Liberian rebels said they would only sign on to a truce if President Charles Taylor resigned, in an about-turn which sent peace talks to end the country's four-year civil war into disarray. Liberian government officials attending the peace parleys in Ghana rejected the demand, saying it amounted to asking the embattled leader — whose capital has been ringed by rebels — to "commit suicide."
Kabineh Janeh from the main Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) main rebel group, fighting Taylor since 1999, said his movement was prepared to sign a ceasefire if Taylor pledged to quit in 10 days. "Taylor must leave the presidency in 10 days" after the ceasefire is signed, he said, adding: "There should also be an interim government in place within 10 days of the signing." But the newly emerged Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) rebel group, based in southern Liberia and accused by Monrovia of being backed by its eastern neighbour Ivory Coast, took a harder line. MODEL representative Eugene Wilson said: "We will not sign the ceasefire until Taylor quits."
| Ivory Coast is backing them? Turnabout's fair play, I guess... |
"We want the United States or the western powers to lead a stabilisation force in to Liberia before that," he added. "We have genuine fears about our security and we cannot enter Liberia before such a force is there already."
Liberian Defence Minister Daniel Chea said: "It's an absurdity that anyone can think that the ceasefire and the peace process can succeed without the involvement of Charles Taylor."
| I expect it'll tick along nicely if he's dead... |
Senator Muhammed Dukuly, a prominent member of the Liberian government delegation at the talks, accused the rebels of throwing a monkey wrench in the works. "Asking President Taylor to step aside without immunity is like asking him to commit suicide. He will not do that and it is not fair for anyone to suggest that," Dukuly said.
| Too bad. He should really think seriously about snacking on the fruit of his .45... |
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