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

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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

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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