Civil society groups call for ceasefire

A consortium of 50 Liberian civil society groups have called for a cease-fire in the fighting between government soldiers and rebels in north and northwestern Liberia. The group, calling itself the Civil Society Movement of Liberia (CSML), on Friday urged the deployment in Liberia of a peacekeeping force led by the United Nations or the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to enforce such a cease-fire. The CSML also appealed to President Charles Taylor to lift the state of emergency in the country and withdraw armed men from the streets of Monrovia in order to reduce tension there. Security in the capital city has been tightened in recent weeks, with presidential troops manning roadblocks and posted at street corners and on rooftops. In a reaction to the CSML broadcast on national radio on Saturday, Vice- Chairman of the ruling National Patriotic Party, Harrison Luo, said the government "would do everything it could to protect the Liberian people" but that it was "irresponsible" for the CSML to demand the removal of armed men from the city streets. The troops had been deployed to beef up national security amid threats to the nation, he added. The CSML has said it intends to "begin peaceful protest to influence cease-fire and genuine dialogue leading to genuine democratic elections", despite the continued existence of a state of emergency imposed in February. Meanwhile, the newly registered opposition party, New Deal Movement, was last week reportedly stopped from holding a meeting. Its chairman, Alaric Tokpa, told a news conference on Saturday that the authorities had denied the Movement permission to meet at both the YMCA building and a local church. Government officials have denied that they prevented the party from meeting. The New Deal Movement is among opposition parties that have boycotted the continuing Liberian peace conference. It insisted that it would organise its own meetings to coincide with the conference.