Liberian President Charles Taylor came to Ghana to talk but left abruptly, reeling in Ghana’s Fokker 28 Jet, popularly called the ‘flying coffin’, following a report that United Nations prosecutors were on the heels of Ghana government to give Charles Taylor up for arrest.
Back home in Liberia, Taylor’s presidential mansion was under siege.
With its serious repercussions on the political and diplomatic relations between Ghana-Liberia, Ghana, according to diplomatic sources took a great risk, which was likely to irk the international community.
Yet Ghana decided to damn the possible international sanctions thereof and whisked away the Liberian President in the old Presidential jet, whose viability has been a subject of debate in recent times. According to official reaction, Ghana could not effect the arrest of Charles Taylor because she had not been notified with any warrant to arrest the former Warlord.
However the ''Independent'' says its investigations have established that as the Chairman of ECOWAS and the initiator of the peace process, the arrest of Charles Taylor would have had serious repercussion on the political and diplomatic relations, not only between the two countries, but also on Ghana’s international credibility, hence the smooth move by Ghanaian officials to whisk Taylor away in the ''Flying Coffin''.