20 Jun 2006 |
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LAOLU AKANDE NEW YORK June 20, 2006 Liberia's former President Charles Taylor has been moved to The Hague, Netherlands, where he will now answer war crime charges against him under the auspices of the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone, as the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan calls for evidence and witnesses to facilitate the trial. Although Taylor's trial has now been moved to The Hague, the former president is still under the jurisdiction of the UN Special Court. A Spokesman for the UN Marie Okabe said today in New York that Taylor was flown out of Sierra Leone at 9:40 am local time to Netherlands. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan immediately welcomed the transfer calling all states to "cooperate with the Special Court with respect to Charles Taylor's trail, in particular by ensuring that evidence and witnesses are made available to the Special Court upon its request." According to him, Taylor's trial will mark a further victory in the struggle to end impunity and "contribute to reconciliation in Liberia and the restoration of peace of peace and stability in Liberia and Sierra Leone." Annan thanked the government of Netherlands for its willingness to host the Taylor trail, and also the UK for its readiness, subject to parliamentary approval to allow Taylor, if convicted serve sentence in the United Kingdom. Appealing to UN member-states to contribute generously to the Special Court's budget, the UN Secretary General noted his "determination to work together with the Special Court and relevant states to make future trail proceedings available, and to the people of West Africa in particular." A previous statement by the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone stated that Taylor's transfer to The Hague was in accordance with the order on Monday by the Special Court President Justice George Gelaga-King. A UN Security Council resolution had also been promptly agreed over the weekend to facilitate the transfer. According to the statement issued today "Mr. Taylor was taken by UN helicopter from the Special Court compound shortly after 9:am this morning and flown to Lungi International Airport, where he was transfered under heavy UN Security to a chartered commercial jet. He departed from Sierra Leone at 9:40 a.m local time." Speaking later with this reporter by phone, a spokesman for the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone, Peter Andersen said Taylor had access to a medical doctor with the provision by the court of a clinic staffed with doctors and nurses running a 24-hour schedule at the detention center where Taylor had been held since March. A doctor was also aboard the flight that transfered Taylor to The Hague. He disclosed that the Special Court also has a standby agreement with an hospital in Freetown, Choitram Hospital so that in case the clinic could not deal with a particular medical issue, the hospital would then be used. But he said this agreement was never necessary. According to Andersen, Taylor also had access to members of his family and lawyers. When asked to react to media reports that some of Taylor's associates including his Spiritual Adviser Dr. Kilari Paul were prevented from seeing him, Andersen stressed that only family members, confirmed as family members by security officials of the court, and his lawyers had express permission to see the former Liberian president. He said others could petition the Registrar of the court if they were interested in seeing Taylor. When asked if any such petition was received while Taylor was in Sierra Leone, Andersen said he did not know. He said Taylor's lawyers and the Special Court Defense team met with the former Liberian leader severally while he was held in detention in Sierra Leone. With the his transfer to The Hague, the former Liberian President will now face 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity regarding his role with the Revolutionary United Front, a rebel group active in the West African region and particularly during Sierra Leone's crisis. Liberia's president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, in a CNN live interview welcomed the transfer of Taylor away from the region adding that the new Liberian govt would now focus on rebuilding the country. There were fears that a Taylor trial in the West African region would both be a security risk and also distract the Liberian government. |
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