ACTUALITE |
27.01.2002
Liberian president upset by Weah`s accusations
MONROVIA,
The friction between Liberian president Charles Taylor and African football superstar George Weah took a new twist on Saturday with Taylor reportedly upset that Weah would be leaving the country.
Liberian Information Minister Reginald Goodridge told AFP that Taylor was upset that former FIFA World Player of the Year Weah would be resettling in the United States after hitting out at the government of the West African nation.
"Just a few days ago, Weah and president Taylor talked and I am taken aback by his accusations against this government," Goodridge said.
"But George is welcome. This government harbours no jealousy for him."
Weah had said he would resign his post as technical director of the Liberian national squad and resettle in New York after the African Nations Cup tournament in Mali - and that he would only return home if there was a change of government.
In an interview with AFP in Bamako this week, Weah claimed he feared for his life in Liberia and accused Taylor`s government of targeting him for violence.
Weah also said his properties in the country had been repossessed by the government.
"They have already burnt my house down," Weah said. "They`ve repossessed my shops. It`s not safe, I don`t want something to happen to me before my children grow up. I`m afraid ... I don`t feel safe.
"The message of the president is that I am a target," he said.
But an AFP correspondent here said two shops and a night club owned by the player were still being run by his relatives.
Weah said he believed Taylor was jealous of his popularity.
"He doesn`t want to accept the fact that I am popular. He`s jealous. He thinks that I want to be president but I`m not a politician," Weah had said.
But Goodridge told AFP on Saturday that Taylor was "more upset and baffled than angry" over Weah`s remarks.
"We had no idea that George had political ambition. If he has he will have an opportunity to participate because ours is an open political system.
"Opposition political parties are operating freely in Liberia," said Goodridge, who observed that Weah made these remarks because at one time Taylor said he was going to restructure the Lone Star (Liberia`s nickname), and that was Weah`s way of hitting back.
"All his properties are here and intact. If he needs extra protection we will give it to him. George is an ambassador. We recognize his immunities and will grant him extra protection if this is what he wants."
Weah said in Bamako that he had enjoyed good relations with Liberia`s previous president Samuel Doe, and believed that had possibly weighed heavily against him.
Doe was assassinated in 1990, sparking a seven-year civil war.
Liberia have drawn both their matches so far in the African Nations Cup, against Mali and Algeria.
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