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 WASHINGTON (AP) - Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said Tuesday her impoverished nation can't move beyond its years of civil strife until exiled former President Charles Taylor is given his day in court.
"I wish we had the luxury of time on this issue, but it has become an impediment to our being able to move forward — to being able to pursue our development agenda," Sirleaf said outside the White House after a meeting with President Bush.
Sirleaf, the continent's first democratically elected female head of state, has asked Nigeria to hand over Taylor, who has been indicted by a U.N. tribunal on charges of committing crimes against humanity. Taylor is accused of aiding and directing a Sierra Leone rebel movement and trading guns and gems with insurgents infamous for mutilating civilian victims.
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