President Charles Ghankay Taylor says Liberia has now become a vulnerable country, and as such needs the intervention of the International Community.

Taylor Receives Women's Statement

Speaking Thursday on the grounds of the Executive Mansion during program marking the presentation of a position statement by the women of Liberia, President Taylor said the international community should do all it can to quickly come to the aid of Liberia, because, according to him, the LURD rebels were causing mayhem, and engaging in acts that were bringing untold suffering on Liberians, while Government was doing everything possible to protect and defend the lives and properties of its people.

The President told the women that his government is sincerely committed to seeing a lasting peace in Liberia, as such will do all at the pending Accra Peace Talks to ensure that the wishes and aspirations of Liberians are realized.

Liberia’s Chief Executive said now was the time for LURD to sit down with government and talk peace, and further resort to the democratic process if their aim is to obtain state power, noting, "it is about time that we solve our internal problems on the table and not the battlefield".

President Taylor, who described the women’s statement and action as "just and a proper cause", said government is wishing for peace in Liberia because it wants to provide the quality of life to its people in a stable environment, adding, "without peace development cannot occur, we cannot move forward, we support your cause, everything that you said is proper."

The women under the umbrella the banner, “Liberia Women Peace Initiative”, in their position statement read by Mrs. Leymah Gbowee, called for among other things, an unconditional cease fire between government forces and LURD rebels, that should be monitored by the international community.

The women said it was their ardent hope that their position statement will claim the attention of all parties involved in the Liberian conflict.

They said, the war in the country has killed thousands of people and destroyed millions dollars worth of properties, while schools, hospitals, clinics and other humanitarian institutions were shutting down because of the carnage that has engulfed the country.

The women said their action to sit-in on the grounds of the Executive Mansion and other areas in Monrovia is to send a clear signal to government, LURD and the International Community that they are tired with the 12 years of conflict in the country, where morality is no longer regarded a norm of society, adding, "our action is geared toward saving the future of our children".

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© 2003: This article is copyrighted by The Inquirer newspaper (Monrovia, Liberia) and distributed by The Perspective (Atlanta, Georgia). All rights reserved.

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