Factional differences mar Liberia talks

The legitimacy of President Charles Taylor to hold himself out as leader of war-torn Liberia on Thursday overshadowed closed-door negotiations for ceasefire at the peace talks taking place at Akosombo.

The representatives of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) at the peace talks have stuck to their position that President Charles Taylor's indictment by UN War Crimes Tribunal made him an illegitimate leader and they would have nothing to do with his delegation.

However, Liberian Defence Minister, Daniel Chea, who joined the Akosombo talks in the Eastern Region on Thursday described President Taylor's indictment by the UN War Crimes Tribunal for Sierra Leone as "nonsense".

"It will be ridiculous to expect President Taylor to leave Liberia," he told the press in reaction to calls for the President's extradition.

Mr Sonny Ugoh of the ECOWAS Secretariat told the Ghana News Agency that indictment of President Taylor was not synonymous with conviction.

"This red herring is not important. People are dying. There is lack of water for the internally displaced persons and malaria is spreading amongst them.

"There is a humanitarian problem and the best they need is a ceasefire," he said.

Mr Ugoh expressed the hope that the main facilitator of the ECOWAS-brokered peace talks, General Abdulsalam Abubakar was holding informal meeting with LURD and MODEL to arrive at a consensus.

"We are hopeful that by Friday negotiations will continue for a cease-fire.

"More delegates either from the Liberian Government or the two rebel groups are arriving, an indication that there is hope for the talks," he said.

Another source at the ECOWAS Secretariat told the GNA that any further negotiations with LURD and MODEL would be tough and dicey.

This is because "the two rebel groups are neither prepared to have anything to do with President Taylor nor his government".

He said the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas had flown to Togo to consult President Gnassingbe Eyadema over the Liberia crisis.

Consultations with Leaders of the West Africa Sub-Region have already taken Dr Chambas to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

Six-year-old Lucy Sherman, a Liberian refugee in Ghana, said a poem for peace to prepare the grounds for the tough negotiations that lasted several hours without the softening of factional positions