Online NewsHour: Liberia's Uneasy Peace


June 4, 2007 Former Liberian Leader Boycotts War Crimes Trial Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who has been charged with atrocities in Sierra Leone, did not show up for the start of his trial in The Hague on Monday, saying he would not get a fair hearing in the U.N.-backed court.






	Since 1980, Liberia has been through a cycle of bloody civil war and unstable governments.




	Liberia's connections to the U.S. reside at the core of the Liberian nation, which was founded in 1847 by freed American slaves.




	Two main rebel groups have fought Taylor for more than four years and now stand on the outskirts of the capital.




	Although they are charged with keeping the peace in Liberia, ECOWAS has traditionally been an economic and political force in West Africa.


	Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf becomes the first female elected president of the West African nation.




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