Taylor discusses ceasefire, transition of power with US ambassador

Liberian President Charles Taylor held crisis talks with the US ambassador on Tuesday about calling an immediate ceasefire in the civil war, which has seen rebels advance into the western outskirts of the capital Monrovia. US ambassador John Blaney told reporters after a two-hour meeting with the embattled head of state that they had discussed a ceasefire, disarmament and "a smooth transition of power" in Liberia. He said Taylor had rejected rebel demands that he step down immediately, but had indicated that he was willing to depart at the end of his current six-year term. According to the constitution, this expires on August 2, but Taylor has spoken in the past of holding elections on October 14 and handing over power on January 6. The executive-secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mohammed Ibn Chambas and the Ghanaian foreign minister, Nana Akuffo-Addo, failed to turn up as expected for separate talks with Taylor. But Liberian officials said they were still expected to arrive on Tuesday night or Wednesday. Like the US ambassador, they were expected to press international demands for an immediate ceasefire between Taylor's troops and rebels of the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), who have fought their way into the western suburbs of the capital over the past week. ECOWAS and the Ghanaian government have said that peace talks in Ghana between Taylor and the rebels will not get under way until there is a ceasefire. The talks were tentatively scheduled to resume on Wednesday in Akosombo, 100 km north of Accra, with representatives from a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) joining the peace conference for the first time. However, LURD military commanders in the field have so far ignored orders from their political representatives in Ghana to call a truce and the Liberian government has said that for fighting to stop the rebels must halt their push into the capital. Justice Minister, Koboi Johnson, who is chairman of the country's joint security committee, said on Tuesday: "There cannot be a ceasefire, unless the rebels also cease fire." LURD, which controls much of northern Liberia, announced a three-day ceasefire on Sunday to give Taylor an opportunity to quit as president and avoid "a bloodbath" in Monrovia. However, clashes in the capital have continued regardless. There was a lull in fighting during most of Tuesday, but sporadic shooting could be heard in the western suburbs as night fell. Residents fleeing the area told IRIN that LURD rebels had infiltrated into the Twe Farm, New Kru and Mombor districts, which are only five km from the Monrovia Freeport. Most of those on the move were heading for the city centre where the Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontiers-Belgium were giving some limited assistance to the displaced. Meanwhile, the Special Court in Sierra Leone that charged Taylor with war crimes last week, reaffirmed its demand that he be brought to trial for his alleged part in encouraging rebel atrocities during Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war from 19991 to 2001. The court secretly indicted Taylor on 7 March but only issued a public arrest warrant for him on 4 June, while he was in Ghana attending the opening session of the peace talks. However, the Ghanaian government allowed Taylor to fly home and criticised the court for disrupting its efforts to bring peace to Liberia. The Liberian president was the tenth person to be publicly indicted by the UN-backed Special Court. Seven are already in custody. One, Sam Bockarie, the former rebel military commander in Sierra Leone is dead, killed by Taylor's security forces after fell out with the Liberian leader a month ago. The other, Johnny Paul Koroma, who headed a short-lived military government in 1997, remains at large. The court believes that he is in Liberia, training one of Taylor's elite military units. David Crane, the court prosecutor, said in a statement on Tuesday: "We call upon all states, particularly in West Africa, to consider the rule of law and honour their obligations as members of the international community to turn over all known war crimes. In this region, they are Charles Taylor and Johnny Paul Koroma. There can be no deals for these indictees that avoid them being brought to justice immediately."