Taylor warned on Liberia meddling
Charles Taylor has been warned not to interfere in Liberian politics from
his exile in Nigeria.
Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo told Liberia's ex-leader not to use
his telephone to communicate outside the conditions of his asylum.

Last week, the United Nations warned that Mr Taylor was still trying "to
influence events" in Liberia.

He went into exile as part of a deal which is due to see the creation of a
power-sharing government on Tuesday.

Mr Obasanjo's spokeswoman Remi Oyo confirmed that the meeting had taken
place late on Saturday night.


"The president advised Mr Taylor on the use of his telecommunications
facilities, telephones and all that, so that he stays within the confines
that govern his asylum in Nigeria," she said.
War crimes

Mr Taylor's ally Moses Blah is due to hand over power to neutral
businessman Gyude Bryant as the head of an administration comprising two
rebels groups, Taylor loyalists and civilian opposition parties on 14
October.

The UN fears that "any interference from Mr Taylor could threaten the
carefully constructed peace agreement."

Mr Taylor's spokesman, Vaanii Paasewe, told the AFP news agency that
his "calls were not intended to undermine the peace process.


"We would have expected the incoming president to have wanted some advice,
and we also had some ideas," he said.
Mr Taylor has been indicted for war crimes by a UN-backed court in Sierra
Leone.

He is alleged to have backed the RUF rebels who killed and mutilated many
thousands during that country's brutal 10-year conflict.

Nigeria does not have an extradition agreement with Sierra Leone but
offered Mr Taylor exile in the south-eastern city of Calabar on condition
that he stayed out of Liberian politics.

But as he left Liberia, he said: "God willing, I will be back."


The world's biggest peacekeeping operation is being sent to Liberia, but
they have not yet ventured outside the relative calm of the capital,
Monrovia.

Some 800 Bangladeshis are reinforcing the 3,500 West African troops already
in place.

The UN force, Unmil, is due to reach its full strength of 15,000 by next
March.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/3187452.stm

Published: 2003/10/13 12:33:11 GMT

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