Kufuor condemns upsurge in Liberia fighting

President John Agyekum Kufuor, who is the current Chairman of ECOWAS, on Thursday condemned the upsurge in military action within Liberia and the resulting civilian casualties and panic it was creating throughout the capital, Monrovia.

In a statement on behalf of the Authority of the Heads of State and Governments of the Sub-Region, President Kufuor said the renewed hostilities had also put in jeopardy the ongoing peace talks in Accra.

"The Chairman is extremely concerned by the violations of the Ceasefire Agreement signed on June 17, 2003 by the Government of Liberia, the LURD (Liberians United for Reconciliation and Development) and MODEL (Movement for Democracy in Liberia) as a prelude to the preparations of a comprehensive peace agreement for the country."

The upsurge in fighting had led to the population seeking safety and protection in diplomatic areas and the offices of other international organizations.

President Kufuor expressed regret that since the accord was signed there had been persistent reports of ceasefire breaches, which could not be independently verified, since the Joint Verification Team, stipulated in the Ceasefire Agreement, could not be deployed because of the lack of cooperation of the parties.

The Chairman reaffirmed the provisions of the African Union Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government, adopted in Algiers in July 1999 and the ECOWAS "Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance," which provided that every accession to power must be made through free, fair and transparent elections and that there would be zero tolerance for power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means.

President Kufuor, therefore, appealed to the Government and the LURD to exercise maximum restraint in the situation and to respect the provisions of the Ceasefire Agreement, without which the Joint Verification Team could not be deployed.

Without a cessation of hostilities, the needed humanitarian assistance and protection would not be given to the innocent population of Monrovia, the statement said.

The Chairman reiterated the importance of dialogue rather than recourse to a military option as a means of resolving the conflict and asked the warring parties to engage in political dialogue without which there could be no durable peace.

President Kufuor pledged his support for the ECOWAS Peace Process for Liberia and tasked the parties to demonstrate their commitment to the well being of the population of Liberia by returning to the peace talks in order to join the other stakeholders in designing a comprehensive peace agreement.

President Kufuor expressed his appreciation to the UN, AU, EU and the International Contact Group on Liberia for their contributions towards restoring peace in Liberia.