- The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, while on a visit to Sierra Leone, defended the decision to move the high-profile trial of ex-Liberian president Charles Taylor to facilities in Europe.
A UN-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone indicted Taylor for war crimes in that country’s ten year civil war, including supplying weapons in return for so-called “blood diamonds”.
Taylor was arrested on the Nigeria/Cameroon border in March and hauled to the Special Court facility in Freetown. But court and UN officials concerned that his presence in Sierra Leone could pose a threat to regional security opted to shift his trial to facilities in The Hague, Netherlands.
Annan on Monday defended that decision, saying: “We wanted Taylor to be tried in an environment which is free from the sort of tensions and conflict we see in this region.”
According to Annan, a West Africa Taylor trial could destabilise fragile peace in the sub-region where a number of countries including Sierra Leone and Liberia are recovering from years of brutal civil war.
“Taylor was based in Liberia, Taylor was active within the sub region and there was a judgment it is best to try him in a place away from this sub-region,” Annan said.
If Taylor is found guilty on any of seven indictments, the UK government has offered to jail the charismatic former president and rebel leader in a British prison.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
front page
| news
| countries
| archive
| currencies
| news alerts login
| about afrol News
| contact
| advertise
| español