Liberia 2003

Liberia Border Map

Liberia, a small country in West Africa, had a population of around 3 million people in 2003. Its capital was Monrovia and the official language was English. The country’s economy relied heavily on remittances from its citizens working abroad, as well as natural resource exports such as rubber and timber. According to computergees, the government at the time was led by President Charles Taylor who had been in power since 1997. He implemented several economic reforms to improve the country’s infrastructure and create jobs.

Education levels were relatively low compared to other countries in the region, with a literacy rate around 36%. Healthcare access was also limited due to lack of investment in medical services provided by foreign organizations. Security forces were present throughout the country to maintain order but crime levels were still high compared to other countries in the region. Liberia maintained strong cultural ties to its neighbors including its unique cuisine as well as traditional music and art forms which have been passed down for centuries. The country also had a vibrant nightlife with a variety of nightclubs, bars and restaurants located throughout Monrovia.

Yearbook 2003

Liberia. According to Countryaah.com, Liberia Independence Day is July 26. The rebel force LURD (Liberians united for reconciliation and democracy), which for many years was most active in northwestern Liberia, approached the capital Monrovia at the beginning of the year. In March, LURD opened a new front north of Monrovia, at the same time as a new rebel force called MODEL (the Movement for Democracy in Liberia) went on offensive in the east.

The fighting soon made it impossible for aid organizations to bring supplies to civilians in eleven of Liberia’s 15 counties. A major humanitarian disaster was threatened. In May, the UN sanctions against Liberia were extended one year. The sanctions previously included an arms embargo, a diamond export ban and a travel ban for the country’s leaders. Now a ban on trade in timber from Liberia was allowed.

At the same time, the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone brought charges against L President Charles Taylor for his involvement in the Sierra Leonean Civil War 1991-2002.

Since the rebels invaded Monrovia in early June, all parties signed a ceasefire agreement and agreed to begin negotiations on a unity government without Charles Taylor. However, new battles erupted since Taylor said he did not intend to leave until early January 2004. The townspeople had no way to escape and hundreds of civilians were killed.

At the beginning of August, a ceasefire agreement was finally signed and the formation of a unifying government. The West African collaborative organization ECOWAS began to send a peacekeeping force and on August 11, Taylor went into exile in Nigeria. He was provisionally succeeded by Vice President Moses Blah, after which businessman and politician Gyude Bryant was appointed to lead a transitional government, which took office in October.

In September, the UN Security Council decided to form a peacekeeping force of up to 15,000 men, the body of which will be made up of the approximately 3,500 ECOWAS soldiers. In December, the UN force began to collect the weapons of the rebels, but could not begin to enter rebel areas until the very last days of the year.

Sweden declared itself ready to send about 200 men to the UN force in early 2004. Despite the peace agreement, clashes and abuses on civilians continued throughout Liberia. The dangerous situation made all helpless transmissions impossible until now.

There were also reports that Charles Taylor had brought in over US $ 3 million in the national flight and that during his years as president since 1997 he had plundered the Treasury at close to US $ 100 million; half of what the state earned during that period.

Liberia Border Map

Republic of Liberia Brief Guide

According to AbbreviationFinder, Liberia is located on the west coast of Africa. Its neighbors are Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.

The country has recently suffered two consecutive civil wars between 1989 and 1996 and between 1999 and 2003.

History. – William VS Tubman still retains the office of President of the Republic he assumed in 1943. In his policy Tubman aimed above all at making Liberia a modern Western-type nation, favoring its industrial development through the participation of foreign capital and technicians. In this modernization work, while relying mainly on the USA, which absorb three quarters of Liberian exports and supply two thirds of imports – and which in 1950 concluded precisely with Liberia one of the first agreements of technical and financial assistance to underdeveloped countries on the basis of Point IV set by President Truman on January 20, 1949 -, the Liberian government followed the “open door” policy, seeking new sources and outlets for the economy in all other countries. The circular trip that Tubman made in the autumn of 1956 in Europe accompanied by his commercial advisor aimed at this goal, subsequently visiting Italy, France, West Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland; This was followed in September 1957 by the visit to the Soviet Union by Minister of Agriculture and Commerce JW Cooper. The same aim was pursued, in 1950, by the Liberian adhesion to the creation of a “Technical Cooperation Commission in Africa south of the Sahara” with the participation of Belgium, France, Portugal, the Federation of Rhodesia and Niassa, Great Britain and South African Union. France, West Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland; This was followed in September 1957 by the visit to the Soviet Union by Minister of Agriculture and Commerce JW Cooper. The same aim was pursued, in 1950, by the Liberian adhesion to the creation of a “Technical Cooperation Commission in Africa south of the Sahara” with the participation of Belgium, France, Portugal, the Federation of Rhodesia and Niassa, Great Britain and South African Union. France, West Germany, Holland, Sweden and Switzerland; This was followed in September 1957 by the visit to the Soviet Union by Minister of Agriculture and Commerce JW Cooper. The same aim was pursued, in 1950, by the Liberian adhesion to the creation of a “Technical Cooperation Commission in Africa south of the Sahara” with the participation of Belgium, France, Portugal, the Federation of Rhodesia and Niassa, Great Britain and South African Union.

The effort to get out of isolation and to broaden her life horizon was made by Liberia, not only on the economic field, but also on the political one. The awakening of Africa, with the formation of new states rich in political and social dynamism, suggested a notable commitment of contacts and agreements: in 1955 the Liberia entered the Interparliamentary Union and participated in the first Afro-Asian conference held in Bandung; in 1958 he was present at the first conference of independent African states meeting in Accra on the initiative of Ghana.

In domestic politics, the most important episode was the attack on Tubman, on June 23, 1955, by the dissidents of his True Wig party ; their leader was killed a week later in a clash with the police.