Agreement reached on election of Liberian Interim Gov't

Accra, Aug. 8, GNA - Mediators at the Liberian Peace Talks in Accra say they are close to getting an agreement signed to pave the way for the election of a transitional government for that beleaguered West African country.

"We are very close to an agreement, I mean very close," General Cheick Diarra, ECOWAS Deputy Executive Secretary, Defence, Security and Political Affairs, said, adding that barring any hitches, a consensus comprehensive peace document is likely to be signed on Tuesday "after the departure of President (Charles) Taylor".

Gen. Diarra told the Ghana News Agency on Friday that the mediation team would present a draft of the document, which had already been vetted by a committee, to the Liberian armed factions and political parties at the weekend for study and approval.

"After the signing, which we hope will come on immediately after (President) Taylor's departure, we will proceed to elect the President and Vice President for the Transitional Government of Liberia," he intimated.

Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the main rebel group fighting forces loyal to President Taylor, has persistently made his departure a non-negotiable condition for laying down their arms and the signing of a final document that would restore constitutionality to the war-torn country.

Mr Sekou Damate Conneh, Chairman of LURD, says that the charges against President Taylor should be dropped if that would persuade him to leave the country.

"We agree that charges against him could be dropped if it can bring peace to the country, if that can get him to leave Liberia," Conneh said.

The United Nations and the US have also relentlessly asked President Taylor, a former warlord, to go.

Although the Liberian President has pledged to step down on Monday, August 11, it is unclear when he will leave the country for exile, probably in Nigeria, which had made him an offer.

On Thursday, Jacques Klein, UN Special Representative for Liberia, warned that if President Taylor stayed in the country, he risked being arrested on war crimes charges.

A West African Vanguard Force of more than 300 has arrived in Monrovia, the Liberian Capital, and has already been able to create a semblance of peace, enabling people to go out and search for food. 08 Aug. 03