Liberia Considers Reopening Border with Cote d’Ivoire

Following a month and few days of border closure with neighboring Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia is considering reopening the border, after an intensive assessment of the area within a couple of days by the Minister of Defense. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf disclosed this an exclusive interview in her Capitol Hill office Thursday, June 12.  The closure of the border between the two West African countries in early June  followed the killing of seven United Nations peacekeepers and eight civilians in the Ivory Coast town of Tai [allegedly] by Liberia-based gunmen. In response to mounting pressure, Liberia did not only close its border with Cote d’Ivoire.  The country also pledged to take every measure aimed at ensuring that there is peace in neighboring Ivory Coast.

But President Sirleaf revealed that Defense Minister Brownie Samukai “will be going to the border within the next couple of days to do an assessment of how things are. If our own monitoring system and the monitoring system of the Cote d’Ivoire are well in place and if the representatives of two peacekeeping missions [in Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia] who are part of this monitoring are doing well and they tell us how things are moving, then we should consider whether or not the border should be reopened.”

The June 8, 2012 attack on the UN peacekeepers, who were patrolling that western region of Cote d’Ivoire in an effort to protect villagers dwelling along the border, “saddened and outraged” U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who subsequently condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms.”  The peacekeepers were all from Niger.

In addition to the security implications of the border closure, there are economic implications, especially since many of the agricultural produce on the Liberian market, including fresh vegetables, are imported daily from that neighboring country.

Every week, Liberian market women travelled to the mountainous city of Man [also Cote d’Ivoire’s western capital] to purchase, for consumption by the general Liberia populace, all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Among vegetables brought into the country are fresh tomatoes, deep purple glossy eggplants or “black beauties” (as they are referred to by their importers), cabbage, beneseed, fresh and dried pepper, only to mention a few. Also, pawpaws, avocadoes, among other fruits, were brought in from Cote d’Ivoire by Liberian women. But the border closure has put an immediate halt to their rather thriving but risky business ventures.

However, President Johnson Sirleaf sees the closure of the border as rather an “opportunity for Liberians to grow those vegetables themselves.”

Commenting on the long-term plans to guarantee sustained peace between the two neighboring countries, the President said “There is a very, very good relationship between the leadership of Liberia and the leadership of Cote d’Ivoire.”

“When the June 8 incident occurred, we all got together and worked toward ending it. The President of Cote d’Ivoire praised Liberia for being very cooperative and for taking actions. I’m satisfied with that relationship.

President Sirleaf continued, “Our security agencies exchange intelligence now,” “But also, we are trying to use some of our own Liberian leaders from the counties that are affected to be able to reach out to them, so that they may go and talk to their people and make sure that their young people do not participate in activities that will destabilize our region.”