Hundreds of Liberian women peace activists have begun a non-violent campaign to persuade the government and rebels to cease the continuing war in their West African country.
A brutal seven-year civil war in Liberia ended in 1997. But in 1999 rebels calling themselves the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd) began fighting to oust President Charles Taylor, a former warlord, bringing their insurgency to the doorstep of the capital Monrovia on more than one occasion.
A new rebel faction, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model), began launching attacks two weeks ago in the southeast of the country.
Tens of thousands of Liberians have fled the fighting and live in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. Some 90 000 live in camps for displaced people inside Liberia, according to United Nations estimates.
The women protesting against the war began their campaign last Friday, presenting a statement to Monrovia City Hall calling for a ceasefire between the government and the Lurd.
Their Liberia Network for Peace-building has established a three-point programme calling for an immediate ceasefire, dialogue between the government and rebels and action by the international community to monitor the country’s ceasefire.
Hundreds of the peace network’s supporters staged a rally in eastern Monrovia earlier this week, saying they were determined to end the war.
Among the demonstrators at the rally on Tuesday were a large number of women from camps for displaced people, many of whom had trekked some 11 kilometres to join the protest.
Peace network representative Leo Gbowen told reporters the women had demanded a response from the government and rebels within three days. But the deadline had expired without any ceasefire.
”Against this background we came here to sit down and wait for the governments response,” Gbowen said.
She said the women’s protest was sure to have an impact on the peace process.
”We think this is just the beginning of the end to hostilities in the country. We, the women, are saying that we are tired of continuous fighting. We know that we will continue to protest until they listen to our call.”
She said if nobody heeded their demands, they would take further action, adding that they already planned to appeal to parliament.
”We want to go through all the proper channels to see that we are listened to. If nothing is done, then we will come out with other actions next week. These actions will be non-violent,” she said.
She said two busloads of women had delivered a statement to the Guinean embassy in Monrovia, demanding that Liberia’s northern neighbour expel all Lurd members from its territory.
Persistent reports on Lurd’s website proved the rebels were operating from Guinea, she explained, adding: ”We are all brothers and sisters in Guinea and Liberia, so Guinea can’t keep harbouring people who are causing havoc on us in Liberia”.
She said a delegation of Liberian women would soon fly to Guinea as part of their peace campaign.
Gbowen said the rebels should realise that the people they were seeking to remove from power by force were ”not the ones feeling the pinch of the war”
”The ordinary people — the women and children — are the ones that are suffering,” she said. ”Right now, there is only education in Monrovia, where there is a relative calm. But every other part of the country is in turmoil with no hopes for the children.”
Meanwhile, reports from displaced camps around Monrovia say forcible conscription of boys and young men is on the increase.
A representative for the women from the camps told reporters armed security personnel roamed the camps daily, forcibly recruiting their men.
”Our sons and husbands were dragged out of their camps into unmarked vehicles and taken away to unknown destinations,” she said.
She also spoke of random shooting by some security men at the camps as boys and men tried to flee their abductors. She said the women were ”tired of such harassment and intimidation” and were asking the government to intervene. – Sapa-AFP