Liberians to endorse Peace Plan by next week

Accra, Aug. 6, GNA - ECOWAS Mediators at the marathon Liberia Peace Talks in Accra, on Wednesday expressed optimism that the stalled closed-door negotiations with the stakeholders over the endorsement of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement would be over by next week. A source at the ECOWAS Secretariat told the Ghana News Agency that the response so far received from the major players over the draft Agreement is positive.

"If we work very hard at the weekend I expect that by early next week - Monday or Tuesday we hope they will approve the document."

The Peace Agreement should have followed the Ceasefire Agreement signed by the three belligerent groups on June 17 to pave the way for a transitional arrangement that would help stabilize Liberia.

The Peace deal that should have been signed on July 17, as stipulated by the Ceasefire Agreement was overshadowed by differences over the composition of an interim administration that would manage the transitional arrangement.

The stakeholders are the Liberian government and the two rebel groups-Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) and the 18 political parties and civil society groups.

An endorsement of the peace deal would climax over two months of the Peace Talks being facilitated by former Nigerian Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

The sporadic breach of the Ceasefire Agreement among the three warring parties and the entrenched position of the two rebel groups over the legitimacy of President Charles Taylor to rule embattled Liberia, after his indictment by the UN War Crimes Tribunal had been the bane of the Talks.

Although President Taylor had bowed to international pressure to step down, the terms of his departure from office is also dragging the peace negotiations.

The sticky issue in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was the mandate of Liberian Vice-President, Mr Moses Blah to end the term of President Taylor before handing over to the interim administration. Meanwhile, UN Resolution 11497 (2003) authorizing ECOWAS Mission in Liberia had urged LURD and MODEL not to attempt to seize power by force. The two rebel groups have fought a bloody war with the government over the control of the capital and strategic towns for two weeks leading to widespread carnage and humanitarian crisis.

The UN had declared its readiness to deploy a UN Peacekeeping Force by October 1.