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Subject: Nigerian: U.N. Vote Seen as 'Beginning of the End' of Liberia's War<By Don
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 92 09:18:27 EST
Message-ID: <29.1992Nov22.091827@AmeriCast.com>

Nigerian: U.N. Vote Seen as 'Beginning of the End' of Liberia's
War<By Don Oberdorfer and Andy Mosher<Washington Post Staff Writ-
ers<

A unanimous U.N.  Security Council resolution imposing an arms
embargo on warring parties in Liberia is likely to be "the begin-
ning of the end" of one of Africa's most brutal civil wars, ac-
cording to a leading regional figure who has been dealing with
the crisis.

Nigerian Foreign Minister I.O.S. Nwachukwu, who stopped briefly
in Washington on Friday following Thursday's U.N. vote, predicted
that Liberian rebel leader Charles Taylor will lose heart because
of the strong U.N. stand against his activities. Beyond the prac-
tical effect of the arms embargo, which could dry up the flow of
weapons believed to have been entering Liberia until recently
through the neighboring Ivory Coast, the vote will "send the sig-
nal" that the world community and all West Africa is opposed to
Taylor's methods, Nwachukwu said in an interview.

"All of these should turn around Mr. Taylor's perception of the
kind of authority he wields or the sympathy he thinks he has," he
said.

Since Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia began its cam-
paign to topple the government of then-President Samuel K. Doe in
late 1989, tens of thousands of people have died, including an
estimated 3,000 since fighting flared again in mid-October. In
late October, five American nuns were shot to death near their
convent outside Monrovia, the capital. Their killings were widely
attributed to Taylor's rebels, who control most of the country.

Nigeria's military government has strongly backed an interim
government of Liberia installed in 1990 after Doe was toppled.
The wealthiest and most influential nation in West Africa, Ni-
geria plays the leading role in manning and arming a seven-nation
West African peace-keeping force defending the interim govern-
ment. The regional force, created under the auspices of the 16-
member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),
"didn't go there to fight Charles Taylor, but to prevent anyone
from taking Liberia by force of arms," said Nwachukwu.

"If we failed to settle the Liberian question, the entire West
African subregion would be in total chaos, because there would be
many more armed rebellions, many more Charles Taylors," he said.

If the U.N. action induces Taylor to comply with a 1991 peace
agreement signed by Liberia's warring factions, Nwachukwu said, a
cease-fire could be in place within a week and democratic
presidential elections held within nine months. Numerous past
cease-fires have failed, however.

The U.N. resolution adopted Thursday night had strong backing
from the United States, which has supported the West African
peace-keeping force and opposed the rebels. Nwachukwu ack-
nowledged that the arms embargo might be difficult to enforce be-
cause "it's very difficult to police borders anywhere in the
world." But he said "all of ECOWAS is united against Charles
Taylor's campaign."

In addition to the embargo - which would be applied against all
local parties, but not against the peace keepers - the resolution
directs U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to send a
special representative to report on the bloody civil war.

Nwachukwu, a major general who has been Nigeria's foreign minis-
ter for five years, said the U.N.  backing for the regional ef-
forts to end the Liberian fighting will encourage Africa to deal
with its problems before they get out of hand. African nations
have been frequently criticized for relative passivity in the
face of national and regional crises.

If an effort equivalent to that in Liberia had been made in the
Horn of Africa some time ago, the foreign minister maintained,
Somalia would not have deteriorated to the state of famine and
disorder afficting it today.

Regarding his government's plan to restore civilian rule in Ni-
geria after nearly eight years under a military regime, Nwachukwu
said "we in the administration have been just as disappointed as
others" that the process had been delayed. President Ibrahim Ba-
bangida last week canceled presidential elections scheduled for
next month, citing alleged widespread fraud in recent primaries.

Opposition critics said the delay proved their contentions that
the military had no intention of surrendering power. But
Nwachukwu said, "It would be absolutely unpatriotic to hand over
(power) in chaos."

New elections are planned for June, and Nwachukwu said that he
was "absolutely confident" that the military would give up power
and that "the politicians have learned their lessons."<02:30 11-
22C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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