Abidjan — It was one week after the United Nations-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone announced the indictment of Liberian President Charles Taylor, and I was having a drink with Cyril Allen, the chairman of Taylor's National Patriotic Party in Akosambo, the Ghanaian city where peace talks have been taking place.
"We are not about to discuss anything further with nobody until they lift the indictment," said an unapologetic Allen. "We will stop the hostilities but as far as transitional government is concerned, there will be no deal until this matter is resolved."
He was speaking with confidence, because he had had discussions with some opposition politicians who had agreed to take the issue up with the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), sponsor of the peace initiative.
I told Allen that the indictment was a criminal matter and therefore I couldn't see how Liberians or ECOWAS could get UN to drop the charges. "This is all political, and the indictment can be lifted the same way they put it in place," he said. We continued our talks until early morning and then parted. I returned to Accra and packed to leave the country.
Ten years ago, I was in Ghana as part of a team trying to bring peace to war-ravaged Liberia by working with two warring factions, ULIMO and the NPFL. That led to an election in 1997, won by Taylor and his NPFL, renamed NPP, in a controversial process. Today, full-scale war has returned.
Although the warring factions have different names, the issues in the peace talks are the same: disarmament, governance and elections. And Charles Taylor still occupies center stage.
Because the unfolding scene was all-too-familiar, I felt I had a pretty clear idea where these talks might be headed. On arriving in Abidjan, I was not surprised to hear Taylor say that he would not negotiate until the indictment was lifted. Taylor has always thrived on chaos; that hasn't changed.
What comes next? Among the Liberian politicians assembled in Akomsombo, the jockeying has begun for posts in a 'transitional' administration to run the country until elections can be held. But Lewis Brown, Taylor's chief negotiator in Akosombo, said "any successful transition" would have to adhere to the constitution. Taylor's term runs until January 2004.
There are many good Liberians in Akosombo, politicians or not. Some traveled from the United States, some from refugee camps. Many have put their income-earning activities on hold to take part in the talks. But their eagerness to reach a settlement could put them at the mercy of people who want to stall.
In Akosombo, Liberians are debating the issue of Taylor's indictment. Some believe that it will help the peace process, since Taylor will now have to leave, no matter what. Others feel that the issue was handled poorly, because either Ghana should have arrested the Liberian president when he was there or the Special court should have made sure it could arrest him before making the indictment public. Did the court expect Ghana to arrest an Ecowas president and hand him over to the United Nations?
In Accra, Ecowas seems to have been caught off guard first by the indictment and then by Taylor's demand that the indictment be lifted as a precondition to any discussion. President Thabo Mbeki told the opening session of the talks that Africans need to resolve their own conflicts, but it remains to be seen if they dare take the bold measures required to solve this crisis.
Perhaps the best approach, once Taylor agrees to leave, would be for Liberians to return home and seek a solution ourselves. If we cannot disarm our own children, nobody else can do it. If we don't trust each other, there is no need to form coalitions where everybody lies to everybody else.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In Liberia today, according to UN accounts, rebel groups control close to 60 percent of the territory and have advanced to the outskirts of the capital. If something isn't done quickly, armed groups will be fighting for the control of central Monrovia and the Executive Mansion, just as they did in 1990.
Outside help seems unlikely, especially once all the foreigners are evacuated. Like Bunia, in the Congo, Liberia may get a few moments of television time. But the problems are deep and long-standing. If this effort at peace fails, we could be back in a few years time, seated at a bar in Akosombo, talking about who is to blame for making war once again.
