fter its founding in 1821, the state of Liberia became a haven for freed American slaves. Today, though, the West African nation is beset with social and political problems, and is attracting a different sort of visitor. Liberia is turning into a haven for mercenaries, gangsters, get-rich-quick artists, and questionable "missionary" groups which are being accused with using the cover of religious belief to exploit the country's resources.

   Pat Robertson has now landed on Liberian soil, and wants to look for gold.

   According to an article in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper by reporter Bill Sizemore, Robertson has signed a development agreement with Liberian President Charles Taylor, a man under the scrutiny of human rights groups and political dissidents. Robertson has established a for-profit corporation known as Freedom Gold Ltd based in the Cayman Islands, with Robertson's as President of the firm and its only director. A spokesman said that the company will spend up to $15 million in its initial exploratory phase, adding that Freedom Gold Ltd. was not part of Robertson's vast television ministry. The latter includes the Christian Broadcasting Network which carries the "700 Club" program.

   "At this point we're not sure where all that money is coming from," noted the spokesperson. "One of the options we have is, in the process of exploration, the government has allowed us to use some of the gold that we uncover then to defray some of the costs of exploration..."

   Sizemore, who has monitored Robertson and his political activities for years, reported that if the new agreement with Freedom Gold is ratified by the legislature, the Liberian government will receive 10% equity, and Liberians will have options to purchase at least 15% of shares. Robertson reportedly told President Taylor, "I pray that this investment may become a wonderful blessing to the people of Liberia and will be one of the many significant investments that will be made under your administration in the nation of Liberia."

   AANEWS has uncovered numerous accusations, though, from political opponents and human rights groups which accuse Taylor of operating a criminal cabal dealing in everything from weapons to development concessions of Liberia's vast gold, diamond and other mineral reserves. In addition, Robertson is not the first American religious leader interested in Liberia and its riches. A Florida based "ministry" has been embroiled in controversy over its role in operating an investment scheme, part of which focuses on the development of a diamond mining operation in the same region Robertson's says he'll he exploring for gold. Indeed, the penchant of religious groups and leaders to set up shop in Liberia dates to the founding of the nation, and the American Colonization Society (ACS), established in 1816 to facilitate black resettlement on Africa's west coast. The movement had the support of major political leaders including Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Indiana University political historian J. Gus Liebenow noted in his work "Liberia: The Quest For Democracy" (Bloomington, 1987) that the motivation of ACS was "decidedly mixed." The Southern slaveocracy caste considered Liberia as a safety-vale on the aspiration of freed American blacks. Church leaders "saw American blacks as a beachhead in West Africa for Protestant Christianity," noted Dr. Liebenow.

   There are also similarities between this latest venture and an earlier enterprise Robertson was involved in with another African strongman, Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Siko. In that arrangement, Robertson was wined-and-dined on Mobutu's private yacht, and established the African Development Company after receiving lucrative concessions to develop timber and diamond reserves. Mobutu -- dubbed the "President of Kleptocracy" for his looting of Zaire's wealth -- was driven into unofficial exile in 1997 and died of cancer. It is estimated that he embezzled up to $2 billion from his nation; but Robertson remained firm in defending Mobutu as a good Christian and friend of the west in the war against communism.

   Robertson's latest operation involves a man who critics say is as ruthless as Mobutu in trying to crush political dissent, suppress religious minorities, and enrich himself in the process. Taylor's personal wealth is believed to be over $450 million -- not bad for a former government official-turned thief-turned jail fugitive who started a civil war in 1989 which is estimated to have killed more than 150,000 people, and left another 500,000 homeless.

   Taylor emerged from the chaos of the cold war as American, Soviet and Chinese interests were fighting for control of the continent. U.S. policy had supported the regime of William Tubman, a reformer-turned-autocrat who established an enormous patronage and internal security network. It was under Tubman that Liberia established its lucrative policy of allowing foreign ships to register under its flag with favorable laws on safety, employment and taxes. (The Fact Book of the Central Intelligence Agency reports that a staggering 1,620 ships worldwide boast Liberian registry, most of them cargo and chemical containers and ore haulers.) The U.S. established financial ties, and intelligence listening posts, as well as a relay station for its Voice of America.

   In April, 1980, young army officers staged a bloody coup and killed Tubman's successor, William R. Tolbert. Many indigenous Liberians welcomed this, seeing it as an opportunity to shift power to the 95% of the population excluded by Americo-Liberians. Samuel Doe became head of state and chairman of the ruling People's Redemption Council. After taking office in 1981, Ronald Reagan increased military and other aid to prop up the government; Doe emerged as a central player in the U.S. geopolitical strategy throughout the region.

"A this point we're not sure where all that money is coming from. One of the options we have is, in the process of exploration, the government has allowed us to use some f the gold that we uncover then to defray some of the costs of the exploration..."

   Questions about election fraud, though, and Doe's insistence that he had won in a round of Presidential balloting strained relations with Washington; in addition, there was growing evidence of widespread corruption and misappropriation of aid funds. In December, 1989, a small group of insurgents led by Charles Taylor, a procurement official in the Doe government who had fled to the U.S. after being charged with embezzling millions of dollars, crossed the border into Liberia from the Ivory Coast and ushered in a bloody civil war.

   Taylor's story is a remarkable one. After fleeing to the U.S. in 1983, he was detained by U.S. Marshals and put under lock and key in the Plymouth, Mass. jail to await extradition. Along with four other inmates, though, Taylor managed to escape on September 15, 1985, dropping out of sight until 1989 when he entered Liberia with his small band of guerillas. Civil conflict erupted, and soon there were charges that Taylor, along with the other competing warlords, was exploiting the wealth of his conquered territories to finance his political ambitions. Taylor described the nation's bloody civil war as an act of God to punish Liberians for their sins.

"The Southern slaveocracy case considered Liberia as a safety-valve on the aspirations of freed American blacks. Church leaders 'saw American blacks as a beachhead in West Africa for Protestant Christianity.'"

   As a result of the Abuja peace program, by August, 1996, Taylor and his National Patriotic Front had emerged as the strongest faction competing for power. In the first democratic elections held in Liberia in over a decade -- a voting process monitored by more than 500 international observers, including former U.S. President Jimmy Carter -- Taylor defeated his opponents including Ellen Johnson-Sirlead, a U.S. educated banker and former U.N. Development Program director for Africa. In an oblique reference to Taylor, Johnson-Sirlead charged, "The warlords have exploited the natural resources of this country for their own enrichment... They have done nothing for the people. There are no schools that are functioning, hospitals have been looted and plundered. You have people who have no medicine." By some accounts, Taylor prevailed in the hotly contested race because the average Liberian voter feared that if defeated, he and his junta of advisors would simply resume the civil war. The opposition African Faith and Justice Network noted, "Wary Liberians were convinced that a Taylor presidency was the best bet for peace. It was a case of 'Your vote your live"; Liberians chose their lives."

   Since taking office, Taylor has attracted the concerns of human rights groups, as well as the U.S. State Department for what some claim is a policy of actively quashing dissent and political opposition. The 1999 Human Rights Watch World Report notes, "The newly elected government of Charles Taylor in Liberia showed an intolerance of losing factions in that country's civil war." Liberia is also cited as a case of a country "rich in oil or precious minerals such as diamonds, (where) wealth appeared ... to buttress dictatorial regimes characterized by a lack of respect for human rights than to promote development." The report cites "huge profits earned in royalties" to foreign corporation and other outsiders.

   One point of intersection between foreign investment and religious outreach involves the Florida-based Greater Ministries International Church. Many of the published materials of the church focus on Liberia, including announcement of programs such as "Help the children of Liberia have Santa Claus come this year (letter from First Lady, Republic of Liberia)." The church sells a number of gift items including Christian music, jewelry and "God's Gold Coins."

   "We at Greater Ministries International Church are committed to help fellow Christians be able to have a place to come and worship, and ask for prayer and help. Our Church supports missions and Christians all over the world..."

   But there is another side to Greater Ministries, which according to U.S. prosecutors has been operating a lucrative, nationwide Ponzi-type scheme that has netted hundreds of millions of dollars. In Liberia, the "ministry" operates as the Greater Diamond Group, and is involved in a controversial gold mining operation which Greater Ministry officials say could be worth as much as $40 billion in revenues. In March, 1999, seven Greater Ministry officers were arrested and charged in a 20-count federal grand jury indictment for conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering.

   Among those indicted is Gerald Payne, who says that the prosecution is a conspiracy to destroy his church. According to the Tampa Bay Tribune newspaper, though, prosecutors argue that Payne, his wife Betty and other church operatives launched a "Faith Promises" scheme in which money from newer investors was used to pay the more established investors. The State of Pennsylvania had taken action against Greater Ministries, issuing an order for the church to stop soliciting funds in that state. A judge found the church guilty of contempt on March 1, 1999 after it ignored the injunctions, and issued a $6.4 million contempt fine which grows at the rate of $2,000 per day.

   The Greater Diamond/Greater Ministries scheme was also the subject of an article in The Perspective, a publication dealing with Liberian internal affairs and foreign relations. The piece noted, "In Taylor's Liberia, thieves are thriving and so is corruption." It included a report of a Memorandum from a Liberian government ministry which expressed concerns over corruption in the Ministry of Lands, Mines & Energy, and cited "duty free privileges unmeritoriously extended to... Greater Diamond Group." It added that Greater Diamond was granted a special duty free-tax exempt status by the Ministry of Finance. "The Perspective is concerned with the Greater Diamond given the appearance of a religious and humanitarian group and profiting from all the attendant benefits of tax exemptions while at the same time, engaging in active business dealing in Gold and Diamond in Liberia," The newsletter added that it been "unable to determine" Greater Diamond/Ministry's claims of building clinics, distributing food and medicine and other humanitarian programs in rural communities.

    Greater Diamond has reportedly invested over $1 million in mining operations in the Bukon Jedeh region of Liberia, also the focus of Robertson's new Freedom Gold venture.

   Opposition groups and publications like The Perspective also charge that Taylor's tenure has "criminalized" Liberia, looting the nation's resources and striking lucrative, back-room deals with foreign investors and developers. Reports also cite the "new proliferation of arms and the role of mercenary groups" throughout the region which use Liberia as a base of operations, and whose leaders have financial and security ties to the Taylor regime. This militarization of the Liberian state manifests itself on several fronts, including the formation of a death squad known of SWAP, headed by Taylor's notorious and sadistic son, Chuckie Taylor.

   For his part, Charles Taylor is every as bizarre and problematic as other dictators on the continent including Idi Amin and Robertson's erstwhile associate, Mobutu Sese Seko. He has gone on record demanding that monies presented to him by foreign governments while visiting other countries are for his personal use, a fact made all the more outrageous since the average Liberian civil servant earns the equivalent of a paltry $5.50 per month according to Perspective. Taylor's fiscal budget for 1999 came to $64 million, but a study committee of the Liberian House of Representatives discovered that 20% of revenue resources were unaccounted for. "According to the discovery, 11 ministers and agencies of government are collecting taxes/revenues which are not remitted to the Ministry of Finance..."

   Along with show trials and summary arrests of political opponents, Taylor has also used his network of guerilla cronies as well as the heavily armed executive protective force, the Special Security Service (SSS) to intimidate outspoken journalists. The U.S. Department of State "Liberia County Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998" notes that Taylor loyalists in the SSS have "committed numerous human rights abuses," and adds, "Government officials and former combatants continue(d) to exploit the country's natural resources for personal benefit. Extortion is a widespread phenomenon in all strata of society." The reports also cites what it euphemistically refers to as "extrajudicial killings" by the SSS, along with "Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment" carried out by Taylor's security apparatus. Taylor has even used allowed his Executive Mansion to be used for interrogation and detention purposes, as in the case of Heritage newspaper Publisher and Editor Momo Kanneh in December, 1998. The Heritage had been summarily shut down for publishing "inflammatory" articles. Freedom Link, the newsletter of the West Africa Journalists Association, notes that "Taylor has repeatedly and openly threatened the paper for its editorial contents before and after becoming president."

   Taylor has also used his control over radio station KISS-FM in Monrovia to generate propaganda for his regime. In January, 1998, he ordered the opposition Star Radio terminated. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and administered by a Swiss foundation, Star broadcasted in 14 Liberian languages as well as English and French, and had become a locus for opposition groups and others critical of Taylor. Africa News observed, "The closure of Star Radio appeared to be part of an ongoing government crackdown on the Liberian media..."

   Robertson's involvement with yet another African political bully surprises few observers who recall his cozy relationship with Mobutu Sese Seko, or his warm ties with other authoritarian leaders throughout the world. These have included Guatemalan President Jorge Serrano, a fervent Pentecostal Christian who wanted to establish a theocratic government and was a protege of the dictator General Efrain Rios Montt. In his book "The New World Order," Robertson praised both leaders as examples of "enlightened leadership." Another case involves Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, who in 1991 embraced a form of old testament Christian Reconstructionism and declared his country "a Christian nation.

   "Wouldn't you love to have someone like that as president of the United States of America?" Robertson asked viewers of his "700 Club" television program. According to Rob Boston, author of "The Most Dangerous Man in America? Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition", Chiluba "saturated" Zambia's public schools with fundamentalist Christian propaganda, and ordered the nation's Hindu, Islamic and animist minorities out of the national educational system. "Chiluba also announced that state-run television and radio would broadcast only fundamentalist Christian religious programming, again telling members of minority religions that they would have to build their own facilities." Chiluba shut down abortion clinics, and then used the rising tide of religious hysteria to conduct an "antipornography" crusade. In a chilling reference, Boston noted how "fundamentalist ministers and missionaries were given license to work with the police to publicly burn any material deemed obscene..."

   Back in Liberia, warlord-turned-President Charles Taylor has embarked on his own religious crusade. He views his regime as anointed by god. When a top aide and several civilians standing nearby were killed in an October, 1996 assassination attempt, Taylor escape unharmed and promptly headed over to the KISS studios to inform the nation, "I have survived by the grace of God."

   Two weeks ago, Taylor fired most of his Cabinet and heads of several government agencies when they did not attend a mandatory prayer service. "Any government official who does not know God will not serve in my government," Taylor declared. The officials -- over two dozen -- were later reinstated.

   According to Sizemore, Robertson says that Freedom Gold Ltd. will help to "kick start" the stagnant Liberian economy. A similar claim was made about the ill-fated African Development Company though, which even with the patronage of Mobutu was shut down after showing too much red ink. In 1997, two pilots who flew for Robertson's Operation Blessing charity charged that they spent their time mostly ferrying mining supplies to the ADC base camp, instead of carrying humanitarian aid. The State of Virginia opened an investigation, and a report is expected shortly from the office of Mark Earley, Attorney General. Earley received a $35,000 campaign contribution from Robertson in the 1997 election.    For Robertson, Greater Ministries and others, Liberia is fertile ground for souls and riches, but there seems to be confusion as to which is the more important. As he did in Zaire, Robertson claims to be helping the country and seeking to save souls. But the bottom line, rather than a higher calling, seems to be taking precedence, along with Robertson's disturbing penchant to doing business with dictators.

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