BFS Liberia plantation can't ship rubber

HARBEL, Liberia (June 25)—Bridgestone/Firestone's natural rubber plantation near Harbel continues to produce rubber for tires and latex for non-U.S. customers, a company spokesman said. But the firm can't ship the rubber because the port at Monrovia, Liberia's capital, is closed. A cease-fire in the current Liberian conflict ended late on June 24 when rebel forces entered the capital to do battle with the army of President Charles Taylor, leaving hundreds of thousands of refugees in their wake. Taylor has sworn he will never step down as president, despite being indicted for war crimes by a United Nations-sanctioned tribunal, according to news reports. Fighting has not reached Harbel, about 35 miles from Monrovia.