Former Liberian president takes stand in war crimes trial
Originally published by China View, July 14, 2009
BRUSSELS, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Former Liberian President Charles Taylor took the stand for the first time on Tuesday at his landmark trial at The Hague, dismissing the war crimes charges against him as lies.
"It is very, very, very unfortunate that the prosecution's disinformation, misinformation, lies and rumors would associate me with such titles" as a murderer or rapist, Taylor told the judges of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague, the Netherlands.
"I am none of these. I have never been and never will be, whether they think so or not," he said.
Taylor, 61, served as Liberian president from 1997 to 2003. He is the first African leader to be tried by an international tribunal, facing 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war.
He is accused of orchestrating or supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in neighboring Sierra Leone in committing murder, rape, conscription of child soldiers and other atrocities so as to get control of the country's diamond riches.
Dressed in a dark grey suit and wearing dark glasses, Taylor denied that he was involved in the atrocities in Sierra Leone, and said he would not allow such terrible things to happen.
"We heard that people were getting killed and women were getting killed, and we could not understand it. I could not understand it because we would not tolerate these things in Liberia," he said.
"I would have never, never ever permitted such (atrocities) to continue if I had anything to do with it," he said.
Taylor said it would have been "virtually impossible" for him to order anyone to carry out such atrocities because he was too occupied with running his own country and he never received any diamonds from the RUF.
"Never, ever did I receive, whether it was in mayonnaise, coffee or whatever jar, any diamonds from the RUF," he said. "It is a lie, a diabolical lie."
Courtenay Griffiths, Taylor's lawyer, said the former president's testimony would set the record straight, and he urged the judges to give Taylor a fair hearing and not to be overwhelmed by the parade of misery presented by the prosecution.
The testimony is due to last six to eight weeks and a final verdict in the case is only expected in a year's time.
Taylor went into exile after being indicted in 2003 and was arrested in Nigeria in March 2006. His trial at The Hague began in June 2007.
© Copyright 2009 Xinhua News Agency
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