Charles Taylor’s pretty persuasive when he talks. If he’s not sure of something, he admits it. And this makes it seem like he is committed to telling the court the truth. Here’s one of many examples:
Of course there were our good friends the United States had observers through IFES, I think I said it before. It maybe haven’t the real meaning wrong, but I think it is the international something for electoral systems, IFES.
But often he’s not telling the truth. And I think we should be calling him out on these lies when they contradict well-established facts. So here’s one pretty blatant example I just came across.
As background:
Boima Fahnbulleh was a former Doe minister who fled Liberia when he feared Doe might turn against him. Fahnbulleh was a friend of Taylor’s, and helped him in a number of ways after his escape from the Massachusetts prison. They united around a common goal: getting rid of Doe. Both Fahbulleh and Taylor received training in Libya, and both had political credentials. When 100 Fahnbulleh supporters arrived in Libya, asking for the same training Taylor’s guys had gotten, the Libyans agreed. This made Taylor nervous. Fahnbulleh was suddenly a rival.
Fahnbulleh’s confidante, Joe Wiley, was also a rival, for similar reasons. 13 Wiley supporters came to Libya to train, though at the time Wiley was in Ghana. Taylor told Wiley’s supporters that Wiley had deserted them. The Libyans were getting annoyed with the Liberian power play. They asked the 13 guys to leave. 10 of them did. Taylor asked the Ghanaian government to arrest them and Wiley. Ghana abided, and the 11 were imprisoned for 7 months.
So knowing all of this (which I got from Mark Huband’s The Liberian Civil War), let’s see what Taylor had to say.
Last week Taylor’s lawyer asks him to talk about the people he ran against in the 1997 presidential race. Fahnbulleh was one of the candidates. Taylor gets to Fahnbulleh, and the lawyer interrupts him:
Q. Pause there for a minute, Mr. Taylor, because earlier you told us – last week, in fact – that Fahnbulleh had also had a group of Liberians training in Libya. Do you remember telling us that?
A. That is correct, yes.
Q. Just pausing there for a minute, what had happened to them?
A. They left Libya and I mentioned that two of them remained with me, Paul Nimley and – I have forgotten the other boy’s name right now – it will come to me. Putu Major. But the rest of them men–
Q. Who?
A. Putu Major. That is in the records. It is in my evidence before the Court. The rest of them I do not know what happened to them, but they left. To the best of my knowledge they left, but those two stayed with me.
I think most people would agree that Wiley’s guys were Fahnbulleh’s guys. Taylor is saying he doesn’t know what happened to the guys, when in fact he does know. Some of them went to Ghana, and Taylor had them arrested.
I think there are some pro-Taylor West Africans reading this blog, and I welcome disagreements from you all.
Shelby why do you believe Mark Huband over Charles Taylor? Huband has it wrong. It was actually Boima Fahnbulleh who was instrumental in getting Charles Taylor arrested in Ghana. Charles Taylor continues to do a masterful job on the witness stand. Brenda Hollis is in for a shock when she tries to cross examine him. One problem for the Defense is that two key people who may have been witness list for Mr. Taylor have died suddenly over the last two week. Former Foreign Minister Mrs. Musuline Cooper and former Land, Mines & Energy Minister Jenkins Dunbar.
To the above commentator. I do not think the question to Ms Grossman should be " why do you believe …" . I rather in a rational thinking manner would ask: 1. what are the facts? 2. Who and what authority is Mark Huband. 3. Was he there? and 4. Direct us to the arrest records and who exactly are the "most people" . Simple questions for one who is truthful isn't it? .
Could you ask Mr Huband to confirm the gist of the "third most senior" person in Liberia Honourable Joseph Marzah for us. He says when he wears a suit(and I'm quoting him)'you will think that I am a minister' . I mean this man in the African setting is what we call a "gateman" (I'm assuming Ms Grossman would be familiar with that term having spent considerable amount of time in Africa). He must really be thrilled to get on a plane and fly to Europe when that ticket money would have paid the school fees of more than 10 kids in either Liberia or Sierra Leone. Instead it is spent on an illiterate who does not know the difference b/w Europe and America. Shame . Then there is Ms Dufka, a 'neutral'' expert' witness who coincidentally works or has worked for the prosecution and coached (sorry interviewed) witnesses and personally thinks Mr Taylor is- trial inconclusive- guilty . Joke . Lastly(for now), we have an amputee who can hear people speaking the Liberian English from a ridiculous distance. Pity what the power of $50(fifty dollars )can do to people . Shelby, I'm too certain you lived like a queen spending dollars in Liberia. Thus, undoubtedly and truthfully know what I am talking about. Imagine, even Mr Blah getting tiny crumbs of dollars here and there . Where has dignity traveled to ?
Anonymous,
I agree with you. To give you some background Mark Huband was the first international journalist behind N.P.F.L. lines when the revolution started. He gave the movement a lot of positive publicity at first. However when the West's attitude toward Charles Taylor changed Mark Huband jumped on their band wagon. I guess the major British newspaper he worked for at the time wanted only negative reports on Mr. Taylor which would sell more newspapers.
True talk Aki, In other words, the man is a piper who plays for the highest bidder. See, I am hoping you're-like me- not proclaiming Mr Taylor innocent but trying to get some point across to some already non-redeemable biased minds who do not talk about their "own kind's" part in the Liberian conflict in particular and the African, Latin American and Arab problems in general. These people are the leeches sucking us, the cockroaches infecting us and the diseased rats plaguing us . We our selves must rise to the occasion and non-entities such as this gentleman and his ilks would be of great irrelevance . They ( prosecution ) pay a few dollar coins and the feeble minded ones sell their souls.Bet I can pay a trailer trash in Detroit to testify to seeing George Bush in Sierra Leone . True or False?
Shelby,
In a recent AP article David Crane does not seem as sure of himself as he once was about the case against Mr. Taylor. He states that Mr. Taylor is a "Good Communicator" but is not telling the whole stroy. He also mentions that Mr. Taylor will not be acquitted of all charges. This is a far cry from his previous statements were he said there was a solid case on all counts.. I think if David Crane had it to do all over again he would not have indicted Mr. Taylor. Obviously he did not have enough evidence when the indictiment was written but he was confidant that evidence would be found before the trial. This unfortunately for him and the prosecutors has not been the case.
Lastly, Shelby you being an American. I am surprised that you have said nothing about the facts that prosecution witnesses have had their rent paid, children school fees paid, medical bill paid etc. while waiting to testify. You know very well this would be unacceptable in the US and never allowed to happen.
Correction, David Crane said Taylor was a great communicator
Aki,
In response to your latest comment:
-I have talked about witness compensation. See this post: http://allabuja.blogspot.com/2009/07/5-things-you-dont-know-about-charles_12.html
-I read the AP article you mention, http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/07/31/world/AP-EU-War-Crimes-Charles-Taylor.html. You say "He also mentions that Mr. Taylor will not be acquitted of all charges." I don't see that anywhere in the article.
-Shelby
To the anonymous commenter,
Mark Huband is a journalist who reported from Liberia in the late 1980s, and then later in the war. Obviously I am unable to direct you to arrest records, but I have found Huband's work to be reliable. He doesn't quote any anonymous sources in his book, The Liberian Civil War. He only quotes people who spoke on the record. I think this lends a lot of credibility to his work.
Also, I have written several times on my blog about the issue of witness compensation. See the link I just posted above for the most recent example of this.
Thanks for your comments.
Best,
Shelby
Shelby,
Sorry it was not the AP article but the Daily Sun http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/showtime/2009/july/31/showtime-31-07-2009-006.htm in which David Crane made the statement which I paraphrased.
Obviously YOU would find Mark Huband's work to be reliable.I knew he was/is a journalist but was harping on about his authoritativeness ( Did he see the arrest records). On the issue of non anonymous sources I ask the question : Why don't you quote the source of that Ghana arrest information ? . Believe it or not I'm not a My Taylor fan but I'm also not a conjecture or mis-information tout either . Lastly, I would be grateful if you could answer the question posed to you- and we have seen the "five things" page- which is if the American justice system (prosecution in particular) pays witness' school fees, transport costs, medical bills, phone cards,rents, etc. without the person being on witness protection programme.
I don't know what we do in the US with regards to witness compensation for people who are not in witness protection. I'll look into it and get back to you. I'm traveling, but when I get home I'll post the page number in Huband's book where he talks about the arrests in Ghana.
Thanks,
Shelby