Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities

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L i b e r i a
de facto: (Latin) actual; in effect but not
officially declared
authoritarianism: the domination of the
state or its leader over individuals
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F A S T   F A C T S
The Sedition Law provides for the arrest of
citizens charged with speaking out against
the government’s actions or policies,
especially involving criticism of the president.
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Cape
Palmas
Mount Wutuvi
4,528 ft.
1380 m.
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Zorzor
Robertsport
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Gardnersville
Paynesville
Gbarnga
Palala
Greenville
Sasstown
River Cess
Grand Cess
Plibo
Nyaake
Tapeta
Tuzohn
Pyne
Town
Zwedru
Monrovia
Harbel
Sanniquellie
Kakata
Buchanan
Harper
S I E R R A
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CÔTE
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Liberia
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LIBERIA
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(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/ THE GALE GROUP)

the oligarchs in the ruling True Whig Party, who feared that political liberalization
would undermine their stranglehold on state power.
The efforts by the Tolbert regime to restrict democratic participation did
not deter the fledging political reformist groups. This was reflected in the well-
organized protest against the Tolbert regime on April 14, 1979, over the issue of
the Liberian government’s decision to increase the price of rice, Liberia’s staple
food. Scores of demonstrators were killed and maimed, and the leaders of
various reform groups were arrested, detained, and subsequently released after
intense domestic and international pressure. A year later, on April 12, 1980,
seventeen noncommissioned officers overthrew the Tolbert regime and the
True Whig Party oligarchy that had ruled the country for 133 years.
The military coup initially received overwhelming popular support. A new mil-
itary 
junta
, the People’s Redemption Council, was established with Master-Sergeant
Samuel K. Doe (1951?–1990) as chairman. Barely a year after, it became clear that
the military regime was no better than the regime it deposed, as it stepped up polit-
ical repression. In 1985 Doe hijacked the presidential election in which he was
the loser, coercing the Special Elections Commission to declare him the winner.
In 1989, after almost a decade of misrule by the military and civilianized regimes,
Liberia was plunged into a civil war in 1989 that led ultimately to the capture and
murder of Doe in the summer of 1990 by the forces of rebel leader Prince Johnson.
In the wake of Doe’s murder, the principal rebel leader, Charles Taylor
( b. 1948), claimed to be leader of Liberia. A West African peacekeeping force was
sent in under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States
to moderate the civil war. Amos Sawyer ( b. 1945) was elected head of Interim
Government of National Unity by the First Liberian National Conference, held in
Banjul, Gambia in 1990. Sawyer remained in this position for four years while
the forces of Charles Taylor controlled 90 percent of the country outside the
capital city of Monrovia. Three other interim leaders were installed as Chairman
of the Council of State between 1994 and 1997 as Liberia went through several
unsuccessful agreements to end the conflict.
The civil war officially ended in 1997, with the holding of democratic elections,
in which Taylor, the principal 
warlord
and his National Patriotic Party, won a land-
slide victory. However, barely two years after Taylor’s ascendancy to the presi-
dency, Liberia was again embroiled in another civil war, which was started by the
Liberians United for Reconstruction and Democracy and later joined by the
Movement for Democracy in Liberia, against the Taylor regime. After the intensifi-
cation of fighting within Monrovia in May 2003 and the resultant humanitarian
crisis, the international community intervened and brokered a peace accord.
Under the arrangement, President Taylor was forced to leave Liberia for exile, after
the expiration of his term of office in August 2003. Thereafter, a broad-based tran-
sitional government consisting of representatives of the belligerents, the eighteen
registered political parties, and civil society, was organized. The transitional govern-
ment is mandated to govern Liberia for two years, organize democratic elections in
October 2005, and turn over power to a newly elected government in January 2006.
S O C I O E C O N O M I C   C O N D I T I O N S   A N D   Q UA L I T Y   O F   L I F E
Since the Tubman era, the socioeconomic conditions and the quality of life
for the majority of Liberians have been horrendous. As the consequence of two
civil wars, these conditions have become worse. For example, 80 percent of the
population lives below the poverty line. The poverty rate is exacerbated by an
unemployment rate of almost 76 percent. Life expectancy at birth is 47.9 years;
similarly, the literacy rate for age fifteen and over is 57 percent.
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L i b e r i a
junta: a group of individuals holding power,
especially after seizing control as a result of
a coup
■ ■ ■  
warlord: a leader, usually over a small region,
who governs by military force

T H E   G O V E R N M E N T
From 1847 to 1980, the Liberian government was based on the 1847
Constitution. Under the constitution, Liberia was a unitary 
republic
with a
presidential system of government based on the American model and a liberal
democratic form of government. The constitutional order—although discrimi-
natory against the indigenes and women—provided the legal framework for the
political system. However, from 1955 to 1980, the Tubman and Tolbert regimes
ignored the democratic basis of the constitution and ruled within a de facto
authoritarian framework.
As a result of the 1980 military coup, a new constitution was written as part
of the so-called transition to civilian rule. The new constitution ushered in the
Second Republic on January 6, 1986. The 1986 Constitution remained in effect
in the early 2000s, although some sections have been suspended to accommo-
date the special arrangements under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or
Accra Peace Accord. The Accra Peace Accord provides the other legal pillar of
the current National Transitional Government of Liberia. This specific type of
government was adopted as part of the internationally brokered peace accord
that ended Liberia’s second civil war in 2003.
Since 1945 Liberia has been governed by a small ruling class that has consis-
tently ignored the country’s 1847 and 1986 liberal democratic constitutions, the for-
mal legal bases for governance. In legal principle, the Liberian government was run
by the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. In actual
principle, Liberia was ruled by an 
imperial
presidency and a ruling class consisting
of state managers and an amalgam of foreign-based and local business people.
Under the 1847 and 1986 constitutions of Liberia, the legislature was given
tremendous powers. However, because the members of the legislature were
handpicked by the president, they were therefore subordinated to him. Hence,
from 1945 to 2003, the National Legislature of Liberia was a “rubber-stamp” body
that was subservient to executive dictates.
The executive branch subordinated and dominated the legislative and judi-
cial branches from 1955 to 2003. Under a system of de facto one-party rule and
authoritarianism, the presidency was deified and played the role of the 
suzerain
.
As a result, it was quite rare for the legislature to reject a proposal from the exec-
utive branch.
As for the judiciary, like the legislature, it lost its independence after the
purges of 1955. From then on, the executive routinely interfered with cases and
even dictated verdicts, especially in cases with political ramifications. For exam-
ple, it is widely known that President Tubman directed the Supreme Court of
Liberia to find Ambassador Henry B. Fahnbulleh Sr. guilty of treason in 1968
(for not displaying a miniature Liberian flag on his desk while he was serving as
the ambassador to Kenya).
From 1945 to 1955, Liberia had a multiparty system, with the True Whig Party
as the ruling party. The principal opposition party was the Reformation Party.
However, in 1955, the Tubman regime banned all opposition political parties and
made Liberia a de facto one-party state. In 1980 Liberians were stunned when the
Progressive People’s Party (PPP) became the first legally registered opposition
party in more than two decades. But barely a month after its legal registration as
an opposition party, the National Legislature of Liberia banned PPP on the charge
that the party was engaging in subversive activities. When the ban on political activ-
ities was lifted by the military regime in 1984 as part of the transitional process that
culminated in the holding of presidential and legislative elections in 1985, several
political parties—including the National Democratic Party of Liberia, the Liberian
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L i b e r i a
republic: a form of democratic government
in which decisions are made by elected repre-
sentatives of the people
■ ■ ■  
imperialism: extension of the control of one
nation over another, especially through terri-
torial, economic, and political expansion
suzerain: a state that dominates the foreign
affairs of a subordinate state, while allowing
it autonomy in domestic affairs

Action Party, Liberian People’s Party, United People’s Party, Liberian Unification
Party, and Unity Party—were organized. However, the Liberian People’s Party and
the United People’s Party, the two most popular parties at the time, were banned
from participating in the 1985 elections by the Doe regime. The Doe regime was
fearful that the two political parties would have made it difficult for Doe and his
National Democratic Party of Liberia to win the 1985 elections.
Doe’s National Democratic Party of Liberia was the ruling party from 1986 to
1989. In 1997 several new political parties—All Liberian Coalition Party, Liberian
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L i b e r i a
YOUNG REBELS TRAIN IN GBORPLAY, LIBERIA FOR CHARLES TAYLOR’S NATIONAL PATRIOTIC
FRONT OF LIBERIA (NPFL) IN 1990.
In 1989 Charles Taylor and his National Patriotic Front
of Liberia (NPFL) led a successful revolt against dictator Samuel Doe. When Doe was
killed by a splinter group in 1990, Liberia plunged into a seven-year civil war that
killed 200,000, while one million more fled to neighboring countries. 
(SOURCE: © PATRICK
ROBERT/SYGMA/CORBIS)

National Union, Progressive People’s Party, Labor Party, People’s Democratic Party,
Free Democratic Party, National Reformation Party, Reformation Alliance Party, and
the Liberian Equal Rights Party—were organized as part of the post–civil war tran-
sitional process. Also, the True Whig Party reemerged after being banned during
the Doe regime. In 2002 the New Democratic Alternative for Liberia Movement
(The New DEAL Movement) became Liberia’s eighteenth registered political
party. The New DEAL Movement is unique because it is Liberia’s first and only
social democratic political party. Ideologically, the other seventeen political parties
can be classified as conservative, moderate, and liberal.
Several independent interest groups made their debut on the Liberian political
stage in the 1970s as a result of the Tolbert regime’s policy of political liberalization.
The Movement for Justice in Africa and the Progressive Alliance of Liberia were the
two major national reform groups. Also, there were student, youth, and worker
groups that transcended the boundaries of the sectional agendas of their
constituencies and were active in national politics. For example, the Student
Unification Party, the principal party at the University of Liberia during the 1970s and
1980s (except 1981), was very active in national parties. The Student Unification
Party and the University of Liberia Students Union routinely addressed various
national issues and served as societal watchdogs.
The 1990s saw the 
proliferation
of non-governmental organizations
concerned with various issues, including human rights, civic education, gender
equality, and basic human needs. The proliferation of interest groups was
precipitated by the first civil war, especially the imperatives to address an assort-
ment of issues. The burgeoning increase in the number of interest groups
continues in the early 2000s.
In 1952 Liberia had multiparty elections. However, following the 1955 purges,
noncompetitive elections were held under the direction and control of the ruling
True Whig Party through 1980. The candidates for legislative and municipal offices
were handpicked by the president and the barons of the ruling True Whig Party. In
1985 multiparty elections were held, but President Doe 
perpetrated
fraud and
declared himself the winner of the presidential elections. During the 1997 special
elections, thirteen political parties contested. The National Patriotic party of
Charles Taylor won the elections by more than 75 percent of the votes. Citizens’
participation in the 1985 and 1997 elections was quite high.
From the Tubman to the Taylor regime, political repression was the foundation
of the authoritarian political systems established by the ruling presidents. Freedom
of speech was suppressed, and those who dared criticize the government were
harassed, imprisoned, tortured, forced into exile, and murdered. Particularly during
the Doe and Taylor regimes, political disappearances and deaths were common.
The Doe regime used the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit and the Taylor regime
employed the Anti-Terrorist Unit as death squads. In its yearly assessment of human
rights in the world, Freedom House has routinely classified Liberia as “not free.”
B I B L I O G R A P H Y
Burrowes, Carl P. Who Rules Liberia? A Reconsideration of the Settler Ruling Class Thesis.
Chicago: Monograph, 1982.
Freedom House. “Liberia.” Freedom in the World 2004. New York: Freedom House, 2004.
Ͻhttp://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2004/countryratings/liberia.htmϾ.
“Liberia.” CIA World Factbook 2004. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2004.
Ͻhttp://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/li.htmlϾ.
“Liberia.” In Nations of the World: A Political, Economic and Business Handbook.
Millerton, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2005. 
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L i b e r i a
proliferate: to grow in number; to multiply
at a high rate
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perpetrate: to commit a crime or injustice

Schemmel, B. “Liberia.” Rulers.
Ͻhttp://rulers.org/rull.html#liberiaϾ.
United Nations Development Programme. Socio-Economic Conditions in Liberia. New
York: United Nations Development Programme, 2003. 
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. “Liberia.”
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2003. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 2004.
Ͻhttp://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27948.htmϾ.
George Klay Kieh Jr.
Libya
The Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, better known as Libya, is
located in central North Africa. It is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean
Sea, on the east by Egypt, on the west by Algeria and Tunisia, and on the south by
Chad, Niger, and Sudan. With a surface area totaling 1.76 million square kilometers
(680,000 square miles), it is the fourth largest country in Africa and the fifteenth
largest in the world.
An arid state, there is not a single permanent river or stream in the entire
country, and only 2 percent of Libya receives enough rainfall for settled agricul-
ture. Although the desert predominates in Libya, the country offers surprising
geographical diversity. Less than 20 percent is covered by sand dunes, notably
the Awbari and Marzuq Sand Seas in the southwest and Kalanshiyu and Rabyanah
Sand Seas in the southeast, with much of the remainder covered by rocky or
gravel plains.
With the exception of a few oases, the most productive agricultural areas
are located on the coastal strip and the highland steppes behind it. The discov-
ery of petroleum deposits in commercial quantities in 1959 dramatically altered
the Libyan economy. Libya began exporting high-quality crude oil in 1961, and
by 2004 some 90 percent of the country’s revenues came from hydrocarbons.
Libyan petroleum reserves are estimated to be between 30 billion to 35 billion
barrels.
More than two-thirds of the Libyan population, which numbered only
5.6 million people in 2004, lives along the Mediterranean coast with approxi-
mately 50 percent of this number residing in Tripoli. The ethnic composition of
the country’s population is diverse and has changed considerably over the last
fifty years. Most of the 30,000 Italians living in Libya at the end of World War II
(1939–1945) were expelled by the government in 1970, although some of them
later returned to work in the petroleum and related industries. Similarly, a Jewish
population estimated to number 35,000 in 1948 had shrunk to almost nothing by
the late 1970s. Of the Libyans remaining, more than 95 percent are of Arab or
Berber stock with many of them descendants of the Arab tribes that occupied
Libya more than nine centuries ago.
N AT U R E   O F   G O V E R N M E N T
Situated at a crossroads of Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, Libya’s
strategic location has played a major role in its historical and modern develop-
ment. Early African trade routes, many of which transited parts of Libya, ran
from Central Africa through the Sahel—the western stretch of the Sahara Desert
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bordering on the Atlantic Ocean—to the North African coast. These trade links,
coupled with Libya’s location well into the Sahara Desert, help explain its long-
time involvement in the affairs of central and eastern Africa. A tongue of land of
the Libyan Desert, reaching almost to the Mediterranean Sea, has long divided
Libya with its eastern half looking to the Mashriq (Eastern Islamic world) and
the western part focused on the Maghrib ( Western Islamic world).
At the conclusion of World War II, the Big Four powers (France, Great
Britain, Soviet Union, and United States) recognized Libya’s strategic importance
both as a link to the Arab states of North Africa and the Middle East and as a
springboard to other African states. Unable to agree after 1945 on a future course
for Libya, they referred the issue to the General Assembly of the United Nations
(UN). Under the terms of a 1949 General Assembly resolution, the United
Kingdom of Libya, the first North African state to achieve statehood and the first
state to emerge under UN auspices, was granted independence on December 24,
1951, under the reign of Muhammad Idris al-Mahdi al-Sanussi (1890–1983), a
traditional religious leader.
The constitution adopted in 1951 established a hereditary monarchy with a
federal
state divided into the three provinces of Tripolitania, Cyrenaica, and
Fezzan. Criticized from the outset, this arrangement was eventually replaced in
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L i b y a
federalism: a system of political organiza-
tion, in which separate states or groups are
ruled by a dominant central authority on
some matters, but are otherwise permitted to
govern themselves independently
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Bette Pk.
7,434 ft.
2266 m.
A l   H a m r a '
P l a t e a u
¯
Al Haruj
al Aswad
Libyan  Plateau
¯
T I B E S T I     M T S .
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S A H A R A         D E S E R T
M E D I T E R R A N E A N     S E A
(Gulf of Sidra)
Khal
I
j Surt
Tripoli
Al Khums
Surt
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Al Jawf
Al Uwaynat
Marsá al
Burayqah
Al Marj