Irate Liberians protests against exclusion from peace talks

A group of irate Liberians on Friday besieged the venue for the Akosombo Peace Talks to protest against their exclusion from a preliminary meeting.

The protesters, who described themselves as Standard Bearers of six out of the 16 parties attending the talks at the three-Star Volta Hotel at Akosombo in the Eastern Region, had been denied accreditation for the meeting and were challenging the legitimacy of their representatives.

The meeting is an administrative procedure to await the arrival of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, which initially boycotted the meeting.

Their protests forced General Abubakar Abdulsalami, the facilitator of the ECOWAS-sponsored peace talks, to negotiate with them.

The parties whose representatives were being challenged are All Liberian Coalition Party (ALCP), Free Democratic Party (FDP), People's Democratic Party (PDP), People's Democratic Party of Liberia (PDPL), Liberia National Union (LNU) and the "National Integration Party NIP).

Mr Chea Cheapoo, former Chief Justice of Liberia and a member of the Progressive People's Party (PPP), said all the protesters were legitimate leaders of their parties that contested the 1997 general election.

He said the unstable political situation in their country forced these leaders into exile and in their place now were former rebels loyal to Taylor.

Mr Isaac Yonly, Chief Public Relations Officer of All Liberian Coalition Party, said everything about the Akosombo Talks had been arranged to favour President Charles Taylor.

"We are legitimate leaders and have to be accredited. We are not impersonators and surrogates to (President) Charles Taylor", he said.

Mr Yonly said if they were kept out of the peace talks it would destroy the legitimacy of the process adding, "if there was stability in Liberia there would be no peace talks here (Akosombo)."

General Abdulsalami said as stakeholders they all had the right to attend the Talks and since the hall was too small to accommodate them, he proposed a Tuesday for a compromise meeting.

This attracted another protest, which forced the General to change his stand with a promise to get back to them as soon as possible.

The Talks, which were scheduled to start on Wednesday, have been delayed for three days.