What Naomi Campbell should have said

Look, I was at this dinner in 1997, and I met Charles Taylor. I found him to be extraordinarily charming. And I’m not the only one. The same year of that dinner, in fact, former US President Jimmy Carter found Taylor so charming that he encouraged a little-known woman named Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to drop out of presidential elections to ensure Taylor would win (according to Sirleaf). And as the Court has seen, Taylor can be articulate and affable. I accepted the diamonds. I regret this. I’ve since read up about “blood diamonds,” and realize that I inadvertently played a role in the brutal extraction and exchange of one of Sierra Leone’s most precious natural resources. I’m sorry.

I am annoyed that I am forced to be here. My presence here today is a waste of the Court’s time and resources. And it is unfortunate that the media coverage I will be getting has not been afforded to other far more important witnesses, including the witness whose testimony I am interrupting: former interim RUF leader Issa Sesay. I hope those of you in the viewing area hang around for the rest of the afternoon to hear some of his testimony.