Disarming violent youths key to stability in Liberia

By Matthew Green
REUTERS , BUCHANAN, LIBERIA
Tuesday, Dec 02, 2003, Page 9

Sam the offer of a cigarette, let his AK-47 rifle fall to his side and admitted that a life spent as a Liberian rebel had largely been a waste.

"Brother's been killing brother," said the 29-year-old, speaking in Buchanan, a once-thriving Atlantic port now ruled by teenage gunmen in flip-flop sandals.

"We're tired of war," he said.

Yesterday UN peacekeepers were to launch a scheme to give an estimated 40,000 fighters the chance to turn their backs on a life of drug-fuelled rape and murder by handing in their guns and learning a trade.

The plan sounds simple: end 14 years of war in Liberia by removing weapons that have spread to fuel conflicts in neighboring Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone.

Liberians to living at the mercy of teenagers with machine guns agree it is an excellent idea, saying disarmament is the only way to enforce a peace deal signed by the government and rebels in August.

The UN has enlisted gospel artists, the hip-grinding performance of a woman singer called Ladylove and a clown named George to help convince fighters to lay down their arms, but it may not be easy.

"I WANT TO KNOW BOOK"

Sam's Force" comrade Emmanuel summed up the problem -- finding the combatants a way to make a living other than by taking what they want at gunpoint.

"That thing give him food to eat," he said, giving Sam's battered rifle a tap on its barrel.

Add that mistrust among factions, a lack of UN troops and a flow of weapons from abroad, and the task of disarmament takes on monumental proportions.

Buchanan to offer hope that at least some rebels might join the disarmament program, following 800 fighters, mainly government troops, who have already signed up.

On the edge of town, a 16-year-old rebel gunman called John levies money from a car crossing a bridge over the river, the only break in the tangle of palm fronds and creepers flanking the road.

"I want to go to school, I want to know book," he said, displaying ritual chest scars to stop bullets.

"I don't want to be in the army, I want to be a businessman," he said.

UN say they are confident of receiving US$50 million from donors for the program to demobilize and retrain ex-combatants, but unemployment already stands at 85 percent in a country where war has smashed the economy.

Demobilization say up to half the combatants may be child soldiers, a lost generation who can fire a gun but cannot read, and who will also soon want work.

In Buchanan, 118km southeast of the capital Monrovia, rusted machinery at the port bears stark witness to disruption of industries like iron ore and timber extraction, which once were important sources of income.

Perhaps that civilian life may be tough, rebel leaders are less enthusiastic about disarming.

At the end of Buchanan's main street, where virtually the only signs of economic activity are a few women selling oranges in the shade, lies the rebel headquarters.

A man in a vest bearing the word "Model" -- the name of the group based in the town -- strolls into the house with a pet monkey trailing on a string.

It is not long before the commander arrives -- in a brown saloon car with a gunman perched on the bonnet, and two more sitting in the open boot at the back.

A man of few words, Tailey Gladior scoffed at the US$300 allowance offered to fighters under the nine-month scheme.

"We are willing to give the weapons, but by giving the weapons, what will be our reward?" he asked, a gold watch dangling from his wrist.

"I'm saying that before I give the arm, US$500 for each arm," he said.

GUNS FOR HIRE

Handing in weapons might also appear rash for rebels who are still involved in clashes with loyalists of former president Charles Taylor, exiled to Nigeria in August.

Model it wanted peacekeepers to deploy to protect its men before disarming -- but the force so far has only about 4,500 of a planned 15,000 troops on the ground.

Even if peacekeepers can pacify the interior, experts say the program will work only if steps are taken to limit the movement of Liberians as hired guns abroad.

In a region where sponsoring your neighbor's rebels is standard procedure, officials say pressure also needs to be put on regional governments to stop the arms flow.

Human groups say Guinea, a recipient of US military aid, backs the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy rebels, while Ivory Coast is accused of sponsoring the smaller Model group.

Pausing cycling down Buchanan's rutted street, Model fighter Aka Poco, 34, said the UN force would have to ensure all sides in Liberia complied.

"If the arms stay in this country there will be problems. If they don't bring perfect peace to this country, the war can start again," he said.