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Liberia is the oldest independent nation in West Africa, founded in 1822 for freed slaves from the Americas and given independence in 1847. But until 1980 when 28- year old Master- Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe overthrew Africa's oldest constitution in a military coup, economic, political and military power in the country was dominated by the America-Liberians, the freed slaves who constitute only 4 percent of the country's population. After flawed elections and an abortive coup attempt in 1985, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) led by Charles Taylor launched a rebellion from the bush in 1989. Lieutenant Prince Yormie Johnson broke away from the NPFL and formed the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL). Other armed groups sprang up.
A full- scale war broke out. Tens of thousands were displaced. The internally displaced population numbered about 700,000. Some 727,000 civilians also poured into neighbouring countries in search of peace and shelter. And in early August 1990, ECOWAS mini-summit was held in the Gambian capital of Banjul, from which was created a 4,000-strong ECOWAS Monitoring Group, ECOMOG.
The force, drawn from Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the Gambia, was mandated to maintain law and peace, protect life and property, maintain essential services, provide security for the interim administration, observe elections and conduct normal police duties. The force, which became operative in late August 1990, was initially under the command of Ghana's Lt. General Arnold Quainoo, the Buffalo Soldier. He held the position for a brief period, less than a month. The Ghanaian commander was replaced by a Nigerian after President Doe was arrested at ECOMOG Headquarters by Prince Johnson INPFL and gruesomely murdered. The supporters of the assassinated president later organized their activities under the canopy known as the United Liberation Movement of democracy, ULIMO.
The ECOMOG force grew in number and commitment as the years rolled by. By the time it ended its operation in Liberia in January 1999, ECOMOG had committed some 40,000 troops, the bulk of whom came from Nigeria. Ghana's contribution was 11,429, representing more than one-quarter of the total troops development. Some 36 Ghanaian soldiers lost their lives in the Liberian operation.
ECOMOG carried war-mutilated Liberia to a relatively peaceful democratic election. It is difficult to imagine what Liberia would look like today if ECOMOG had not been invented. While the feuding factions in Liberia were put under the security guard of ECOMOG, West African leaders criss-crossed the sub-region looking for an answer to the Liberian puzzle. From Accra through Lome and Cotonou to Abuja and to Bamako, Liberia dominated the politics of the region. Ghana effectively participated in this shuttle diplomacy. Ghana's Foreign Minister, Mr. James Victor Gbeho, was named Special Representative of the Chairman of ECOWAS to Liberia between 1995 and 1996.
ECOMOG was the lodestar for regional peacekeeping initiatives in Africa. On 22 September 1993 the Security Council adopted a resolution establishing the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia, UNOMIL. It had the initial task of co-operating with ECOMOG in implementation of the Cotonou Peace Accord, which called for a ceasefire, demobilization and holding of elections.
UNOMIL was the first UN peacekeeping mission undertaken in cooperation with a peacekeeping operation already set up by another organisation. UNOMIL worked closely and symbiotically with ECOMOG to bring Liberia to a state of near normalcy, dividing their labours in development, security, support services and humanitarian administration.
For Ghana, ECOMOG provided the opportunity to test the potency of using an African peacekeeping force to an African problem. And the result has become a classroom for all to learn from. In ECOMOG, Ghanaian troops undertook daring operations- disarming, rescuing, escorting and distributing humanitarian supplies. Unlike some countries contingents in ECOMOG, the Ghanaian contingent never used arms to resolve an impasse. Towards the end of January 1999, Ghanabatt 15, less one company, was redeployed to Sierra Leone, despite Ghana's protests against the alleged involvement of Liberia in the Sierra Leonean conflict. One Ghanaian battalion remains in the country, as part of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).
Certainly, when the histories of Liberia and Sierra Leone come to be written, ECOMOG will feature prominently. And Ghanaian soldiers will take a front seat to tell the tale of a country disabled by a civil war that claimed 150,000 lives and led to a complete breakdown of law and order, exported its war to neighbouring Sierra Leone. |
