Taylor's replacement dominates Accra talks

Delegates to the Liberian talks in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, have shifted focus from discussing a peace agreement between the country's warring parties, to intense negotiations over who should be in a transitional government that is to replace President Charles Taylor. Bowing to pressure, especially from US President George Bush, Taylor announced on Sunday that he would leave Liberia for exile in Nigeria. He did not say what day he would exactly leave, but a top army official said Taylor had officially informed his forces to expect a new government by 15 July. Bush, speaking from Pretoria in South Africa, on Wednesday again demanded that Taylor leave office. "We have made a commitment that we will work closely with the United Nations and ECOWAS to enforce the cease-fire, see to it that Taylor leaves office so that there can be a peaceful transition in Liberia," Bush said. "We've made that commitment. I've said it clearly more than one time," he added. But sharp disagreements and a wide diversity of views from the many groups at the talks, have made negotiations to replace him, as equally daunting as the bid to secure the fragile cease-fire between the parties. The sticking point at the month-old ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States) facilitated talks, delegates say, is to secure a consensus on who heads an interim government after Taylor's departure. Up to 42 names have been floated as possible replacements for Taylor, diplomats at the talks told IRIN. "Every pressure group now wants to take the Presidency and this is causing quite a bit of confusion," the diplomat said. Some 18 political parties and civil society groups, two rebel groups and the government are attending the talks. The Liberian government delegation suggested that the current Vice President, Moses Zeh Blah, take over as the constitution demands. But the Liberians United for Reconciliation Democracy (LURD) and the Movement For Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) rebels groups strongly disagreed. The two groups, which have been trying to overthrow Taylor since 1999 currently, control over 60 percent of Liberia. "No, we will not accept Moses Zeh Blah as the interim president. He was selected and appointed by Taylor. They trained in Libya and Burkina Faso. They have fought and killed together. They are friends," Tiah Slanger, MODEL Spokesperson told IRIN on Wednesday. The LURD meanwhile suggested that its leader Kabineh Jan'eh replace Taylor. Other names floated included Alhaji Kromah, a former warlord and who represents the All Liberian Coalition Party, Theresa Leigh-Sherman, leader of the Mano River Women Network for Peace, George Toe Washington, former Liberian Chief of Staff in the 1960's and Nah Togba Tipoteh of the Liberian Peoples Party. Others include Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a presidential candidate in 1997 and former UN official and Charles Brumskine, a lawyer and former Liberian senator. Slanger said to secure a lasting peace, MODEL had proposed to all delegates including LURD to accept one candidate for interim President, nominated from the ranks of the political parties and the civil societies that did not take part in the conflict. "We will then go into a caucus and indicate who we prefer. Secondly we propose the LURD and MODEL are given two vice-presidential positions with equal power. The president can then consult with them and pay attention to their needs as well in the course of running the interim administration," Slanger added. The rebels also suggested that once all the parties agree on the framework and composition of the interim administration, that administration should only be given a two-year mandate, leading to democratic elections for a more representative government. The political parties and civil society representatives, who said they represent the views and aspirations of the about 3.5 million Liberia's, were said to be conferring among themselves. "The political parties are conferring with the warring factions who are also holding negotiations among themselves. The consensus will come up at a plenary session when the groups will go through the various nominations and settle on one candidate," Isaac Yonly of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas told IRIN on Wednesday. But Daniel Fitzgerald Vinton, editor of the New Liberia newspaper told IRIN: "There is a deep seated animosity among all Liberian political actors. Somewhere along the line, they have all offended each other politically. Who can be said to be neutral when everybody is a stakeholder in this conflict?" Phillip Wesseh, manging editor of the Liberian Enquirer newspaper said: "The whole process has been very frustrating. We have been here for a whole month. While others are canvassing for the Vice President to head the interim administration, others are saying there ought to be a change and that new people ought to be given the chance to run the country." A 17 June ceasefire agreement signed by the Liberian government and the rebel groups, demands that the delegates come up with a comprehensive peace agreement within 30 days. ECOWAS sources said, the mediators led by General Abdulsalami Abubakar had received proposals from every group and were planning to hold a plenary session from Friday to consider the various options and proposals.