'...there has to be a recognition that conflict resolution is a process of give-and take; you don't get everything you want; you get some; you don't get others. So, you've got to be prepared to make accommodations; you've got to be prepared to negotiate.' - Dr. George Klay Kieh Jnr.
'You can disagree; people can disagree in a civil way; disagreement does not necessarily have to generate to antagonism. Simply because you disagree with me doesn't mean that you dislike me or you hate me; it just simply means that you see that particular issue different from the way I see it. So I think that the conference taught those two valuable lessons.' - Dr. George Klay Kieh Jnr.
NO AMOUNT of mediation, whether by reputable organisations like the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) or the United Nations (UN), can defuse tension in a conflict situation, warns renowned politician and academician, Dr. George Klay Kieh Jnr. That is, unless there is a willingness on the part of the parties involved to do so.
"The fundamental point to remember is that conflicts are only resolved when the parties who are involved in those conflicts are willing to resolve them. An external party cannot impose a solution. If that solution is imposed it will collapse," Kieh says.
"The parties involved themselves will have to agree that the conflict needs to come to an end and they need to move beyond that. That's the only way you solve it. If there is not agreement, there is nothing much that the UN or CARICOM or ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] or any of these organisations can do," he told the Sunday Chronicle a week ago while here for a high-level meet which examined, among other matters, the concepts, origins and level of the many conflicts the world has seen in the last century, particularly since the end of the Cold War.
Among those countries used as case-studies at the three-day caucus, which brought together some of the most fertile minds on the subject of conflict resolution and its management, were his native Liberia and its western neighbour, Sierra Leone, both of which West African nations are now recovering from the ravages of conflict which escalated into years of violent civil unrest.
Kieh, who is Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and knows only too well the untold suffering civil war can bring, said that perhaps the most fundamental lesson for Guyana in the experiences of those two countries, particularly since it has tensions of its own, is that conflicts have a way of degenerating into violence if not addressed and/or properly managed.
"And if they do," he said, "then what you'll have is the kind of horrendous consequences that we saw in Liberia and Sierra Leone. And I hope that never happens in this country."
Noting that it is for this reason he feels there is an urgent need for the conflicts in this society to be addressed, Kieh, who is making a bid for the presidency of his country in upcoming elections in 2005, said:
"We all know that conflicts are inevitable in every human interaction. But I think that the kind of conflict that we are concerned with - those of us who study conflict - is when those conflicts degenerate into violence. As Liberia and Sierra Leone and other cases have shown, there are no winners; there are only losers."
Asked whether he found the three-day exchange useful, Kieh said "very," in light of the fact that it brought to bear a diversity of experiences from which, not just Guyana, but other societies in conflict as well can benefit. He made the point, too, that one is not bound to adopt all the ideas thrown out on dealing with conflict; just those that are relevant to one's particular situation.
Another lesson of consequence coming out of the conference, he thought, was the recognition of the importance of dialogue as a medium of resolving conflict.
"You've got to be willing to talk," he insists. "If you get to the stage where you're not talking to one another, then that is dangerous because the conflict would escalate or degenerate very quickly into violence. So, I think dialogue is important."
Important as well to the whole issue of dialogue and conflict resolution, he says, "is the fact that... you can disagree; people can disagree in a civil way; disagreement does not necessarily have to generate to antagonism. Simply because you disagree with me doesn't mean that you dislike me or you hate me; it just simply means that you see that particular issue different from the way I see it. So I think that the conference taught those two valuable lessons."
Asked whether the issue of territorial conflict ever came up at the conference and how would he suggest that such a delicate issue be addressed, Kieh said that diplomacy was always the best way of dealing with such matters.
And here again, the parties involved have to talk, he says. But if, for whatever reason, they can't reach a "reasonable solution", then their best recourse is a mediator; a third party who is neutral and respected by both sides to help move along the process and try to resolve the conflict.
Reiterating the importance of both dialogue and complicity to the resolution of conflict, Kieh said "it is very important that the parties to the conflict come to the resolution process with an open mind and a willingness to resolve the conflict. Because, if one side, or a number of sides, are not interested in resolving the conflict, then you're not really gonna go anywhere.
"Because, as I said before, in the final analysis, the conflict only gets resolved because the parties involved are willing to resolve it; pure and simple." And this holds true for all types of conflict, whether internal, territorial or else, he said.
"The basic principle is the same; the first step to resolving a conflict is for the sides involved to put their grievances on the table... and then work around to see how those grievances can be solved. And that's why this whole business of dialogue, particularly dialogue with an open mind, is important.
"And there has to be a recognition that conflict resolution is a process of give-and take; you don't get everything you want; you get some; you don't get others. So, you've got to be prepared to make accommodations; you've got to be prepared to negotiate."
It was dialogue, he said, which brought about change in South Africa, in his own Liberia, and more recently, in Cote d'Ivoire. "So dialogue is useful, because military victories can be very deceiving. Because, even if it gives the impression that one side may have won, the question remains: At what cost?"
On his impression of Guyana, being his first time in these parts, Kieh, who left last Sunday, said: "I think one of the interesting things is that even when people are physically taken from their area of origin, they still take their culture with them. I feel very much at home in Guyana; it's as if I've lived here for 10/15 years."
And this had nothing to do with weather, even though there is some similarity to what obtains in Liberia. Culturally as well, "we are also the same, he said, particularly in terms of the Afro-Guyanese community. This similarity of culture, he said, was never more evident than in the hospitality he was shown.
"Hospitality is central to African culture," he said. "You're hospitable to strangers and to visitors and whatnot... so I've felt quite comfortable."
Having spoken to Guyanese of other ethnic backgrounds so as to get a sense of feel of the level of conflict here, Kieh said he now wants to delve into it a little bit more, and will be making quite a number of trips here in the not-too-distant future so as to have a better understanding of the situation.
Stressing the importance of putting country before self, a point he had earlier made at another forum, Kieh said: "I think what is critical in all of this, whether it's Guyana or elsewhere, is that we all have to realise as individuals and as groups, that the country is bigger than any one of us. And if that is not our guiding principle, then we're in for trouble."
Country is not about political party, he said. Neither is it about NGOs; nor interest groups; nor person. "It's about the totality of its citizens; and their welfare; and their safety. If those are the considerations that inform what we do, then I think the resolution of our differences will not be difficult.
"But you've got to keep in mind, as I've said before; conflict is inevitable. There are conflicts at all levels; husband and wife; boyfriend/girlfriend; mother and children; children and father.... It's how the conflict gets managed... so that it doesn't get out-of-hand that it becomes violent or that it degenerates into other forms that can have serious consequences. And I think that's basically what needs to be done."
He is also of the opinion that a national dialogue will go a long way in helping defuse the situation here before it gets out of control. "I believe that a national dialogue needs to take place in this country; that the major Guyanese stakeholders need to come together in a national dialogue of some sort to really sit down; lay out these differences; and work these differences out."
Dr. Kieh is presently Professor of Political Science and International Studies, and Director of the Conflict and Development Studies Project at Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia. He was also Dean and Professor of International Studies at Grand Valley State University in Michigan and previously served as Director of International Programmes at Morehouse, reputed to be 'the Harvard' among Black colleges.
He received his BA in Political Science from the University of Liberia and his MA and PhD in Political Science from the prestigious Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
His research interests are in the areas of conflict and peace studies, security studies, American foreign policy, international organisations, democratisation, civil society, and the military in Africa.