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Chea Retains Defence Ministry in New Government
Daniel Chea, who served as Defence Minister under disgraced former president Charles Taylor, was confirmed in his post on Thursday by the new broad-based transitional government led by Gyude Bryant.
| I'd call that a bad sign. I'd say there was worse to come... |
The ebulliant Chea directed Taylor's bush war against two rebel movements which signed a peace deal with the government in August. He was one of two Taylor loyalists to retain their jobs in Bryant's broad-based administration. The other was Health Minister Peter Coleman.
Under the terms of the peace deal, Taylor's National Patriotic Party (NPP) and the two rebel movements each have the right to name five ministers in Bryant's 21-member cabinet, which will guide Liberia to fresh elections in 2005. The other Taylor loyalists nominated to serve in the new cabinet were Christian Herbert, the former labour minister, who becomes Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs, Horatio Dan Morias, the former superintendent of Maryland County in Southeastern Liberia, who becomes Minister of Internal Affairs, and Lenn Eugene Nagbe, a close advisor of Moses Blah, who becomes Minister of Posts and Telecommunications. Taylor's senior battlefront commander, Roland Duo, was named as Assistant Defense Minister for Navy Affairs. Blah himself did not figure on the NPP list. It appears, that like Sekou Conneh, the leader of the main Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel movement, he will not form part of the new broad-based government.
| Decided to become the man behind the curtain, did he? I thought he'd try and hold on to power himself. Guess he's either more subtle than I thought or doesn't control enough guns and bustiers... |
However, Thomas Nimely, the leader of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), the smaller rebel movement, has put his name forward to become foreign minister.
| "Me! Me! Pick me! I wanna go to Gay Paree!" |
He has yet to name MODEL's other nominees to the cabinet.
| "I'll get around to it, I promise. Ple-e-e-e-ase lemme go to Gay Paree!" |
LURD has so far appointed four of its five ministers. These are Kabineh Janneh, its chief negotiator at the peace talks, for Minister of Justice, Luseni Kamara for Finance, Vamba Kanneh for Transport and Lavalla Supuwood, a figure who was close to Charles Taylor, for Labour.
| Formerly close to Chuck? Or Chuck's man in the opposition? |
A senior LURD source told IRIN on Wednesday that the movement would not release its full list of nominees for government jobs, pending "proper clarification" on the assistant ministerial posts.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-10-18 |
