October elections for Liberia

2003-08-11 15:57

Monrovia - Ghanaian President John Kufuor said Monday that Liberian President Charles Taylor's successor Moses Blah would head an interim government until October 2, when national elections are due to be held.

Kufuor said Taylor's imminent resignation was the first part of a "two-tier" interim arrangement, adding that Blah would head the caretaker administration until the elections.

In Aruja, Nigerian officials prepared Monday for the arrival of Liberian President Charles Taylor, who was expected to take up life in exile here immediately after handing over power, a top government official told AFP.

But in Monrovia, a press spokesperson said Taylor would remain in Liberia for a few more days to allow for work on his future home in Nigeria to be completed.

Presidents Joachim Chissano of Mozambique and John Kufuor of Ghana were in Monrovia ahead of the handover, and were due to accompany Taylor back to Abuja in the afternoon, the official who requested anonymity said.

"(Taylor) will leave Liberia after handing over to his successor and head for Nigeria in company of Chissano, who is chairman of the African Union, and Kufuor, chair of Ecowas," said the official who requested anonymity.

The 55-year-old Liberian warlord-turned-president, who is indicted for war crimes committed during Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war, has already accepted Nigeria's asylum offer but refused to give a firm date for his departure.

Even as the African leaders arrived in Monrovia to ensure that Taylor takes his bow, a spokesperson at the Liberian presidency said the departure was still days away.

Patrick Paasewe, a press liaison officer at the Liberian presidency, said Taylor needed "a few days to put his affairs in order and for his new home to be completed".

Mansion

"We cannot have our ex-president living in a hotel," he told AFP.

Nigeria, west Africa's military powerhouse, has sent 700 troops as part of a peacekeeping force for Liberia and prepared a plush mansion for Taylor in Calabar, a southeastern coastal city.

An advance party made up of some of Taylor's relatives and close aides arrived in Calabar late on Sunday and headed for the mansion, located in a quiet part of the city, residents told AFP.

Meanwhile, hundreds filled Monrovia's presidential palace on Monday ahead of a midday ceremony at which Taylor was expected to pass leadership on the Moses Blah, his vice president and former comrade-in-arms.

In addition to Chissano and Kufuor, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki was also in Monrovia to attend the ceremony, as was Nigeria's Foreign Minister Olu Adeniji.

The 15-nation regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), based in Abuja, has played a major role in trying to resolve the Liberian bloody crisis.

Ghana, the current Ecowas head, has been hosting ongoing peace talks between the Liberian government and two rebel groups seeking to oust Taylor.

Taylor's advance party, after arriving from Monrovia, was received by Nigerian government officials, the sources said.

"Taylor's family arrives in Nigeria," the influential Guardian newspaper reported in a headline across the front page.

Meanwhile, President Olusegun Obasanjo met here on Sunday with the leader of Liberia's main rebel group.

Sekou Damate Conneh, leader of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (Lurd), told Obasanjo the aim of his visit was to thank the Nigerian government and people for their role in helping to restore peace to his country, presidential spokesperson Oluremi Oyo told AFP.

South Africa

The Lurd leader assured Obasanjo that Nigeria's "sacrifices will not be in vain this time around", said Oyo, who was present at the meeting between the two parties.

Taylor's arrival in Nigerian capital will put to rest media speculations that he was contemplating heading for either Libya or South Africa to avoid controversy.

Three powerful Nigerian unions for journalists, lawyers and students, as well as Nigerian ex-foreign minister, have openly criticised Taylor's asylum.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists has launched a legal challenge against the Nigerian government over the decision to offer him asylum.

Two Nigerian newspaper journalists - Krees Imodibie and Tayo Awotunsin - were killed in Liberia in 1992 by Taylor's forces.

Taylor was then leading the rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia in a seven-year conflict which led to the overthrow of then-president Samuel Doe. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA