US hardens position on Liberia

The United States has hardened its position towards Liberia amidst persistent allegations that President Charles Taylor is involved in diamonds and arms smuggling with Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters in Sierra Leone. The State Department on Wednesday imposed a visa ban on Taylor and other Liberian officials, their families and close supporters.

"I call upon the Liberian government to end immediately Liberia's trafficking in weapons and illicit diamonds, which fuels the war in Sierra Leone, and instead to use its influence with the RUF to restore peace and stability in Sierra Leone," President Bill Clinton said.

State-run radio in Liberia on Thursday quoted "political observers" as saying that they believed the visa ban was imposed because because the United States had failed to influence the UN sanctions committee to impose sanctions on Liberia. The US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Susan Rice, told a Senate sub-committee on African Affairs on Wednesday that the intent of the United States was to raise the costs to Taylor and his associates.

"There should be no mistaking our position: We recognise the corrosive role that Taylor is playing in the tragedy of Sierra Leone and the spreading instability in the region, and we are committed to bringing his destructive influence to an end," Rice said.

The United States also ordered the departure of non-essential diplomats from Liberia, saying the visa ban could lead to anti-American sentiment. In addition, security has deteriorated in the country because of fighting in the north. Liberia is a nation founded by freed American slaves in the early 1800s and most Liberians have relatives in the United States who send remittances back to Liberia.