Yesterday, The Perspective received a statement on the efforts by some Liberians in the United States to form a united front against Mr. Taylor come 2003. The group, known as the Committee for the Merger of Liberian Political Parties (CMPP), is headed by former Chief Justice Chea Cheapoo, while former warlord and former Vice Chairman of the Council of State Alhaji G. V. Kromah serves as its spokesperson. "The five parties are conclusive on [the merger] - [but] not conclusive in the sense of a leadership... The question of leadership is a crucial issue, but it is secondary now... We don't want alliance, we want merger," Chea Cheapoo said in an interview with BBC Focus on Africa yesterday.

Mr. Cheapoo said his group will be talking to every Liberian including the rebel movement known as the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). Mr. Cheapoo stated that they are open to every Liberian (politician, or ordinary citizen) “who has interest in the future” of Liberia to join the efforts.

Absent from the list of politicians who are involved in the merger talks are Dr. Togba-Nah Tipoteh, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Cllr. Charles Brumskine, Mr. Cletus Wotorson, etc. When asked about Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Justice Cheapoo said, "Well, we will be talking to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf because she is a member of the Unity Party and took party in the last elections. Ellen is welcomed, we’re going to contact her personally, and her party leadership, and everything..."

Meanwhile, Mr. Cletus Wotorson says his effort is geared towards creating an enabling environment. "My party is at home [in Liberia]. I cannot do anything except that we have to contact the party at home. I just read about it on the Internet... I don't know [anything] about it at all. I have been hearing rumors about it... Well, it is a good thing. ...I just hope that it is not done around one person and it is done in honesty. ...My effort is geared towards creating an enabling environment," Mr. Wotorson said.

It can be recalled that the article entitled: Wotorson Urges Liberians to Organize and Hold a Meeting of National Leaders (http://www.theperspective.org/wotorson.html) by Mr. Cletus Wotorson, and the speech (http://www.theperspective.org/brumskine_atlanta.html) delivered in Atlanta by Cllr. Charles Brumskine in which he called on Liberian opposition “to rally around a common agenda, with the support of the international community, in the interest of our country” led to the Bethesda Conference and the formation of a group known as the Liberian Leadership Conference headed by Mr. Wotorson.