U.S. Commitee for Refugees

May 9, 2000

Editor:

Senator Judd Gregg says the "first" step to achieve peace in Sierra Leone should be to oust President Charles Taylor from neighboring Liberia. (See "A Graveyard Peace, May 9). He correctly states that President Taylor helped create the murderous Sierra Leonean rebels currently holding UN peacekeepers hostage. "Every feasible effort ought to be made to undermine [Taylor's] rule," Gregg states.

Sen. Gregg makes a valid point. Unfortunately, Sen. Gregg's Republican colleague, Sen. Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has single-handedly blocked a previously approved U.S. program that would have worked to bolster Taylor's political opponents inside Liberia, thereby helping achieve Gregg's objective.

Sen. Helms has placed a "hold" on a $1 million USAID "democracy and governance" program in Liberia during the past nine months. The project killed by Helms had supported local human rights investigations into abuses by Taylor's government, provided training for an independent local press, and encouraged popular pressure for reforms and accountability in Taylor's government.

Sen. Helms' counterproductive stance has effectively knocked the legs out from under Taylor's political opponents in Liberia. If Sen. Gregg is serious about his own recommendation, he should persuade his Senate colleague to allow funding for pro-democracy programs that can weaken Taylor's grip on Liberia and, indirectly, on beleaguered Sierra Leone.

by Jeff Drumtra

Senior Africa Policy Analyst

U.S. Committee for Refugees

Washington DC