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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| Liberian President Says Coup Attempt Foiled |
| 2003-06-05 |
| Liberian President Charles Taylor said on Thursday he had arrested the West African country's vice-president after a failed coup attempt a day earlier when Taylor was in Ghana for peace talks. Well, he could always fall back on his gas station attendent career. Speaking to the nation on state radio after his return, Taylor also said Liberia's entire cabinet would be asked to resign at the end of next week to pave the way for a government of national unity once the talks have ended. "While the conference was going on in Accra certain actions were being perpetrated in Liberia ... the attempt was foiled because the general of the army refused," he said, adding that 30 senior government officials had been involved. Time for a purge! Taylor is a former rebel who started a brutal civil war in Liberia that cost 200,000 lives in the 1990s to end years of dictatorship. He won elections in 1997 but his former enemies launched a revolt in 2000. "Next week, I will be asking my entire cabinet to resign. That will lay open the road for government of national unity at the end of the (Ghana peace) process. We are going to remain on course," he said. |
| Posted by:Paul Moloney |