As a woman, I cannot help but be proud that the Nobel Committee chose this year to acknowledge the crucial part played by women in fostering peace in diverse societies. I take my hat off to Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman for their for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work”.
As for the 3rd recipient, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – the president of Liberia, my excitement is tempered by the concerns that have been raised by her critics time and time again.
Without a doubt Johnson-Sirleaf’s resume makes impressive reading but with her background and professional experience, it is easy to see why she is a darling of the West. Whilst that has brought a measure of economic progress to formerly war-torn Liberia, this might perhaps be her undoing as ordinary Liberians feel that their lot hasn’t improved much since she came to power 6 years ago. Of particular concern is her backing of Charles Taylor who has been indicted for war crimes in the Hague. Her argument that she backed Taylor because she wanted the cruel dictator Samuel Doe out leaves a bad taste in the mouth. It’s not likely that Taylor’s victims will agree that the end justified the means. In 2009, Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee recommended that for her support of Taylor she should be barred from holding public office for 30 years. Obviously, that recommendation was rejected as she was already in office at the time and is now seeking re-election for a second term as president.
As I’ve never lived in a country racked by conflict, I might be forgiven for thinking that Truth and Reconciliation committees are set up so that people can somehow navigate the process of healing and reconciliation so that a solid foundation for re-building war-torn communities can be laid.
The fact that a major recommendation was flagrantly discarded does show how problematic the whole issue of peaceful state-building is in post-conflict societies. According to the UN Human Development Report, Liberia’s HDI (Human Development Index - which is a more robust measure of development than just GDP on its own) changed from 0.319 in 2005 to 0.329 in 2011. Not that much of an improvement one might say but then considering how damaged Liberia was by its 14-year war; a turnaround of fortunes will take time. It is therefore difficult to say whether this vindicates Johnson Sirleaf or her critics. However, with the current problems surrounding the elections in Liberia, maybe she is the best option for her country now. This is probably one of those cases of “better the devil you know”....
I really would welcome anyone’s views and opinions on this particular issue which is by no means exhausted yet. In a future post the spotlight will be on Rwanda - another post-conflict nation with its own internal struggles. With the amount of conflict that has gone on or still going on in Africa over the last four decades, credible solutions to state re-building need to be found relatively quickly if lasting progress in the continent is to be more than a pipedream.
Until the next time……….
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