Skepticism Grows in Liberia Over Taylor’s Pledge to Leave

MONROVIA, Liberia —  Liberian President Charles Taylor snubbed West African regional leaders who had arrived Friday to press for his imminent departure, raising concerns that the embattled president might renege on his pledge to go into exile.

At least nine people were killed and scores injured by the latest shelling that shattered a temporary lull in almost two weeks of bloodletting in this war-weary capital. Government and rebel fighters blamed each other for the continued assault that has seen insurgents inch their way farther into the heart of Monrovia.

Mohammed ibn Chambas, executive secretary of the West African regional economic and peacekeeping bloc, arrived with other regional senior officials to meet with Taylor, who reportedly traveled to the southeastern port of Buchanan, which has been besieged by rebels.

Scrambling to rustle up overnight toiletries and supplies, the West African envoys told reporters that they would remain in the capital, hoping to meet with Taylor.

The delegation had come to advise the Liberian president that the first West African peacekeepers would deploy to Monrovia on Monday and Taylor -- indicted for war crimes and widely blamed for 14 years of conflict in the region -- must leave by Thursday.

It was unclear whether Taylor, who has accepted an offer of asylum in Nigeria, would agree to the ultimatum. Liberian government officials indicated that the president would make his own decision.

“President Taylor volunteered to remove himself for peace and to facilitate the process,” said John Richardson, Liberia’s national security advisor. “Now, all of a sudden everyone is turning it around as if it is their authority to exile President Taylor. It was President Taylor’s commitment.”

Despite Taylor’s pledge to leave, many Monrovia residents remain skeptical.

“Experience is the best teacher,” said Abraham Jarsor, 42, who has not seen his wife and six children since their home outside of town was overrun by rebels. “Words were said before. Promises were made before. But in the end they were not fulfilled. So this time people want to see things.”

Many here are adamant that the only way for long-lasting peace to reach their county is via peacekeepers.

Nigeria has promised to provide 1,500 troops of an anticipated foreign force that could amount to 5,000. The first 300 soldiers are expected to arrive Monday. Senegal, Ghana and Mali would each send 250 troops, Nigerian military officials said. A 10-member advance scout team, including one American team, arrived in Liberia on Wednesday to investigate logistics such as accommodations for the peacekeepers.

The United States has promised $10 million in logistical support for the West African mission. The White House recently ordered three warships with Marines to the coast of Liberia, a nation settled more than 150 years ago by freed American slaves. The 2,300 troops are expected to arrive today for what President Bush has said will be limited assistance. No decision has been made on whether to put any of the Marines on the ground.

Beaten down by years of conflict, civilians said they would welcome any kind of help to relieve their misery. Liberia’s brutal civil war, which the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy said it is fighting to oust Taylor, left an estimated 200,000 civilians dead in the 1990s.

“The only thing we need now is for peacekeepers to come, whether American, whether West African, we want peacekeepers to come so that the bloodshed can stop,” said Comfort Jarsor, Abraham’s sister, who was forced to abandon her trade in secondhand clothes due to the current conflict. “When [they] come, I will be able to do my business again.”

At the United Nations on Friday, the Security Council approved the deployment of a multinational force to stabilize Liberia, and another U.N. peacekeeping force to arrive by Oct. 1. Germany, France and Mexico abstained from the vote, objecting to a provision that would give peacekeepers immunity from prosecution for war crimes.

During the nonstop negotiations on Friday, France, Germany, Mexico and Spain argued that peacekeepers have already received a special exemption from prosecution until June 2004 under Resolution 1487, so the additional provision was technically unnecessary. They were also wary that the Liberia resolution would extend that immunity as long as the mission lasts -- perhaps years. Even if they wanted to allow it, Mexico and many European countries have domestic legislation requiring them to try war crimes even if committed in another country.

Though eager to welcome any savior to their country, many Monrovians say they have bad memories of their experience with West African -- and predominantly Nigerian -- peacekeepers, who came to Liberia’s aid in the 1990s. Those soldiers were widely accused of human rights violations, corruption and looting.

“When they arrived they were peaceful,” Paul Wilson recalled of the peacekeepers. “But given the hostility they had from the fighters, they themselves became hostile, even toward civilians. They took every young man as a rebel.”

Many Liberians still balk at the number of the now-abandoned children fathered by Nigerian peacekeepers during the 1990s.

“Many of the kids were left behind and now they are hungry,” said displaced Monrovia resident Daddymus Karteh.

Until peacekeepers arrive, residents must contend with what has become a daily barrage of stray bullets and random mortar fire. More than 1,000 civilians have been killed during three waves of rebel onslaughts, according to aid groups here.

The city’s population has swollen to around 1 million, as hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled their homes in outlying areas.

Ducking behind stone walls and scurrying across intersections have become Monrovia’s common street dance, as residents brave leaving their rickety hiding places during rare lulls in the fighting to scavenge for food and water.

“I’m going to look for food,” said Shelley Gibson, as she joined the tide of humanity headed into town Friday, in search of provisions for her 11 young charges. “This is the problem now, finding food.”

“I think people are very desperate, out of hope,” said Guilhem Ravier, a protection delegate for the International Committee for the Red Cross in Monrovia.

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Times staff writer Maggie Farley contributed from the United Nations.