Bush extends asset freeze on Liberia's Taylor

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush yesterday extended by one year a freeze on the assets of former Liberian president Charles Taylor and members of his regime and family.

"Charles Taylor is today standing trial in The Hague by the Special Court for Sierra Leone," Bush said in an executive order renewing a freeze he first imposed in July 2004.

"However, stability in Liberia is still fragile. The actions and policies of Charles Taylor and others have left a legacy of destruction that still has the potential to undermine Liberia's transformation and recovery," Bush said.

The former president, once one of Africa's most feared warlords, has pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including murder, rape and using child soldiers during the 1991-2001 civil war in Sierra Leone.

Up to 200,000 people were killed in the Sierra Leone conflict, with rebels mutilating thousands more, cutting off arms, legs, ears or noses.

Taylor allegedly armed, trained and controlled the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), responsible for many of the mutilations, in exchange for still-unknown amounts of diamonds used to fund warfare.

Taylor, who was president of Liberia from August 1997 before yielding to massive international pressure and stepping down in August 2003, has denied all the charges.

Taylor, 59, the first African head of state to stand trial before an international court for war crimes, has argued that he cannot get a fair proceeding.

"Today, Liberia is engaged in a peaceful transition to a democratic order under the administration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf," whose government is not targeted by the order, Bush said.