|
|
Liberia
|
Country
names & abbreviations |
|
|
Country name
short: Liberia
Country name long: Republic of Liberia
Local name short:
Local name long:
Former name:
Abbrevation:
Olympia: LBR
ISO_numerisch: 430
3er Codierung: LBR
2er Codierung: LR
CIA-Kuerzel: LI
Internet id: .lr
Vorwahl: +231
Nationality plate: LB
Dependency Status: independant
Dependant Areas:
Independence: 26 July 1847
National Holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1847)
Nationality noun: Liberian(s)
Nationality adjective: Liberian
Capital: Monrovia
|
|
Background |
Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822; by 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003 peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country, but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country will take many years.
|
|
Flag |
|
|
11 equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a white five-pointed star on a blue square in the upper hoist-side corner; the design was based on the US flag |
|
International
disputes |
although Liberia's domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs was declared over in 2003, civil unrest persists, and in 2004, 133,000 Liberian refugees remained in Guinea, 72,000 in Cote d'Ivoire, 67,000 in Sierra Leone, and 43,000 in Ghana; Liberia, in turn, shelters refugees fleeing turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone; since 2003, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has maintained about 18,000 peacekeepers in Liberia; the Cote d'Ivoire Government accuses Liberia of supporting Ivoirian rebels; UN sanctions ban Liberia from exporting diamonds and timber
|
|
Illicit drugs |
transshipment point for Southeast and Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine for the European and US markets; corruption, criminal activity, arms-dealing, and diamond trade provide significant potential for money laundering, but the lack of well-developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center
|
|
Refugees and IDPs |
refugees (country of origin): 13,941 (Sierra Leone) 38,325 (Cote d'Ivoire)
IDPs: 500,000 (civil war from 1990-2004; IDP resettlement began in November 2004) (2004)
|
|
|
|
|
