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Peac
e talks between Liberian President Charles Taylor and rebels
fighting his regime will begin in Ghana two days later on June 4,
diplomats said yesterday, citing "security reasons" for the
delay.
The Ghanaian ambassador to Monrovia Kwame Amoah-Awua said the talks
would be held in Akosombo, a town on the outskirts of the Ghanaian
capital Accra.
The announcement was made at a press conference, which was also
addressed by European and US diplomats, whose countries are members
of the International Contact Group on Liberia.
Diplomats said the date and venue had been changed due to "security
concerns" but did not elaborate. The meeting was originally due to
be held in Accra on June 2.
"We hope the meeting will begin turning the catastrophic situation
to a more positive sign," the Ghanaian envoy said, referring to the
Liberian conflict, which threatens to destabilise West
Africa.
The peace talks are being held under the aegis of the 15-nation
Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), of which Ghana
holds the rotating presidency, and the International Contact
Group.
The latter was set up on September 17 on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly session in New York is made up of the United
Nations, the European Union, Ecowas, the African Union, the US,
France, Senegal, Nigeria, Ghana and Morocco.
The Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd)
movement fighting Taylor since 1999 had initially said it was
opposed to Accra as a venue due to security reasons, as there were
many Liberians in the city.
They later said they would attend the talks there in keeping with
international efforts to broker peace in Liberia.
Nigeria's ex-dictator General Abdulsalami Abubakar will mediate the
talks in Ghana between the Liberian government and the two rebel
groups: the Lurd and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (Model),
which recently emerged in the country's south.
Liberia emerged from a seven-year civil war that claimed some 250
000 lives, in 1997, the year Taylor, a former warlord, was elected,
only to plunge into a new conflict in 1999, when Lurd rose up
against the government. – Sapa-AFP.
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