Less Liberty in Liberia

Unhappy Liberia has its own version of one man, one vote. There, only one man's vote matters. The man is Samuel K. Doe, the former sergeant who at age 28 ensconced himself as president in 1980 after his soldiers bayoneted a civilian predecessor. Mr. Doe is now a five-star general whose most conspicuous victory is over the calendar. He has added two years to his age so that, officially, he will be 35, as required by the Constitution, when the people of his West Africa country choose him as president in November's election.

To assure that result, all serious opposition parties have been ruled ineligible, their leaders jailed, their newspapers silenced. His most formidable challenger is Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, candidate of the Liberal Action Party. Harvard-educated and a former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf has been Citibank's representative in Nairobi. In a speech she gave recently on a visit to Philadelphia, she faulted Liberia's lavish public spending. For this, she was arrested on her return to Monrovia, accused of endangering stability. Last week, incredibly, she was put on trial for sedition.

All this cries out for more than a routine response from Washington. Americans have special historic ties to Liberia's two million people. Liberia was established in 1822 with American help as a haven for freed black slaves. Its use of English, its Constitution and even its flag reflect this history. But the promise of liberty has never been realized. Liberians have endured poverty and corrupt misgovernment, and General Doe's erratic despotism now outdoes his predecessors'.

Nonetheless, since his coup, U.S. foreign aid to Liberia has quadrupled, to $83 million this year, the highest per capita figure in Africa. To induce him to hold the elections he promised, $250,000 of this aid was earmarked to help pay the costs. General Doe denounced Washington for interfering and vowed to return the money. Wholly in character, he hasn't.

The general seemingly assumes that the Reagan Administration will put up with anything so long as he makes anti-Communist noises and causes no trouble about a vital Voice of America transmitter. But jailing a Citibank representative for preaching fiscal conservatism shows neither scruple nor sense. If Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf and other challengers are barred from Liberia's elections, a healthy cut in Liberian aid - especially $13 million in military aid - is one vote that America can cast.

Source: New York Times