October 27, 2004

  The rebellious soldiers have now received over $3,000 each for their peacekeeping work in Liberia. This is a fortune for these men, who normally make $35 a month. But the rebellious soldiers also want wholesale changes in who runs the army. Rather than educated,  Portuguese speaking officers belonging to the small Papel tribe, the mutineers want members of the dominant Balanta (a third of the population) tribe in senior position. But many of the men proposed are poorly educated, but do have combat experience. The issues of tribal relationships and corruption have long defined government, or the lack of it, in Africa.