Legitimacy of conflict management and resolution mechanisms is critical, especially in situations of diversity such as in multi-ethnic societies

TO BE NOTED: From Chris Blattman's Blog:

"The best civil war study you've never read

Today I'm teaching, among other things, one of my favorite papers: Amos Sawyer's "Violent conflicts and governance challenges in West Africa" (ungated draft version here). ( NB DON )

Sawyer weaves together the history of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea--together the Mano River Basin--and their two shared decades of despotism and bloody conflict. He does several things most do not: he recognizes the regional, geopolitical nature of so-called "internal wars"; he describes intimately the institutional structures that led to breakdown; and he provides a convincing direction for change.

Sawyer, a political scientist at Indiana U-Bloomington, has a slight edge over his academic peers: he was head of state in Liberia for four years. A Liberian activist for decades, he was nominated Interim President in a period that warlord Charles Taylor controlled the hinterland.

Sawyer's work also has a little more impact than the average scholar's; today he leads the nation's Governance Commission, lobbying to rewrite the Constitution to decentralize power and neutralize opportunities for future warlords.

This is a painting in Liberia's national gallery (courtesy of Scarlett Lion):

Amos is front and center, stitching together the flag torn asunder by (correct me if I'm wrong) Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor.

The book version, if you're keen, is here.

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Posted by Chris Blattman

Two people are known to have died of kidney failure after having been subjected to the ordeal.

TO BE NOTED: From AI:

"Hundreds accused of 'witchcraft' persecuted in The Gambia

18 March 2009

Up to 1,000 people in The Gambia have been taken from their villages by “witch doctors”, taken to secret detention centres and forced to drink hallucinogenic concoctions.

The liquid they are forced to drink has led many to have serious kidney problems. Two( 2 ) people are known to have died of kidney failure after having been subjected to the ordeal.

The incidents are part of a “witch hunting campaign” spreading terror throughout the country.

Eyewitnesses and victims told Amnesty International that the “witch doctors”, who they say are from neighbouring Guinea, are accompanied by police, army and national intelligence agents. They are also accompanied by "green boys" – Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s personal protection guards.

According to victims and their relatives, “witch doctors” have been visiting villages with armed security and taking villagers they accuse of being “witches” – many of them elderly – by force, sometimes at gunpoint. They are then taken to secret detention centres.

Some have been held for up to five days. They are forced to drink unknown substances that cause them to hallucinate and behave erratically. Many are then forced to confess to being a witch. In some cases, they are also severely beaten, almost to the point of death.

The most recent incident took place on 9 March in Sintet village in the Foni Jarrol district. Up to 300 people were forced to go to the President’s farm in Kanilai. According to one witness:

“At 5am the paramilitary police armed with guns and shovels surrounded our village and threatened the villagers that anyone who tries to escape will be buried six feet under. Fear gripped the village, children were crying and traumatised. They randomly identified over 300 men and women who were forced at gunpoint into waiting buses and ferried to the President’s hometown.

"Once there, they were stripped and forced to drink ‘dirty water’ from herbs and were also bathed with these dirty herbs. A lot of these people who were forced to drink these poisonous herbs developed instant diarrhoea and vomiting whilst they lay helpless.

"I stayed there for five days. I experienced and witnessed such abuse and humiliation. I cannot believe that this type of treatment is taking place in Gambia. It is from the dark ages.”

The incidents have taken place in the Foni Kansala district, an area near to President Jammeh’s farm in Kanilai. However, many people believe that the “witch hunting” campaign will spread throughout the rest of the country. Hundreds of Gambians have already fled to the Casamance region in Senegal after their villages were attacked.

The witch doctors were invited to The Gambia early this year, soon after the death of President Jammeh’s aunt. The President is reported to believe that witchcraft was used in her death.

Halifa Sallah, a prominent opposition figure who has written about the activities of witch doctors for the main opposition newspaper, Foroyya, was arrested at his home on 8 March. He has since been charged with sedition and spying, and is currently in Mile II, the Central Prison in the Gambia. His next court date is set for 25 March. Amnesty International is concerned that he is at risk of being tortured or ill-treated and that his trial will be unfair.

Halifa Sallah is former member of the Pan African Parliament and minority leader of the National Assembly. He is Secretary General of the People’s Democratic Organization of Independence and Socialism and coordinator of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development. He stood as a presidential candidate in the Gambia in 2006.

Amnesty International has called on The Gambian government to put an immediate stop to the witch-hunting campaign. The organization has also urged the authorities to investigate the incidents and to bring those responsible to justice."

"We'll only attack those who try to challenge authority, and those who embezzle public resources,"

Checking in on Guinea after the coup:

"By Felix Onuah

ABUJA (Reuters) - The West African regional bloc ECOWAS said on Saturday it was suspending Guinea until the military junta which seized power last month held elections and returned the world's top bauxite exporter to democratic rule.

The rebuke from Guinea's neighbours follows a similar move by the African Union, which suspended the former French colony last month, and calls by major donors including the United States and the European Union for elections as soon as possible.( I AGREE )

"ECOWAS suspends Guinea from all meetings of ECOWAS at heads of state and ministerial levels until constitutional order is restored," ECOWAS Commission President Mohamed Ibn Chambas told a meeting of leaders of the 15-member regional body in Abuja.

But he said ECOWAS would maintain "a permanent and constructive dialogue" with the junta and other stakeholders in Guinea to ensure the quick organisation of democratic polls.

The National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD) -- a junta led by young army captain Moussa Dadis Camara -- seized power in Guinea on December 23 after the death of autocratic President Lansana Conte, who had ruled since 1984.

It has appointed a civilian transition government and promised elections in 2010.( NOT GOOD ENOUGH )

But Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who endorsed the coup leaders, has suggested polls could be held earlier, while French secretary of state for cooperation Alain Joyandet has said Camara had agreed to hold polls within 12 months.

Ibn Chambas said last month that the junta's original plan for elections in 2010 was "not acceptable" and that a two-year transition period was too long.( YES )

FORMER COMMANDERS RELEASED

The junta released two former senior military commanders it detained after the coup, officials said on Saturday, but it warned older retired officers not to try to seize power.

Former armed forces chief of staff General Diarra Camara, who had initially opposed the December 23 coup, and a former navy chief, Admiral Aly Daffe, were detained several days ago by soldiers on the orders of the ruling junta.

Both men, and a colonel who was also held, were released on Friday, a senior police official and a navy officer, who both asked not be named, told Reuters.

Junta leader Camara addressed a large assembly of military officers and troops on Friday and warned against attempted rebellions in the ranks.

"Among us, among our older members, there are some who still have a thirst for power," Camara told the meeting at Conakry's Alpha Yaya Diallo military base. Helicopters flew overhead and elite troops watched from the rooftops.

The ruling junta, which consists of mostly younger middle-ranking officers, has ordered the retirement of more than 20 older generals. It also named two of its members to head the defence and security ministries.

Guinea's military( A HUMAN RIGHTS PROBLEM ) was a pillar of support for Conte but has staged a series of bloody mutinies over pay and is accused of human rights abuses. Rights groups say soldiers killed dozens of civilians in early 2007 to crush anti-government protests.

A spokesman for the junta, which shortly after the coup made Capt. Camara its president and Guinea's de facto leader, defended the arrests of military officers and some civilians suspected of planning to oppose the coup.

"We'll only attack those who try to challenge authority, and those who embezzle public resources," Demba Fadiga said."

''For the person who embezzles money, there won't be a trial. They'll be killed,''

I bet Madoff and the other financial criminals are glad that they don't live in Guinea. From the NY times:

"Guinea Coup Leader Vows to Fight Corruption( YOU JUST LED A COUP )

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 4:17 p.m. ET

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) -- Guinea's coup leader declared a zero tolerance policy on corruption Saturday, vowing to renegotiate the country's numerous mining contracts( GOOD LUCK. CHECK OUT COMMODITY PRICES ) and warning that anyone who embezzles state funds will be executed( I DON'T LIKE EMBEZZLEMENT, BUT THIS IS INTOLERABLE ).

Capt. Moussa Camara also extended an apparent concession to Guinea's opposition, telling them they could help choose a prime minister( HOW NICE ) following international criticism that elections are not planned for two more years.

On a concrete stage inside the barracks from where he launched his rebellion Tuesday, Camara jabbed his finger at the sky as he swore to do away with the corruption that has drained the mineral-rich state's coffers and impoverished the West African nation's 10 million people.

''For the person who embezzles money, there won't be a trial( THAT'S NOT ACCEPTABLE ). They'll be killed,'' he said as the crowd went wild. ''I was born in a hut. I walked to school. ... Money means nothing to me.''

Guinea is the world's largest producer of bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum, and also produces diamonds and gold. Yet its mineral wealth was siphoned off to enrich the country's longtime ruling family and its collaborators( THIS IS A DISGRACE ).

Guinea has been ruled by only two people since gaining independence from France half century ago. The late dictator Lansana Conte died on Monday and the military junta led by Camara declared the coup a day later.

He said the country's ruling clique ''spit on the faces of the poor,'' enriching themselves at the population's expense( HE'S PROBABLY RIGHT ).

One of the remedies he proposed was reviewing the country's mining contracts and renegotiating them if the terms are unfavorable. He did not name any specific companies whose contracts might be affected( WE'LL SEE ).

Even as the crowd of thousands cheered him, the international community continued its condemnation of the coup( SEE, IT'S A COUP ). South African President Kgalema Motlanthe condemned it ''an affront to peace, stability and democracy.''

The United States has called for the immediate restoration of civilian rule, while the European Union said the junta needs to hold elections by next year, not two years from now as Camara has promised( WHAT'S WRONG WITH THREE MONTHS? ).

But Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade -- a key player in the region's politics -- urged other countries to leave the new junta alone. ''I call on all countries, notably France, to not throw stones at them and to take them at their word,'' Wade said during a trip to Paris.

In a move appeared calculated to address the international community's concerns, Camara said he is calling on Guinea's opposition, including its powerful unions, to propose the name of a prime minister( WE'LL SEE ).

Rabiatou Serah Diallo, head of one of Guinea's largest unions, welcomed the move. She added the unions were keeping an eye on the coup leaders: ''If they deviate from the road they promise to take us on, then they'll find us blocking their path( GOOD ).''

Camara was largely unknown to most Guineans before his group seized public airwaves and declared the coup. On Saturday, he invited civilian community leaders -- including union leaders, religious heads, politicians and human rights workers -- to meet him at his barracks.

He arrived surrounded by a cordon of soldiers armed with machine guns. They hollered at the crowd to move back. Many wore fetishes tied around their arms and necks intended to protect them from harm( GET ME ONE OF THOSE ). Camara, a short man with a taut face, took the microphone, electrifying the crowd with one pronouncement after another.

A generation of Guineans have known only Lansana Conte as their ruler and even though the coup leader appears to enjoy broad support( PROBABLY TRUE ), tens of thousands turned out for the dictator's funeral on Friday. Too many people tried to enter parliament to see the president's coffin, causing security forces beat them back with rubber belts.

When the coffin wound its way to the capital's 25,000-seat stadium, so many people had crowded inside that spectators began suffocating and ambulances rushed half a dozen unconscious people away.

The funeral ended on the manicured grounds of the ex-president's estate in his village located around 40 miles (70 kilometers) northwest of the capital. With state funds, Conte built himself a house the size of a hotel fronting a lake. His family -- including two of his three wives and an estimated 20 children -- showed up in Hummers, stretch limousines and flashy SUVs.

As they put his body to rest, the sun went down over the village of his birth. Most of the country -- including much of the capital -- has no electricity. But as the darkness fell, the homes in the village shone with light."

I CAN'T HELP WISHING THE COUNTRY LUCK. I DON'T LIKE COUPS, BUT OPPOSITION TO THIS REGIME WAS SURELY JUSTIFIED. HOWEVER, THE COUP COULD ENHANCE ITS, REPUTATION, I GUESS, BY OBSERVING THE RULE OF LAW AND HAVING IMMEDIATE ELECTIONS. THAT WOULD IMPRESS ME.

------

Associated Press writers Sadibou Marone in Dakar, Senegal, and Maseco Conde in Conakry, Guinea contributed to this report.