Liberia: railroading peace

Abstract

Twenty-one months after the mayhem that ripped through Liberia's capital Monrovia in April 1996, a semblance of normalcy seems to have returned to the country; factions have dissolved and fighters have demobilized. Guns are no longer seen other than in the hands West African peace-keepers. The 1997 Special Elections, stamped with the free and fair seal of international approval, handed Liberians their first freely elected president. In November 1997, Former warlord Charles Taylor, landslide victor of the July 19 ballot, celebrated the first 100 days of his administration. The Cassandra's had long claimed that the Nigerian-led peace process could not yield peace. Now some may be inclined to review their skepticism.