Election tension leads to fear of war in Liberia

Liberia (MNN) ― People remain inside and afraid during post-election tension in Liberia.

Some fear that the situation could even give way to civil war again.

"I think from both parties--the opposition and the government right now--that no one wants it to go back to war," says evangelist Sammy Tippit. "I think that has at least been stated from both groups and both sides. However, emotions can run wild."

If no one wants to go to war, though, what's the big issue, you may ask?

The recent run-off elections, which dubbed Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf the nation's president for a second term, have been highly criticized by opposition party the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) and its candidate, Winston Tubman.

Tubman and the CDC were miffed after the initial election, in which no candidate was decided upon, but in which Tubman and Johnson-Sirleaf were instead chosen as run-off candidates. Even though the international community generally agreed the first election was fair, Tubman claimed Johnson-Sirleaf committed fraud. To make his point, Tubman called for a boycott of the run-off.

The boycott was stunningly effective. Some stayed home out of fear due to violence surrounding the election days, but others stood firmly planted away from the polls in solidarity with Tubman.

According to Reuters, the turnout could have been as low as 25-35%--less than half the 71% record in the first round. Nonetheless, a clear winner was determined, as Johnson-Sirleaf earned 90.8% of the run-off vote, according to All Africa.

Now Tubman and many others are saying the win is invalid due to the boycott, and since Tubman believes Johnson-Sirleaf shouldn't have been in the run-off to begin with, he may seek an annulment of the run-off results.

Reuters reports that there had been some discussion of power-sharing, but that Tubman went on to call a power-share "unlikely, if not impossible" after police allegedly attempted to kill him.

The tension is thick, and people are desperately afraid. Liberia is still fairly fresh out of war, and the scars of those days remain imprinted on their minds.

"There have been a number of groups in there, including [Sammy Tippit Ministries], who are there really trying to help rebuild the country, and it's been going very well," notes Tippit. "However, if war breaks out, it's like everything that's been done would just be destroyed."

Ministry is on hold while people stay tucked away in their houses. STM has ministry in Liberia through schools, healthcare programs, economic assistance and well drilling, but while everyone's afraid to leave home, these programs cannot continue. Which means the Gospel cannot spread as it typically would through those programs.

At this point, Liberian believers are just desperate for prayer, says Tippit. "There have been things taking place. And if they escalate into another war, it could be absolutely devastating to the country. And so Christians there have said, ‘Please pray for peace.'"

Pray that the election disputes would be handled smoothly, and that the nation would not return to war. Pray that believers in the meantime would take heart and share God's peace with their neighbors. 

Christian radio station in Liberia burns to the ground

Liberia (MNN) ― One of Liberia's oldest radio stations has been destroyed again.

The Monrovia-based Eternal Love Winning Africa (ELWA) burnt to the ground Tuesday night. Lee Sonius with HCJB Global says, "They lost everything. I've already seen some pictures of the building, and the destruction was quite widespread. They lost all of their equipment, programs, and music."

The fire started around 9 pm local time. As to its cause, "The cause of the fire has not been completely determined yet, but it doesn't look like it was due to an electrical problem." Several reports coming out of Liberia have been hinting at arson connected to political unrest.

  

After speaking with the station manager, Sonius explains, "The investigation is leading more toward the possibility that it was arson, or that it was intentionally set. Because the run-off election was yesterday, I asked him (the station manager) if he thought it could have anything to do with the election, and he said, 'Well, I can't rule that out.'"

The good news is that the transmitter was in a separate building and is unharmed by the fire. Sonius adds that "they actually had a small, emergency portable studio at the site of the transmitter. They are already back on the air in a temporary way."

Sonius was ELWA's station manager in 1990 when civil war first destroyed the facility. In 1996, radio ELWA was silenced again during renewed fighting. The staff, with the help of SIM, regrouped and rebuilt. Seven years later, HCJB came on board to help provide most of the resources for short-wave broadcasts from a unique transmitter and antenna, which they developed and installed.

The staff is shell-shocked, says Sonius. "I think the staff at this point must be thinking, 'Why is all of this happening?'" However, Sonius says they've come back from total destruction before--a faith journey that encouraged growth. "We have seen their resiliency in the past, and the ministry has been going on. So I would be very, very surprised if the staff doesn't get behind rebuilding and getting the Gospel back on the air."

Their ministry journey together will continue, says Sonius. "HCJB definitely wants to help, and that's why I called them this afternoon to just assure them of our intention to help get them back on the air. Obviously, they'll need to rebuild, and they'll need all the studio equipment."

The radio station daily broadcast eight hours of English programming and one and a half hours of Liberian language programming. About three-quarters of the station's income come from local listeners and churches. Both SIM and HCJB are raising funds to help. Click here if you would like to help.