Women demand end to hostilities

About 1,000 Liberian women staged a peaceful assembly before the Monrovia municipal office on Friday to demand an immediate halt to hostilities between the Liberian government and rebels. The women, dressed in white, which they said symbolised their desire for peace, read a statement that they planned to present to the government, and the country's two rebel factions: Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). MODEL is a new faction comprising former supporters of late Liberian President Samuel K. Doe that operates in southeastern Liberia, near the border with Cote d'Ivoire. In their statement, the women demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and appealed to the international community to monitor it once it is concluded. They also called for a fruitful dialogue between the warring parties for the restoration of peace in Liberia. "Women of Liberia demand nothing less than peace," said Ms. Etweada Cooper, secretary-general of the Liberian Women Initiative, one of the groups that organised Friday's event. "We are fed up with the conflict in our country." Peace talks between the government, political parties and rebels were to have been held on 10 April in Bamako, Mali, but were postponed. Discussions on the modalities for peace talks on Liberia are scheduled to be held this week in Monrovia between President Charles Taylor and a delegation of the International Contact Group on Liberia, Presidential Press Secretary Vaanii Passewe told reporters on Thursday. "A lot of backstage works have been done, including at the bilateral level with the United States, for successful peace talks," Passewe said. "The Government of Liberia is aware that it must win peace at all cost." Meanwhile, following an attack on 9 April on the Jah Tondo Displaced Camp, 17 km west of Monrovia, by armed men, Taylor said his government would provide "perimeter security" for all IDP camps around Monrovia to prevent them for being attacked. "Strict orders have been given our troops to clear Tubmanburg of LURD terrorists," he added. Tubmanburg, some 60 km west of Monrovia, has been occupied by LURD for months.