LIBERIA: RECENT CLASHES HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR LAND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MONROVIA 000466 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC ECON EAID LI SUBJECT: LIBERIA: RECENT CLASHES HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR LAND REFORM REF: A. 2007 MONROVIA 1352 ¶B. 2007 MONROVIA 1359 Classified By: Ambassador Booth for reasons 1.4 B and D. ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The rising pattern of violence over land is emerging as a serious threat to the stability of Liberia. Land disputes have been occurring since the end of the civil war, but it appears that attacks between factions are becoming more organized and more deadly. The open use of automatic weapons in at least one instance is also disturbing. The proximate causes of the violence is different in each case, but the disputes are always over the contested ownership of land and demonstrate Liberians' lack of confidence that such disputes can be settled through the courts. The GOL realizes that unclear land title is one of the largest impediments to economic revitalization and food security. Yet, passage of legislation establishing a Land Commission could be a long way off. The Senate is currently considering a bill, but the Executive Branch's Governance Commission has put land reform much lower on its priority list. END SUMMARY. LONGSTANDING TENURE ISSUES WORSENED BY WAR ¶2. (SBU) The struggle over land tenure has been a part of Liberia's history since the arrival of Americo-Liberians, who immediately began expropriating land from the indigenous populations. In effect, there are two land systems, the traditional systems used by the different tribes to determine which group could farm the land, and the modern system that in effect favors the Monrovia-based elites. ¶3. (C) Further, Liberian law does not allow for foreigners to own land, so Liberian landowners or the GOL will enter into multi-decade agreements leasing land to foreign individuals or corporations. Such agreements are a temptation for corruption, and in the case of large land concessions, it is difficult to determine the value of a property fifty to ninety years in advance, leading to accusations of exploitative behavior. ¶4. (SBU) The civil war has exacerbated the problem, as land records were destroyed, large movements of populations have created both urban and rural squatters, and the breakdown of rule of law have forced groups to use force to protect their property. ¶5. (SBU) The government realizes that access to land and its resources and security of land tenure are essential for economic growth, poverty reduction, and stability. The rural population requires access and security of tenure to move beyond subsistence agriculture into more sustainable livelihoods. Increased productivity and profitability in rural agriculture will help achieve food security and increase export crop production. Commercial users of land also need security of tenure for investments. ¶6. (C) Establishing a system to promote the reconciliation of land disputes and improve public perceptions about the mechanisms and government capacity to resolve land conflicts is crucial for promoting private sector participation in the economy. Yet, the task of spearheading land reform has been passed to the Governance Commission (GC) which is now more focused on the National Security Strategy and decentralization. ¶7. (C) Senate Pro Temp Isaac Nyenabo told the Ambassador June 13 that land reform must be one of the GOL's most urgent priorities if it wants to maintain peace and security throughout the country. Nyenabo said the Senate has its own version of a bill establishing a Land Reform Commission and he will push to have it passed before the Legislature leaves for agricultural break (around September 1). After the bill passes both houses, the Executive Branch would have to set the Commission up. Nyenabo said that any delay would be "unfortunate" because land is one of the most contentious issues between ethnic groups throughout Liberia. ¶8. (SBU) Recent violent clashes over land ownership in at least three different counties have created a new urgency to resolve the issue before the violence spreads, or sparks more widespread lawlessness. AT LEAST 16 DEAD IN MARGIBI LAND DISPUTE ¶9. (C) The most recent clash, over a long-standing land dispute between Margibi County Senator Roland Kaine (Congress for Democratic Change, former NPFL) and Charles Bennie, former spokesman for the LURD rebels, has resulted in the death of at least 16 persons on June 7, with 17 others missing. Bennie hired 37 young street hawkers in Monrovia to MONROVIA 00000466 002 OF 003 work as casual laborers on his farm near the Farmington River on the border of Margibi and Grand Bassa Counties. The young men were attacked by locals with machetes, shotguns, clubs, and at least one AK-47. The battered youths were tied to rocks and thrown in the river to drown. Only four youths have been found alive. ¶10. (C) Kaine and Bennie are distant cousins. Kaine's mother allegedly was a squatter on the land, which belonged to Bennie's father, her relative. Bennie alleges that Kaine used his position as a Senator to influence the local population to attack anyone working for Bennie on the land. He accuses Kaine of riling up the local citizens, who are ethnically Bassa and supported the NPFL (Taylor),against the Pele people who were behind the LURD. Senator Kaine and 13 others have been arrested and formally charged with murder. They will be arraigned in Kakata, the capital of Margibi County. Bennie is cooperating with the investigation. 500 other street hawkers in Monrovia staged a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Justice asking that the GOL prosecute the killers. President Sirleaf assured the crowd that she would personally follow the case and the guilty parties would face the full weight of the law. Minister of Information Bropleh was quoted in the press saying that the purpetrators would be publicly hanged. TWO DEATHS AND COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT RECALLED IN MARYLAND COUNTY DISPUTE ¶11. (SBU) A land dispute between two villages in Maryland County has intensified over the past month and led to the death of two people. The residents of Wetchuken Village in Maryland County claim that the people of nearby Rock Town Village annexed a piece of farm land between their settlements known as "Mahfliken" to build houses for returning refugees. According to the Wetchuken residents, both the County Superintendent and the local Police Commissioner supported the housing development on their crop land. Two Wetchuken residents were killed May 8. Approximately 1,000 Wetchuken villagers staged a four-day protest in the County Administration Building in Harper and demanded the dismissal of both the County Superintendent and the Police Commissioner for allegedly taking sides. The Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs flew to Harper June 4 and recalled both officials to Monrovia. After two days of negotiations, they brought the situation under control. They left investigative and legal teams to bring charges against the 24 people who were arrested over the two deaths. LAND PROBELMATIC FOR RETURNING REFUGEES IN NIMBA ¶12. (C) Long-standing tensions remain in Nimba and Lofa counties. The Ad-hoc National Peace Commission set up by President Sirleaf in 2006 has not been perceived by the population to have done anything at all in Nimba County. Representative Kidau told Poloff "the Commission is not following their mandate; they were supposed to make recommendations to the President, not make final decisions. It was supposed to work with the community and recommend ways resolve disputes while enforcing a moratorium on construction on disputed lands". Additionally she stated that people do not see the Commission as neutral. A Ghanian UNMIL officer assigned to Nimba county told Poloff "the Commission is playing politics with the land issue". COMMENT ¶13. (C) The proximate causes of the three events are different. In Margibi, it is a blood feud between relatives where propaganda was used to rile up ethnic tensions in the local population. In Maryland, intra-ethnic group violence occurred over housing growth on farm land because of population pressure from returning refugees. In Nimba, it is a struggle between the traditional land owners, many of whom fled the war and are returning, and the internally displaced who took over the land. We see other cases of Americo-Liberians, some of whom still reside abroad, seeking to invest in property they claim they own, against the local population claiming either traditional rights or more recent squatter rights, and large concession owners attempting to assert their rights in the new economic environment (and in the case of the LAC rubber plantation, leading to the death of the expatriate general manager -- see reftels). ¶14. (C) The issue of land reform is one of the biggest challenges to peace and stability in Liberia. The donor community and the GOL are spending millions of dollars on infrastructure and economic revitalization projects, such as farm-to-market roads, that will not be useful unless the underlying land reform issues are resolved. If the GOL is serious about trying to implement land reform, it needs to encourage the Governance Commission to work more quickly on MONROVIA 00000466 003 OF 003 the issue. It should also look to harmonize the GC's version of the bill with the one already under consideration in the Senate early in the process so there will not be long debate between multiple versions later on. Otherwise, it is not likely that there will be a functional Land Commission anytime soon. BOOTH