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Ben Swan Disses U.S., Misses Vote

by Bill Dusty

On a recent trip to the West African country of Liberia, Massachusetts state Representative Benjamin Swan put the political lash to America for its alleged role in that country’s political instability.

In a story from the news agency AFP and reported on Breitbart.com, Swan, speaking of Liberia, is quoted as saying that America was “supportive of some things that happened in the destabilization of this country.”

Swan was apparently backing claims made by former Liberian justice minister, Clarence Simpson, after Simpson accused the United States of complicity in the overthrow of former Liberian presidents William Tolbert, Samuel Doe, and Charles Taylor – the latter of whom was the only one to leave office with his life after resigning and fleeing to Nigeria in 2003.

Swan has been a vocal supporter a Liberia in the past. In March of 2008, a story on the Liberian website The Analyst reported that Swan “called for the granting of citizenship to all Liberians as reciprocity for automatic citizenship granted African Americans by the Republic of Liberia for over a hundred years.” Swan’s statement was allegedly made during a radio broadcast, according to the website.

Liberia’s recent political history has been punctuated by long periods of upheaval and violence.

William Tolbert ruled Liberia from 1971 to 1980. He began his rule as a progressive leader, but his leadership eventually descended into nepotism and corruption, according to this website on Liberian presidents. He was assassinated by tribal leader Samuel Doe in 1980, who subsequently took control of Liberia for ten years.

What goes around comes around, then, as Samuel Doe was himself deposed, captured, tortured, and murdered in 1990. Doe was quite supportive of U.S. Cold War policy in his early years of rule – even reportedly threatening a fistfight with diplomats after they criticized America, according to this website. But like so many Third World leaders, his presidency eventually slid into despotism and corruption, and the U.S., having eased tensions with the Soviet Union, grew increasingly reluctant to support him. Doe’s torture and death was reportedly filmed and watched worldwide.

Next up came Charles Taylor, who came to power in 1997 after a few years of typically bloody internal conflict. America did indeed have an active role to play in Taylor’s eventual departure from office. Taylor had been charged with war crimes by a UN tribunal that accused the Liberian leader of creating and backing a rebel movement in neighboring Sierra Leone that committed numerous atrocities. U.S. President George Bush then urged Taylor to resign from office. Taylor said he first wanted American peacekeepers to come to Liberia before he stepped down. Bush would later send warships off the coast of Liberia while West African troops oversaw the transfer of power to Liberian vice-president Moses Blah. In a BBC report, Taylor claimed at the time that both the British and the Americans had plotted his downfall “since before he was elected.”

Liberia, a country on the western coast of Africa, was established as a colony for former African slaves from America during the early 1800s. Liberia declared its independence in 1847, and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln recognized Liberia in 1862. The Liberian capital, Monrovia, was named after U.S. President James Monroe.

A Republican story on Swan’s trip to Liberia was highly critical of the state Rep., citing his tax delinquency problems and his support for the Springfield Towing Alliance (STA), a business operated by old pal Bob Jones. Swan had threatened to hold up an important debt relief bill going through the Massachusetts legislature until a state review was completed on the city’s termination of its towing contract with the Alliance. The STA’s contract was terminated following a city auditor’s report that found numerous and repeated violations over a year’s time. The relief bill, which includes an extension on repayment of a $52 million loan owed by the city, passed a statehouse vote on Tuesday and is currently headed for the state Senate, where it is expected to pass, as well.

One opposing vote would have killed the bill in the House vote, but Swan was reportedly still travelling back from Liberia at the time and state Representative Cheryl Rivera, who had also vowed to hold up the bill for her own reasons, eventually voted in favor of the bill after “compromises” were reportedly worked out.

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Posted by Bill Dusty on Dec 31st, 2008 and filed under Cities & Towns, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.