The Economist - USA (2021-11-13)

54 MiddleEast&Africa TheEconomistNovember13th 2021

encouraged rebels to come out of the bush

and  start  new,  peaceable  lives.  “To  all  my

brothers in armed groups, this is the hour

for  change,”  he  said.  “The  government  is

reaching  out  its  hands  to  you.”  But  those

who disarmed were left to rot in camps like

the  one  in  Mubambiro,  which  hardly  en­

courages others to do the same.

Foreign  donors  have  pumped  millions

into dysfunctional disarmament schemes.

The  World  Bank  alone  has  contributed

$171m  to  three  programmes.  Some  have

been laughable. The unonce offered rebels

$100 for each of their guns. But, as Séveri­

ne Autesserre points out in her book, “The

Frontlines of Peace”, a Kalashnikov sells for

$40  on  the  black  market.  So  a  militiaman

could  hand  in  his  rustiest  gun,  buy  two

more,  and  still  have  money  left  over  for

beer. Other programmes have been horrif­

ic. In 2014 over a hundred rebels and their

family members died from starvation and

disease at a government camp.

Mr  Tshisekedi  has  recently  launched

yet  another  disarmament  programme

which, this time, is meant to reintegrate re­

bels back into the villages they came from.

Yet the scheme lacks funds. Chastened by

the  failures  of  past  projects,  Western  do­

nors  are  reluctant  to  pay  for  it.  What  is

more,  the  president  has  chosen  a  former

Rwandan­backed  rebel,  Tommy  Tambwe,

to run it. Considering Rwanda’s continued

interference  in  Congo’s  conflict,  this  has

been  unpopular.  Politicians  and  rebels

alike  have  called  on  Mr  Tshisekedi  to

change his mind.

When  Mr  Tshisekedi  travelled  to  the

east  in  June,  he  did  not  pay  a  visit  to  Mu­

bambiro.  However,  emaciated  former  re­

bels  from  the  camp  tried  to  get  his  atten­

tion  by  blocking  a  main  road  nearby  with

flaming  logs  and  branches.  “We  regret

coming here, we don’t understand why the

president called us here,” says Héritier Ba­

hati, a former fighter,standing in front of

the  smoking  barricade.“It’s  as  though  he

called us here to die.”n

TANZANIA

UGANDA

North Kivu

Goma

Bukavu

Mubambiro

Ituri

South Kivu

CONGO

RWANDA

BURUNDI

Lake

Victoria

Kinshasa

200 km

Violenteventsinvolvingrebelgroups

January1st-November10th 2021

Source:ACLED^10 2

Number of

civilian deaths

Liberia

Time and

punishment

“T

herewasa lotofbloodalloverthe

place,”remembersPatricia,hervoice

cracking.Shesurvivedthenightin 1990

when government soldiers shot and

choppedtodeathabout 600 civilianswho

hadbeenshelteringfromLiberia’scivilwar

intheLutheranChurchinMonrovia,the

capital. “We saw the pregnant women,

theirstomachsopen,thechildrenontheir

mother,sucking,crying.”

Today,notfarfromthebullet­scarred

church,goldlettersontheTempleofJus­

ticedeclare:“LetJusticeBeDoneToAll”.Yet

nota singlepersonhasbeenconvictedin

Liberiaforthemassacre—orforanywar

crimescommittedduringtheback­to­back

civilwarsbetween 1989 and2003,inwhich

about250,000peoplewerekilled.

Muchhaschangedsince theconflict

ended.Clinicsandschoolshavesprungup,

tarredroadshumwithtrafficand,above

all,peacehasendured.YetAfrobarometer,

a pollster,foundthatin 2018 halfthepopu­

lationhadpaida bribeinthepreviousyear.

Rapesofwomenandchildrenarealltoo

common.Soaremurders.Twosonsoffor­

merpresidentshavebeenkilledsinceSep­

tember. Some human­rights activists

blame a culture of impunitythat dates

backtothewars.

Impunityis nothardto spot.Prince

Johnson,aninfluentialsenator,isa former

warlordwho,ina videoavailableonYou­

Tube,canbe seendrinking aBudweiser

beerandbarkinginstructionsashismen

cutofftheearofa formerpresident,Samu­

elDoe,in1990.MrJohnson,whohasad­

mittedthathismen killedDoe,hasde­

clinedtocommentbeyondsaying,“There

isnoneedtodwellinthepast.”

GeorgeBoley,a congressman,isanoth­

erformerrebelleaderwhowasdeported

fromAmericabecauseofallegationsthat

his men had burned captives alive and

rapedvillagersbeforeslittingtheirthroats.

CharlesTaylor,a warlordandformerpresi­

dent,wasconvictedofwarcrimesattheIn­

ternationalCriminalCourtinTheHague

for atrocitiesinneighbouringSierra Le­

one’scivilwar.HeisnowinprisoninBrit­

ain.Buthehasneverfacedjusticeforhis

allegedcrimesinLiberiaitself.

In 2009 thecountry’sTruthandRecon­

ciliationCommission(trc) recommended

thatsomeofthemostviolentwarlordsface

trial. Butthatrecommendation wasnot

acted upon by thegovernment ofEllen

JohnsonSirleaf,whowasthenpresident.

Activists  and  politicians,  including  Rus­

tonlyn Dennis, a congresswoman, are try­

ing to revive the idea, through protest and

by proposing draft legislation. “This coun­

try  will  never  go  forward  if  people  don’t

takeresponsibility,”saysMsDennis.Oth­

erssaya courtisneededtodeterpeople

fromtakinguparmsagain.“Inabsence of

punishmenttherewillnotbepeace,”says

DempsterBrownofLiberia’sIndependent

NationalHumanRightsCommission.

Yet not everyone favours trials. Sam

WalkerofLiberiaPeaceandReconciliation

Forum,a groupopposingthetribunal,says

it wouldbea “witchhunt”andevenclaims

itcouldrenewconflict.Heprefersalterna­

tives,suchasgettingvictimsandperpetra­

torstotalk.Othersworryabouttheprice

tag,giventhatSierraLeone’sspecialcourt

cost about$300m. “Whatdo wepriori­

tise?”asksMeoBeyan,theassistantminis­

terofjustice,listingpressingneedssuch as

jobs,educationandhealthcare.

Still, many suspect President George

Weah’sownworriesaretherealbarrier. His

runforpresidentin 2017 wasbackedby Mr

Johnson, whose support Mr Weah  is

thoughttowantinthenextelection,  in

2023.In 2019 hetriedtokickthequestion

ofa tribunaltotheSenate,which advised

against“reopeningoldwounds”.

Thoughthegovernmentdragsitsfeet, a

tribunalhassomeoddsupporters.Joshua

Blahyi(pictured),knownasGeneralButt

Naked,ledagroupofdruggedchildsol­

dierswhooften foughtwearingnothing

butsneakersandcharms.Hetoldthe  trc

he was responsible for the deaths  of

20,000people.Todayheclaimstobea re­

pentantChristianand,despitehisdocu­

mentedhistoryofalmostincomprehensi­

bleviolence,isentirelyatliberty. Ishe  in

favour ofawar­crimes court,evenifit

mightjailhimfortherestofhislife?“Defi­

nitely,”hesays.“It’sLiberia’sonlyhope.” n

M ONROVIA

Would a war-crimes court allow Liberia

to move on?

General Butt Naked’s new mission