wfn.org | U.S. intervention needed in Liberia

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (2882 notes).

Note 2882 by SUSAN PEEK on April 19, 1996 at 20:11 Eastern (2155 characters).

SEARCH: Liberia, United Methodist, General Conference

019 {2893}                                          April 19, 1996

General Conference '96

U.S. intervention needed
in Liberia, delegate says

     DENVER (UMNS) -- A delegate from Liberia is calling upon the
1996 United Methodist General Conference to request U.S.
government intervention in that war-torn African country.

     During an April 19 press conference here, Lamark J. Cox Sr.,
lay leader of the Liberian United Methodist Church, said that
anarchy now reigns in his country.

     Gangs roam the capital of Monrovia "indiscriminately killing
and destroying property," he added. "Presently, there is no law or
order."

     In the past, according to Cox, the international community
has labeled the country's six-year-old civil war as an internal
matter that should be resolved by Liberians. "Because of the
complexity of the problem ... that has not been possible," he
said.

     The attempts at peace have not succeeded because the various
warring factions have been supplied with arms and money by outside
groups.

     Cox believes U.S. intervention is needed to deal with this
situation and save trapped Liberians dying from starvation and
disease.

     Cox, who arrived in Denver April 18, is the only one of the
10-member Liberian delegation to make it out of the country.

     He said he was packing for the meeting on April 9 when "about
15 to 20 fully-armed men moved into my yard, broke the steel gate
and demanded the keys to a number of vehicles neighbors had parked
in my yard."

     As his family was held at gunpoint, Cox surrendered the keys
and watched the group loot his house, taking the suitcases they
had been packing.

     He, his wife and daughter managed to get out of Monrovia the
next day on a U.S. military flight and gradually made their way to
the United States.

     During his time at General Conference, Cox said he will
"mobilize every ounce of energy to do what I possibly can" for
Liberia.
                              #  #  #
                                                    -- Linda Bloom
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