All say disarmament must wait

2003-11-28 12:45

Monrovia - Liberia's warring factions demanded on Thursday that a campaign to disarm combatants after 14 years of war be postponed amid a dispute over the appointment of ministers to a transitional government.

The UN Mission to Liberia (Unmil) was to begin the disarmament campaign in the west African state in three areas under their control on Monday. The date had been pushed forward from December 7.

Militias loyal to former president Charles Taylor and rebels who took up arms against them in two successive civil wars since 1989 banded together Thursday to oppose interim chairperson Gyude Bryant, whose transitional government is tasked with leading the war-ravaged country to elections in 2005.

The former combatants, whose leaders were noticeably absent from the meeting on Thursday, took issue with Bryant's distribution of ministerial posts without their input under a power-sharing pact signed in August to pave the way for lasting peace.

Without the settlement of the appointment issue, the combatants demanded that "the planned commencement of the disarmament exercise in December should be deferred pending the settlement of violations of the accord by the chairperson," former government fighter Emmanuel Lomax said.

His statement reflected the position of the rebel Liberians United for Democracy and Reconciliation - whose uprising in 1999 against Taylor sparked the second war - as well as the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, he said.

The combatants then quit the meeting at the presidential palace in the capital Monrovia that was also attended by government, UNmil and Economic Community of West African States officials.

"From the UN perspective there is no linkage between allotted positions in government and the implementation of the (disarmament campaign)," said UN special envoy Jacques Klein, expressing disappointment at the glaring absence of the factions' leaders.

"The presence of the chairmen of the various factions was extremely important and I am disappointed that they are not here. Their absence here today is a sign of lack of unity or even a sign of lack of interest," he said.

"No one in this world is going to invest time here unless they see the country demilitarise and demobilise."

The walk-out jeopardised the prospects for peace, UNmil said in a statement, condemning it as a "total disregard" for the 3.3 million Liberians who survived the years of war.

"They walked out of the meeting, failing to adopt the DDRR program that will provide their combatants with monetary incentives, food, medical treatment, vocational training, educational opportunities and a chance for a better future," the statement said.

"Their actions demonstrate their total disregard for the welfare and well-being not only of their combatants but of the 3.3 million citizens of Liberia whose interests they claim to represent, and who have suffered 14 long years in purgatory hoping for a better future."

- AFP