Liberia: What's keeping US?
2003-07-23 21:02
Monrovia - Public anger mounted in war-battered Liberia on Wednesday over US President George W Bush's failure to intervene in the west African nation, founded by freed American slaves in the 19th century.
Thousands of displaced people seeking shelter in the environs of the US embassy in Monrovia's Mamba Point diplomatic quarter vented their spleen on Washington for not responding to appeals to lead an intervention force here.
"Our anger is growing by the day. We are betrayed," said Mike Hinston, a 27-year-old trader holed up with some 4 500 others in a school building near the embassy.
Kannah Tia Klan, an elderly accountant, said Liberians felt used.
"They are only protecting their own interests. The Firestone rubber plantation, which is the biggest rubber plantation in Africa, is well protected. That is outside Monrovia. But in the city, people are dying and they dont care.
"The whole of Africa sees us as a small America. If they don't help us, who will?" he said.
"Maybe they are scared it will be like Somalia or Iraq but we are a Christian nation and we love America."
Esther Johnson, who was wounded two days ago in a rocket attack that killed seven people, said simply: "George Bush should have sent men a long time ago. He is the father of the country.
Dying
"People are dying too much. We have no food, no drinking water. If this situation carries on we have to jump into the sea."
Liberia has been wracked by almost non-stop war since the 1990s and is today among the world's poorest nations.
President Charles Taylor, a former warlord who triggered a brutal seven-year conflict that ended with his election in 1997, currently faces his stiffest challenge in a new four-year war and now only controls a fifth of his country.
The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) main rebel group has launched its boldest attack on Monrovia, where mortars rained over the weekend killing up to 700 civilians, according to Defence Minister Daniel Chea.
There was no let-up in the fighting on Wednesday after the Lurd rejected a draft of a peace agreement chalked up by the Ecowas west African regional bloc, saying it was inadequate.
The Ecowas had pledged to send between 1 000 and 1 500 peacekeepers to Liberia in two weeks.
Nigeria, west Africa's military powerhouse, said more than 700 of its troops were ready to move but on Tuesday said it would not despatch soldiers unless there was a ceasefire in Liberia.
Ibrahim Bility, a tailor, said his message to "our African brothers and to America is to hurry up and do something. If you don't come by this week, there may be no Liberians left."
Ties with US
Liberia has strong social, historical and cultural ties with the United States. The capital Monrovia is named after former US president James Monroe and several places in the city bear US-inspired names such as Virginia and Capitol Hill drive.
There have been several mortar attacks around the US embassy and one landed within the compound but caused no injuries.
The US then flew in special troops from Spain to protect the mission, fuelling further anger. Nearby residents had piled up bodies outside the embassy in protest.
Meanwhile, Bush has so far refused to heed demands led by UN boss Kofi Annan and France to lead a multinational force in Liberia. He has just said troops could be sent on a "limited" mission but only after Taylor's exit.
Zebs Anya, who has not eaten since Tuesday morning, said: "We now prefer international intervention to food."
International aid agencies have voiced growing concern about the humanitarian situation in Monrovia where tens of thousands are living rough amid an acute scarcity of food, water and medicines.
Sanitation is next to nil in most parts of the city.