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The Guardian Jonathan Steele June 5, 2003 Panic swept through the Liberian capital, Monrovia, yesterday after President Charles Taylor was indicted by a UN-backed court for crimes against humanity during the civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Fearing clashes, thousands of people reportedly fled their homes. The charges, which follow the government's loss of nearly two-thirds of the country to two rebel groups which are now within a few miles of Monrovia, were made public as Mr Taylor engaged in peace talks with the rebels in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. Some analysts described the timing of the indictment as a politically motivated slap in the face to the peace talks' mediators, who include South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo and leaders of Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Ghana. Prosecutors called on Ghana to arrest Mr Taylor, but the for eign minister, Nana Akufo-Addo, said the Accra government had not received a formal request to extradite him. Minutes after the indictment was made public, Mr Taylor appeared in a motorcade at the talks' opening ceremony, looking tense. The president reportedly offered to resign some weeks ago if plans for an indictment were dropped. After it was issued, he again hinted he might step down in January if this helped bring peace. "My government, whose mandate ends in January, will seek upon my return to Liberia a national unity government immediately. Following my term as president, there must exist a transition. I will strongly consider a process of transition that will not include me _ If President Taylor removes himself for the Liberians, will that bring peace? If so, I will remove myself." Alex Vines, the head of the Africa programme at the Royal Institute for International Affairs, and a former member of the UN's panel of experts on Liberia, said he was surprised by the timing of the indictment. "It is an opportunistic move, and Ghana is under intense pressure to act on the indictment," he said. He added: "Some on the security council seem to believe regime change is desirable but lack any vision of what happens once Taylor is gone". Two rebel groups from different tribal backgrounds, one supported by Guinea, the other by Ivory Coast, have seized most of the country but there is no guarantee they will not turn and fight each other if the Taylor government falls. Britain and France, with their special interest in Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast respectively, resent Mr Taylor's earlier efforts to destabilise the countries. They apparently want him out, whatever the consequences. Liberia is already under UN sanctions, including an arms embargo and a travel ban for Mr Taylor and other top government officials, for spreading regional instability. EU ambassadors in Brussels yesterday approved sending its new peacekeeping force to Congo to separate warring rebel groups, just five days after the UN security council backed a 1,400-strong multinational force. It is the first deployment since the force was declared ready to go last month, and comes as the EU seeks to increase its influence by speaking and acting together in foreign affairs. story url
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