Monday, November 17, 2003
Africa is one topic I feel that I never have enough time to master. Please bear with the occasional attempts I make here.
An interesting piece at AllAfrica documents two conflicting tendencies in US policy: advancing human rights in Liberia and retaining good ties with West Africa's regional leader, Nigeria.
In this case, a Congressional initiative calling for sanctions against Nigeria for offering asylum to Liberian despot Charles Taylor seems like a step in the wrong direction. Taylor is a terrible individual who deserves to be tried for war crimes. But the process in Liberia is too fragile to do this now, and Nigeria is playing a positive role by giving Taylor an alibi to leave peaceably.
And, needless to say, as the largest country in Africa, Nigeria is a rather important partner to have.
This is an issue worth revisiting in a few years, depending how the reconstruction of Liberia goes. Dealing with it now raises more problems than it solves.
An interesting piece at AllAfrica documents two conflicting tendencies in US policy: advancing human rights in Liberia and retaining good ties with West Africa's regional leader, Nigeria.
In this case, a Congressional initiative calling for sanctions against Nigeria for offering asylum to Liberian despot Charles Taylor seems like a step in the wrong direction. Taylor is a terrible individual who deserves to be tried for war crimes. But the process in Liberia is too fragile to do this now, and Nigeria is playing a positive role by giving Taylor an alibi to leave peaceably.
And, needless to say, as the largest country in Africa, Nigeria is a rather important partner to have.
This is an issue worth revisiting in a few years, depending how the reconstruction of Liberia goes. Dealing with it now raises more problems than it solves.
