Introduction

Liberia

Background:

Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003, peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country, but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country will take many years.

Geography

Liberia

Location:	Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Geographic coordinates:	6 30 N, 9 30 W
Map references:	Africa
Area:	total: 111,370 sq km land: 96,320 sq km water: 15,050 sq km
Area - comparative:	slightly larger than Tennessee
Land boundaries:	total: 1,585 km border countries: Guinea 563 km, Cote d'Ivoire 716 km, Sierra Leone 306 km
Coastline:	579 km
Maritime claims:	territorial sea: 200 nm
Climate:	tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights; wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Terrain:	mostly flat to rolling coastal plains rising to rolling plateau and low mountains in northeast
Elevation extremes:	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Wuteve 1,380 m
Natural resources:	iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold, hydropower
Land use:	arable land: 3.43% permanent crops: 1.98% other: 94.59% (2005)
Irrigated land:	30 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:	232 cu km (1987)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):	total: 0.11 cu km/yr (27%/18%/55%) per capita: 34 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:	dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March)
Environment - current issues:	tropical rain forest deforestation; soil erosion; loss of biodiversity; pollution of coastal waters from oil residue and raw sewage
Environment - international agreements:	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
Geography - note:	facing the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is characterized by lagoons, mangrove swamps, and river-deposited sandbars; the inland grassy plateau supports limited agriculture

People

Liberia

Population:	3,195,931 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:	0-14 years: 43.6% (male 698,382/female 695,409) 15-64 years: 53.6% (male 848,951/female 865,380) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 42,745/female 45,064) (2007 est.)
Median age:	total: 18.1 years male: 17.9 years female: 18.2 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:	4.836% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:	43.75 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:	22.24 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:	26.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.004 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.981 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.949 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:	total: 149.73 deaths/1,000 live births male: 165.65 deaths/1,000 live births female: 133.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:	total population: 40.39 years male: 38.93 years female: 41.89 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:	5.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:	5.9% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:	100,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:	7,200 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:	degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever water contact disease: schistosomiasis aerosolized dust or soil contact disease: Lassa fever animal contact disease: rabies (2008)
Nationality:	noun: Liberian(s) adjective: Liberian
Ethnic groups:	indigenous African 95% (including Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Loma, Kissi, Vai, Dei, Bella, Mandingo, and Mende), Americo-Liberians 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the US who had been slaves), Congo People 2.5% (descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean who had been slaves)
Religions:	Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 40%
Languages:	English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
Literacy:	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.5% male: 73.3% female: 41.6% (2003 est.)

Government

Liberia

Country name:	conventional long form: Republic of Liberia conventional short form: Liberia
Government type:	republic
Capital:	name: Monrovia geographic coordinates: 6 18 N, 10 48 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:	15 counties; Bomi, Bong, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, Lofa, Margibi, Maryland, Montserrado, Nimba, River Cess, River Gee, Sinoe
Independence:	26 July 1847
National holiday:	Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Constitution:	6 January 1986
Legal system:	dual system of statutory law based on Anglo-American common law for the modern sector and customary law based on unwritten tribal practices for indigenous sector; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:	chief of state: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006); note - the President is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF (since 16 January 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 8 November 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF elected president; percent of vote, second round - Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF 59.6%, George WEAH 40.4%
Legislative branch:	bicameral National Assembly consists of the Senate (30 seats; note - number of seats changed in 11 October 2005 elections; members elected by popular vote to serve nine-year terms) and the House of Representatives (64 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011); House of Representatives - last held 11 October 2005 (next to be held in 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - COTOL 7, NPP 4, CDC 3, LP 3, UP 3, APD 3, other 7; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CDC 15, LP 9, COTOL 8, UP 8, APD 5, NPP 4, other 15 note: junior senators - those who received the second most votes in each county in the 11 October 2005 election - will only serve a six-year first term because the Liberian constitution mandates staggered Senate elections to ensure continuity of government; all senators will be eligible for nine-year terms thereafter
Judicial branch:	Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:	Alliance for Peace and Democracy or APD [Togba-na TIPOTEH]; Coalition for the Transformation of Liberia or COTOL [H. Varney SHERMAN]; Congress for Democratic Change or CDC [George WEAH]; Liberty Party or LP [Charles BRUMSKINE]; National Patriotic Party or NPP [Roland MASSAQUOI]; Unity Party or UP [Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF]
Political pressure groups and leaders:	Demobilized former military officers
International organization participation:	ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. MINOR chancery: 5201 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 723-0437 FAX: [1] (202) 723-0436 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Donald E. BOOTH embassy: 111 United Nations Drive, P. O. Box 10-0098, Mamba Point, 1000 Monrovia, 10 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [231] 7-705-4825 or 4826 FAX: [231] 7-701-0370
Flag description:	11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag

Economy

Liberia

Economy - overview:	Civil war and government mismanagement destroyed much of Liberia's economy, especially the infrastructure in and around the capital, Monrovia. Many businesses fled the country, taking capital and expertise with them, but with the conclusion of fighting and the installation of a democratically-elected government in 2006, some have returned. Richly endowed with water, mineral resources, forests, and a climate favorable to agriculture, Liberia had been a producer and exporter of basic products - primarily raw timber and rubber. Local manufacturing, mainly foreign owned, had been small in scope. President JOHNSON SIRLEAF, a Harvard-trained banker and administrator, has taken steps to reduce corruption, build support from international donors, and encourage private investment. Embargos on timber and diamond exports have been lifted, opening new sources of revenue for the government. The reconstruction of infrastructure and the raising of incomes in this ravaged economy will largely depend on generous financial and technical assistance from donor countries and foreign investment in key sectors, such as infrastructure and power generation.
GDP (purchasing power parity):	$1.498 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):	$732 million (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:	8.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):	$500 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture: 76.9% industry: 5.4% services: 17.7% (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:	agriculture: 70% industry: 8% services: 22% (2000 est.)
Unemployment rate:	85% (2003 est.)
Population below poverty line:	80% (2000 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):	15% (2003 est.)
Budget:	revenues: NA expenditures: NA
Agriculture - products:	rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas; sheep, goats; timber
Industries:	rubber processing, palm oil processing, timber, diamonds
Industrial production growth rate:	NA%
Electricity - production:	319.3 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source:	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption:	296.9 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports:	0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports:	0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production:	0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption:	3,550 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports:	23.31 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports:	3,532 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves:	0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports:	0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports:	0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves:	0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Exports:	$1.197 billion f.o.b. (2006)
Exports - commodities:	rubber, timber, iron, diamonds, cocoa, coffee
Exports - partners:	Germany 40.1%, South Africa 12%, Poland 11.7%, US 8.5%, Spain 8.2% (2006)
Imports:	$7.143 billion f.o.b. (2006)
Imports - commodities:	fuels, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods; foodstuffs
Imports - partners:	South Korea 43.2%, Singapore 15%, Japan 12.8%, China 8.2% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:	$236.2 million (2005)
Debt - external:	$3.2 billion (2005 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:	$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:	$NA
Market value of publicly traded shares:	$NA
Currency (code):	Liberian dollar (LRD)
Currency code:	LRD
Exchange rates:	Liberian dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 59.43 (2006), 53.098 (2005), 54.906 (2004), 59.379 (2003)
Fiscal year:	calendar year

Communications

Liberia

Telephones - main lines in use:	6,900 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:	160,000 (2005)
Telephone system:	general assessment: the limited services available are found almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia; coverage extended to a number of other towns and rural areas by four mobile-cellular network operators domestic: combined fixed and mobile-cellular teledensity only about 5 per 100 persons international: country code - 231; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:	AM 0, FM 10, shortwave 2 (2007)
Radios:	790,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:	4 (plus 4 repeaters) (2007)
Televisions:	70,000 (1997)
Internet country code:	.lr
Internet hosts:	38 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):	2 (2001)
Internet users:	1,000 (2002)

Transportation

Liberia

Airports:	53 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:	total: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 38 (2007)
Railways:	total: 490 km standard gauge: 345 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 145 km 1.067-m gauge note: sections of railway are inoperable because of damage suffered during the civil war (2008)
Roadways:	total: 10,600 km paved: 657 km unpaved: 9,943 km (1999)
Merchant marine:	total: 1,948 ships (1000 GRT or over) 71,387,243 GRT/109,450,945 DWT by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 338, cargo 91, chemical tanker 211, combination ore/oil 9, container 614, liquefied gas 81, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 455, refrigerated cargo 91, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 11, vehicle carrier 35 foreign-owned: 1,904 (Argentina 3, Australia 2, Belgium 1, Brazil 3, Canada 3, China 32, Croatia 5, Cyprus 5, Denmark 12, Estonia 1, France 5, Germany 728, Gibraltar 7, Greece 311, Hong Kong 21, India 2, Indonesia 1, Israel 9, Italy 31, Japan 111, South Korea 4, Kuwait 1, Latvia 15, Lebanon 2, Mexico 1, Monaco 8, Netherlands 28, Norway 42, Poland 14, Qatar 2, Russia 87, Saudi Arabia 24, Singapore 42, Slovenia 1, Sweden 11, Switzerland 11, Taiwan 82, Turkey 7, Ukraine 24, UAE 22, UK 74, US 103, Uruguay 3, Vietnam 3) (2007)
Ports and terminals:	Buchanan, Monrovia

Military

Liberia

Military branches:	Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL): Army, Navy, Air Force
Military service age and obligation:	18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service:	males age 18-49: 575,384 females age 18-49: 588,780 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:	males age 18-49: 267,430 females age 18-49: 286,231 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:	1.3% (2006 est.)

Transnational Issues

Liberia

Disputes - international:	although civil unrest continues to abate with the assistance of 18,000 UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) peacekeepers, as of January 2007, Liberian refugees still remain in Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire; despite the presence of over 9,000 UN forces (UNOCI) in Cote d'Ivoire since 2004, ethnic conflict continues to spread into neighboring states who can no longer send their migrant workers to Ivorian cocoa plantations; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber
Refugees and internally displaced persons:	refugees (country of origin): 6,592 (Cote d'Ivoire) IDPs: 13,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; IDP resettlement began in November 2004) (2006)
Illicit drugs:	transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center

History of Liberia

Settlers from America
The history of Liberia as a political entity begins with the arrival of the black American settlers — the Americo-Liberians, as they came to be known, to Africa — who established a colony of “free men of color” on its shore in 1822 under the auspices of the American Colonization Society. The historical roots from which a majority of present-day Liberians derive their identity, however, are found in the varied traditions of the several ethnicities of indigenous Africans whom the settlers confronted in their struggle to gain a foothold in Africa and, later, extend their control into the interior.

On July 26, 1847, the American settlers declared the independence of the Republic of Liberia. The settlers regarded the continent from which their forefathers had been taken as slaves as a "Promised Land", but they did not become reintegrated into an African society. Once in Africa, they referred to themselves as "Americans" and were recognized as such by local Africans and by British colonial authorities in neighboring Sierra Leone. The symbols of their state — its flag, motto, and seal — and the form of government that they chose reflected their American background and diaspora experience.

The religious practices, social customs and cultural standards of the Americo-Liberians had their roots in the antebellum American South. These ideals strongly influenced the attitudes of the settlers toward the indigenous African people. The new nation, as they perceived it, was coextensive with the settler community and with those Africans who were assimilated into it. Because of mutual mistrust and hostility between the "Americans" along the coast and the "Natives" of the interior, a recurrent theme in the country's subsequent history, therefore, was the usually successful attempt of the Americo-Liberian minority to dominate people whom they considered uncivilized and inferior. They named the land "Liberia," which in European languages, and in Latin in particular, means "Land of the Free". This is due to the fact that many former slaves from the Americas traveled to this newly founded country.

The founding of Liberia was privately sponsored by American religious and philanthropic groups, but the country enjoyed the support and unofficial cooperation of the United States government. Liberia’s government, modeled after that of the United States, was democratic in structure, if not always in substance. After 1877 the True Whig Party monopolized political power in the country, and competition for office was usually contained within the party, whose nomination virtually ensured election. Two problems confronting successive administrations were pressure from neighboring colonial powers, Britain and France, and the threat of financial insolvency, both of which challenged the country’s sovereignty. Liberia retained its independence during the Scramble for Africa, but lost its claim to extensive territories that were annexed by Britain and France. Economic development was retarded by the decline of markets for Liberian goods in the late nineteenth century and by indebtedness on a series of loans, payments on which drained the economy.

Significant mid-20th-century events
Two events were of particular importance in releasing Liberia from its self-imposed isolation. The first was the grant in 1926 of a large concession to the American-owned Firestone Plantation Company; that move became a first step in the modernization of the Liberian economy. The second occurred during World War II, when the United States began providing technical and economic assistance that enabled Liberia to make economic progress and introduce social change.

1980 coup under Doe
On 12 April 1980, a successful military coup was staged by a group of noncommissioned Krahn officers led by Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe, and they executed the President of nine years William R. Tolbert, Jr. in his mansion, after torturing him for a period of several days. Constituting themselves the People’s Redemption Council, Doe and his associates seized control of the government and brought an end to Africa’s "first republic".

The United States in the early 1980s, receiving more than $500 million for pushing the Soviet Union out of the country, and allowing exclusive rights for the US to use Liberia's ports and land (including allowing the CIA to use Liberian territory to spy on Libya).

Doe continued his authoritarian policies, banning newspapers, outlawing opposition parties and holding staged elections.

1989 and 1999 civil wars
In late 1989, a civil war began, and in September 1990 Doe was ousted and killed by the forces of faction leader Yormie Johnson and members of the Gio tribe. As a condition for the end of the conflict, interim president Amos Sawyer resigned in 1994, handing power to the Council of State. Prominent warlord Charles Taylor was elected as President in 1997. Taylor's brutal regime targeted several leading opposition and political activists. In 1998, the government sought to assassinate child rights activist Kimmie Weeks for a report he had published on its involvement in the training of child soldiers, which forced him into exile. Taylor's autocratic and dysfunctional government led to a new rebellion in 1999. More than 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the civil wars. The conflict intensified in mid-2003, and the fighting moved into Monrovia. As the power of the government shrank and with increasing international and American pressure for him to resign, President Charles Taylor accepted an asylum offer by Nigeria, but vowed: "God willing, I will be back." This statement was proved correct when he was extradited from Nigeria on March 29, 2006. He is expected to face 17 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity before a United Nations tribunal holding proceedings in the Hague to address alleged crimes committed during the brutal civil war.

Transitional Government and Elections
After the exile of Taylor, Gyude Bryant was appointed Chairman of the transitional government in late 2003. The primary task of the transitional government was to prepare for fair and peaceful democratic elections. With UN and ECOMOG troops safeguarding the peace, Liberia successfully conducted presidential elections in the fall of 2005. Twenty three candidates stood for the October 11, 2005 general election, with the early favorite George Weah, internationally famous footballer, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and member of the Kru ethnic group expected to dominate the popular vote. No candidate took the required majority in the general election, so that a run-off between the top two vote getters, Weah and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, was necessary. The November 8, 2005 presidential runoff election was won decisively by Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist. Both the general election and runoff were marked by peace and order, with thousands of Liberians waiting patiently in the Liberian heat to cast their ballots.

The Presidency of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Daughter of the first indigenous Liberian to be elected to the national legislature, Jahmale Carney Johnson, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was born in rural Liberia. Widely celebrated for being the first elected female head of state in Africa, Johnson-Sirleaf’s election focused much international attention on Liberia. A former Citibank and World Bank employee, Johnson-Sirleaf’s impressive career also includes heading the U.N. Development Programme for Africa. (Owing to the complexion inherited from her maternal Grandfather, a German who married a rural market woman, Johnson-Sirleaf has often been thought to be a member of the Americo-Liberian elite, although she is quite proud of her indigenous Liberian roots). Long involved in her country’s fight for peace and justice, Johnson-Sirleaf was jailed twice during the Doe administration. Jailed once for eight months, she narrowly escaped with her life before going into exile. Delivering a message of hope and reconciliation in her inauguration speech, Johnson-Sirleaf hopes to bring her credentials as an economist to bear and enlist the help of the international community in rebuilding Liberia’s economy and infrastructure. As of this writing, she is working to have Liberia’s external debt of $3.5 billion cancelled, and is inviting international investment. She has extended a special invitation to the Nigerian business community to participate in business opportunities in Liberia, in part as a thank you for Nigeria’s help in securing Liberia’s peace. Exiled Liberians are also investing in their homeland and participating in Liberia's rebuilding efforts.

In addition to focusing her early efforts to re-establishing basic services like water and electricity to the capital of Monrovia, Johnson-Sirleaf has established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address crimes committed during the later stages of Liberia's long civil war. She is also working to re-establish Liberia's food independence. Johnson-Sirleaf also tackled head-on the greatest looming threat to Liberia's peace and stability early in her presidency by requesting that Nigeria extradite Liberia's most infamous war criminal and war profiteer, Charles Taylor.

Extradition and Trial of Charles Taylor
In March 2006, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf sent a letter formally requesting the extradition of Charles Taylor from Nigeria to face justice. While Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo confirmed receipt of the request and notified the Chairman of the African Union, Denis Sassou-Nguesso, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Mamadou Tandja on March 17, 2006, Nigeria’s plans to comply with the request were not immediately clear. After representatives from Liberia and Nigeria met to discuss the issue, Nigeria announced on March 25, 2006 that it would allow Liberian authorities to arrest Taylor. It was long feared that Taylor, a multi-millionaire, could easily slip into hiding to escape charges before the UN International War Crimes Tribunal sitting in Sierra Leone, and by March 28 Taylor had reportedly disappeared from his Nigerian compound. He was recaptured by alert border guards at dawn on March 29 trying to cross into Cameroon. Taylor was quickly flown to Liberia, where he was shuffled onto a waiting UN helicopter to face charges for crimes against humanity in Sierra Leone (although the venue for this trial may shift to the Hague). The timing of Taylor’s appearance before the tribunal is crucial as the court’s mandate is set to expire later in 2006. Through the wars he initiated and funded in West Africa, Taylor is directly responsible for more deaths than those caused in the Balkan Wars by deceased war criminal Slobodan Miloševiæ in the former Yugoslavia.

Culture of Liberia

The culture of Liberia reflects this nation's diverse ethnicities and long history.

Tribes of Liberia
Many consider the Gola to be earliest tribe to inhabit Liberia, but the Gola themselves claim they met the Dei ethnic group there when they arrived. The Dei ethnic group are a vanguard group of Bassa that settled Liberia in waves. The ethnic groups of Liberia can be divided into five major groups:

Mel (Gola, Kissi)
Kwa (Dei, Bassa, Kru, Krahn, Grebo)
Mande-Fu (Kpelle, Gio, Mano, Loma)
Mande-Tan (Vai, Mende, Mandingo)
Repatriated (Americo-Liberians, Congo, Caribbean)

Bassa
The Bassa (Dei, Bassa, Kru, Krahn, Grebo), also referred to as the Kwa-Speakers, can trace their historical origins to Mozambique in pre-dynastic times. Over time they migrated up through Ethiopia (Adbassa->Adbassania->Abyssinia) and established empires in conjunction with other ethnic groups in the area (Kush, Axum, Meroe). The 25th dynasty leaders of Khemit(Egypt) Ta Harko, Xa Bako and Xe Biko were Bassa. Their fall from power in Khemit would cause a retreat toward central Africa toward the Lake Chad region led by Mbem son of Soye, where the empires of Rifum, Kororafa and Adbassa were established in succession. Adbassa would last three centuries alongside the Bornu, Hausa, and Yoruba kingdoms. The Fall of Adbassa would split the massive Bassa group into many groups sending some to the Kasai Congo (Bassa-la-Mpasu), Togo (Bassa'r), Senegal, Sierra-Leone, Guinea (Bassa-ri), Nigeria (Bassa-Nge), Cameroon(Bassa) and Liberia (Dei, Bassa, Kru, Krahn, Grebo). The Liberian group was led by Hana-Mbak(Hanabo) son of Wenang. The Mano ethnic group of Liberia called the Bassa, Manidyu. Meaning the tribe that dries up rivers when they cross. This Bassa group would split into multiple separate ethnic groups in Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire (Bete, Kru) when they arrived.

Dei and Gola
The Dei settled first and were later joined by the Gola ethnic group before any of the other Bassa groups arrived. The Gola ethnic group originated somewhere in central Africa. During the Empire of Ancient Ghana they were heavily involved in the land-surveying and judicial aspects of the empire. The other ethnic groups that fall under the Mande-Tan, Mande-Fu were also members of Ancient Ghana. Because of the their influence in the judicial aspects of the Ghana, the Gola's social structure dominated through the Poro. With the influx of Islam many groups adopted while others resisted. The Golas fought three wars with pro-Islamic elements in a changing Ghana. These wars were known as the Kumba Wars. The Golas lost the third of these wars and were forced to retreat toward Sierra Leone. They were pursued by the Mende, Gbandi and Loma. Their battles with the Mende in Sierra Leone forced them to retreat yet again and settle finally in Liberia where they encountered the Dei.

Emigrants from Mali
The Kpelle, Gio, Mano, Mandingo and Vai groups migrated from the Empire of Mali for various reasons. Some escaping political intrigue others looking for a better life.

Repatriates
The Repatriates were resettled from the United States, Caribbean and captured British slave ships coming from the Congo.

Immigrants from Côte d'Ivoire
In the 1500s: Kru (Tajuasohn), Bassa, Dei, Mamba, Grebo. 


From the Sudan
Muslim tribes immigrating from Sudan from the 1500s through 1600s: Vai, Mandingo (see LURD)

1800s
Americo-Liberians: Freed slaves and descendants of freed slaves from the U.S. and the Caribbean
Congo people from the Congo River Basin who were captured for the slave trade but sent to Liberia when slavery was abolished without ever being exposed to non-African cultures.
Gio, Krahn (see Samuel Doe, and MODEL), Kissi, Bella

Music
Its musical heritage includes several important genres of pop derived from neighbors like Ghana and Nigeria. Liberia also boasts an array of indigenous folk music, Christian music and influences from its Americo-Liberian minority. Because most cultures and customs in Liberia are influenced by the United States, R&B and Hip-hop are also being performed in this country as well.

Folk music
Traditional Liberian music utilizes such typical West African elements as ululation, vocal repetition, call-and-response and polyrhythms. Traditional music is performed at weddings, naming ceremonies, royal events and other special occasions, as well as ordinary children's songs, work songs and lullabies.

Christian music was introduced to Liberia by American missionaries, and Christian songs are now sung in native languages in a style that mixes American harmonies with West African rhythms and a call-and-response format.

Popular music
Highlife music is very popular in Liberia, as elsewhere in West Africa. It is a combination of North American, West African and Latin American styles, and emerged in the 1950s in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, especially among the Liberian Kru people, who were sailors that played Spanish guitar, banjo, pennywhistle, harmonica, accordion, mandolin and concertina.

Past and present musicians include Hawa Moore, Tejajlu, Molly Dorley, Yatta Zoe, Anthony Nagbe and Miatta Fahnbulleh. Of these Dorley deserves special notice for having spearheaded a movement to create a national Liberian identity, alongside musicians like Anthony "Experience" Nagbe. Dorley's popular songs include "Grand Gedeh County Oh! Oh!" and "Who Are You Baby, Oh!".

The country's most renowned radio station is ELBC, or the Liberian Broadcasting Corporation.

Last update on 13 March 2008