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chegitz guevara
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Ft. Lauderdale, FL Communist Party of Apolyton
Jun 2000
time: 00:28
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Liberian president Taylor cedes power
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By Kwasi Kpodo
June 17, 2003 | ACCRA, Ghana (AP) -- Liberian President Charles Taylor, who has been at the center of West Africa's conflicts for 14 years and faces war crimes charges, committed Tuesday to step down under a cease-fire agreement with rebel groups.
His government signed the deal for a truce in the three-year civil war at a time when rebels are on the doorstep of the capital, Monrovia, kept from overrunning it only by fierce fighting with Taylor loyalists.
If Taylor follows through with the requirement he step down, he will likely face pressure to face trial on charges he committed war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone -- just one of the regional wars he is accused of having a role in.
After the deal was signed, a spokesman for the U.N.-Sierra Leone war crimes court insisted Taylor still would have to face justice. "Whether he's president or not, he's indicted by the special court, so he should have his day in court," David Hecht said.
Taylor's defense minister, Daniel Chea, who signed the cease-fire in Ghana's capital, appeared to commit the Liberian leader personally to the deal.
"President Taylor fully supports this peace accord, and the government will do anything to ensure its success," Chea said. "We have done the greatest thing this afternoon by signing this cease-fire. By this, we're letting the world know that the government of Liberia wishes in no way to be part of any further bloodshed."
Mediators and observers in Accra burst into applause and raucous cheers as Chea shook hands with Kabineh Janeh and Tia Slanger, delegates of the two rebel movements that have seized more than 60 percent of the West African nation.
In Liberia, news of the cease-fire sparked celebrations in the streets of Monrovia. Cars, with white rags tied to their antennas in symbols of peace, drove through rutted roads, honking. Shoppers burst into dance at one roadside market.
It was not immediately clear if Monrovia's residents were aware of the accord's provision that Taylor resign. Earlier this month, rumors that Taylor had been arrested on his war crimes indictment set off panic in his capital -- with residents fearing a bloody power struggle in his absence.
For Africa's oldest republic -- founded in the 19th century by freed American slaves -- Taylor has meant years of war. In 1989, he launched an insurrection with Libyan backing that plunged the nation into a 7-year civil war that killed at least 150,000 people.
He emerged from the civil war as Liberia's strongest warlord and won presidential elections the following year -- elected in part by people who feared he would renew the war if he lost.
But the country saw only two years of peace before the latest rebellion erupted in 1999.
Since then, more than 1.3 million Liberians have been uprooted, hundreds of thousands have fled into neighboring countries. Rights groups say both sides in the war have killed, raped, robbed and kidnapped civilians.
The United States, the European Union, Nigeria and Ghana have pushed for an end to the conflict in Liberia. Representatives from all four signed Tuesday's agreement, as witnesses.
The accord, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, calls for "formation of a transitional government, which will not include the current president."
The interim government, to include representatives of the country's rebels and political parties, would be formed within 30 days.
The U.N.-Sierra Leone court issued its indictment against Taylor only hours before the negotiations in Ghana began on June 4. Hours later, an emotional Taylor promised to surrender power in the interests of peace.
"If President Taylor is seen as a problem, then I will remove myself. I'm doing this because I'm tired of the people dying. I can no longer see this genocide in Liberia," he said at the time.
He then returned to Liberia -- despite calls for Ghana to arrest him -- and he has not repeated the promise. Last week, he insisted Liberia would have no peace unless the indictment was dropped.
To oversee the cease-fire deal, West African nations have discussed sending a 50-member verification mission, said Sony Ugoh, an official with the West African regional bloc that oversaw the talks.
That would be followed by a West African-led "stabilization force," Ugoh said, adding that the force could include unspecified American assistance.
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MichaeltheGreat
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Apolyton Grand Executioner
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mooning the house that Ruth built.
Oct 1999
time: 21:28
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quote:
Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Oh sure.  Everyone can whine and moan about how horrible a minor thug like Mugabe is, but let a real genocidal monster like Taylor lose power, and it's just a mere curiousity?
Guess Black genocide < white settler farmers getting their farms taken away. |
More meaningless spin from the left. Of course, anyone who opposes Mugabe must be a racist.
Taylor's a murdering *******. Give Liberia five years tops, and it'll have another murdering *******, assuming the rebels now manage to restrain themselves, which isn't likely, considering their conduct before they got to Monrovia.
Celebrating the departure of Charles Taylor in the present situation isn't a whole lot more enthusing than celebrating the departure of Joseph Mobutu to make way for Laurent Kabila. 
Mugabe rigged elections, intimidated political opposition, and has plundered hundreds of millions for himself and his cronies in a classic African thugocracy. Never mind he's tortured and murdered, and attempted murder against black Zimbabwean political opponents.
The sad thing is that Zimbabwe had/has the potential to be a relatively democratic country with a decent standard of living, at least by African standards. Instead, Mugage keeps it as his and ZANU-PF's personal shithole.
Then again, all this intimidation, election rigging and corruption is just regular everyday stuff for the left. No wonder you're not bent out of shape. As long as ol' Mugabe sticks it to whitey, you can ignore the rest and morph it into some sort of justified action against evil imperialists. :rolleye:
cinch - Taylor is a descendent of former slaves. His assassinated ex-boss, Samual Doe, was a Krahn native and the only native leader of Liberia in it's history.
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cinch
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Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Jul 2002
time: 22:28
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quote:
good news, although it remains to be seen whether he actually honours his promise. assuming he does, then i hope that something similar to what is happening in sierra leone can take place in liberia, although without the kind of outside help sierra leone received (from britain) i can't say i'm overly optimistic about the future, although perhaps a little more so than mtg |
Perhaps the U.S. would be willing to help out its former colony? If they want to be imperialists, they can at least perform the positive aspects of the job, too... 
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quote:
cinch - Taylor is a descendent of former slaves. His assassinated ex-boss, Samual Doe, was a Krahn native and the only native leader of Liberia in it's history. |
Ah, yes. Thanks, Mike.
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Dr Strangelove
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Gee, sorry Che, but some of us work for a living you know! I came as soon as I could!
Isn't Charles Taylor the guy whose guerillas in Sierra Leone were running around chopping off peoples' hands, or was that some other thug?
Is his stepping down contingent upon a guarentee of amnesty for himself?
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C0ckney
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Big Up The Macedonian Massive
Apr 2000
time: 05:28
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yes he backed the rebel movement(s) there (and in a few other countries too), sierra leone and liberia have a very unpleasant history of backing rebels in each other's countries. i don't know about amnesty, he'll almost certainly try for it, but he isn't really in a position to bargin.
cinch, yes i think it would be very good in the US could do something similar to what we did in sierra leone. a small force to keep peace and order in the capital, protecting government offices, foriegn nationals, that sort of thing, and advisors to train a new national army and police force, would do, in my opinion, a massive amount of good.
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cinch
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Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Jul 2002
time: 22:28
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Imran:
quote:
Liberia was never a colony of the US, AFAIK. |
The African-American slaves were being relocated to an area in west Africa, bought by Robert Stockton, by the early 1820s. A constitution was drawn up in 1824, and the country was controlled by white American governors for 24 years. In 1848, Liberia was granted its independence. I don't know if, between 1820 and 1848, it was officially called a colony, but it certainly wasn't an independent nation... and it was being controlled by the American government, so I would, personally, classify it as a colony.
Link To A Great Site On Liberian History
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cinch
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Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Jul 2002
time: 22:28
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Double Post, sorry... the server's funky.
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All times are GMT. The time now is 05:28.
Apolyton Time is 00:28. |
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18-06-2003 18:10
He's just jonesing for attention 
Liberia was never a colony of the US, AFAIK.
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