Liberia Peace Talks move to Accra

Peace Talks on Liberia would resume in Accra on Monday after 11 days of unsuccessful negotiations by the ECOWAS Mediation Team to broker a ceasefire agreement at Akosombo in the Eastern Region

Initial Talks on the agreement on June 9 could not go on due to inadequate consultations with the second rebel group, the Movement For Democracy In Liberia (MODEL) over the text of the agreement.

The talks dragged on until June 14 without an agreement due to major differences between the belligerent forces in the 12 year-old-conflict.

The other players that comprised 18 political parties, peace activists and civil society groups have not raised any objection to the ceasefire text as it stands.

Former Nigerian President, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the facilitator of the Peace Talks, would continue with closed-door negotiations to bring representatives of the Liberian government, MODEL and Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) on board.

The rebel groups have maintained an entrenched position over the legitimacy of President Charles Taylor to hold himself as Head Of State since his indictment by the UN War Crimes Court in Sierra Leone.

Mr Sonny Ugoh, Spokesperson of the ECOWAS Secretariat, told the GNA that arguments about President Taylor's leadership was a "red herring" and not important.

"An indictment is not synonymous to a conviction," he said.

The Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, who said he was hopeful of clinching a ceasefire on Saturday, and told Journalists that it should not be conditional.

LURD and MODEL, however, are demanding the immediate resignation of President Taylor as a pre-condition to ceasefire.

They are also calling for a multi-national force in Liberia and a transitional government of national unity.

Liberian Defence Minister, Daniel Chea has described the demand by the rebels for Taylor to step down as "nonsense and ridiculous."

Senator Mohammed Dukuly described LURD and MODEL as illegitimate groups exploiting the flexibility of the peace process to make demands for an elected President to reverse his mandate.

If a ceasefire agreement is arrived at on Monday then an ECOWAS Verification Team would move to Liberia to explore the security situation prior to the deployment of a peacekeeping force.