeria (which coincidentally is ready to send troops to Liberia) is perhaps fifteen hundred miles from Monrovia. The US has recently denied reports that it was intending to send troops to Sao Tome, which has recently suffered a coup. Air and Naval bases in Liberia would allow the US to project power in the region, which will become more and more important over the next decades as fossil fuels become scarcer.
Links:
All Africa: Liberia
US Consumers Finance Liberia's Bloody Regime
BBC: West Africa's Wars - overview |
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