Pressure Grows on Bush to Cancel Meeting with Obsanjo
By Douglas Farah
A growing bipartisan chorus in Congress is demanding that President Bush cancel his meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, with Nigerian president Obasanjo, given Obsanjo's complicity in the escape of Charles Taylor.
The best line of the day was provided by Obsanjo's spokesman, Femi Fani-Kayode: "It was not for us to take him back," he said of Nigeria's failure to keep Taylor in custody. "The onus was on the Liberian government. He was a guest of ours, and you do not pick up your guests and take them anywhere." Whew, that clears it up! Seems to apply even if the guest has an outstanding indictment on 17 counts of crimes against humanity and Interpol arrest warrants.
Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif and leader of the movement to bring Taylor to justice, was the first to call on Bush to cancel tomorrow's informal summit. Nigeria reportedly has let a mass murderer with alleged links to al-Qaeda slip out the back door. President Bush should cancel tomorrows scheduled meeting with President Obasanjo, Royce said. He also warned that any country that gave Taylor sanctuary would face serious sanctions.
Sen. Barak Obama, D-Illinois, and Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ and chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa, joined the call. "There have been persistent questions about the level of security provided by the Nigerian government to ensure that Charles Taylor didn't haveunchecked ability to travel," said Smith. "As a result a warlord with ties to Al-Qaeda and terrorism is now on the loose."
Human Rights Watch says Mr Taylor's disappearance is a "disgrace" and "brings into question President Obasanjo's commitment to peace and security for the people of West Africa, the reason he allegedly took Taylor in the first place."
The White House hinted it would drop the meeting. The full blog is here.
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