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reply posted on 28-3-2006 @ 03:48 PM by Hellmutt
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Here are some of Douglas Farah's comments on the Taylor escape. Click the link to read the full version. I wonder what Bush is going to say to
Obasanjo tomorrow when they meet.
Douglas Farah: In Choreographed Move, Taylor
Escapes
Mar 28 2006
Like a bad novel, Taylor’s escape a foregone conclusion when Obasanjo suddenly announced that Liberia could come and get Taylor. Obasanjo, who now,
in classic Big Man African fashion, is ordering an “investigation” into how Taylor escaped, withdrew all of the guards from Taylor’s compound.
It was a clear that was Taylor’s signal to slip away. The U.S. did nothing but express alarm. The UN was paralyzed. The British ran for cover.
It matters little now what Bush says to Obasanjo after the two meet tomorrow. Obsanjo’s “investigation,” when he had been warned months ago,
with specific names, of the senior people in his security structure that Taylor was paying off, is a rather poor joke. The horse is so far gone, the
barn door so far open, that there is really nothing to say. Obasanjo should be embarassed to show his face, but he is not. Bush should shun him, but
he will not.
It has to be one of the sorriest chapters in U.N., British and Nigerian supposed efforts to bring justice to the millions who have suffered at the
hands of butchers like Taylor. And it sad day for West Africa, having to face the prospect of more murder and mayhem from the man who has done it all
before.
[edit on 2006/4/23 by Hellmutt]
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reply posted on 29-3-2006 @ 10:56 AM by Hellmutt
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I just heard that Charles Taylor has been arrested in Nigeria. He is now being sent to Liberia.
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reply posted on 1-4-2006 @ 08:48 PM by Hellmutt
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Taylor was arrested when he tried to cross the border into Cameroon in a landrover. In the trunk were bags full of dollars and he was wearing a white
suit. Just like a scene from some movie. Sierra Leone are nervous about having Charles Taylor around and wants to send him to The Hague instead. His
son Charles Taylor Jr. was arrested at the Miami International Airport today.
New York Times: A Master Plan Drawn in Blood
Published: April 2, 2006
Issouf Sanogo/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images
According to local legend, recounted by the Africa scholar Stephen Ellis in his book "The Mask of Anarchy," a baby born in Monrovia, Liberia's
capital, miraculously spoke English straight from the womb. It told its mother that a rain of death would fall Christmas Day, and that it did not want
to live in such a vicious world, and promptly drew its last breath.
On Dec. 25, in a driving rain, the news that Charles Taylor had attacked Liberia reached Monrovia. As the child predicted, a rain of death soon
drenched West Africa. It would last 14 years.
Christophe Simon/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images
CHILD SOLDIER Eight-year-olds with automatic rifles were fighting for Charles Taylor in Liberia in 1996
Click the link to read the full New York Times article...
THISDAY ONLINE: Taylor’s Son Arrested in US
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reply posted on 1-4-2006 @ 09:15 PM by Hellmutt
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Btw, this thread is not restricted. Feel free to post in it. At some point I´ll grow tired of being the only poster here and abandon it myself. This
is an old thread but it´s not yesterdays news. This is all happening now.
The topic is Charles Taylor, Viktor Bout and Weapons trafficking.
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reply posted on 9-4-2006 @ 11:55 AM by Hellmutt
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Charles Taylor might end up in Sweden or Austria.
NCTimes.com: Sweden, Austria considering request to imprison
Charles Taylor after trial
Sweden and Austria have received requests to imprison former Liberian President Charles Taylor if he is convicted of war crimes by a U.N.-backed
court, government officials said Wednesday. A positive answer by the Scandinavian country would remove a key obstacle to transfer Taylor's trial from
the U.N.-backed Special Court in Sierra Leone to The Hague, Netherlands. Several diplomats at the United Nations told the AP on Tuesday that no
country wants to have Taylor for 20 or 30 years -- either in jail or in exile.
I found this part about his son interesting as I know Soj usually call him "Chuckie". I wonder if this
is his real nickname or something Soj invented... 
Charles McArthur Emmanuel, 29, also known as Charles "Chuckie" Taylor Jr., was arrested last week at Miami International Airport.
But before he (himself, not the son) eventually goes to prison in Sweden or Austria (?), it looks like he will go to The Hague. Maybe they will give
him Slobby´s old cell?
 The Columbus Dispatch: Holland may get
warlord’s trial
April 09, 2006
U.N. Security Council members agree that the war-crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor should be moved from Sierra Leone to the
Netherlands, and they could adopt a resolution this week to allow the transfer, the council president said.
China’s U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said the Security Council was still debating several issues, including who should pay the costs. He scheduled
closed-door consultations Monday on the draft resolution and said he expected it to be adopted early this week.
"I think there is agreement that he is going to be moved to The Hague," Wang said Friday. "Now, it’s only the technical side, how the resolution
will look." Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 10-4-2006 @ 07:57 AM by Ulvetann
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Going to jail in Sweden? Just what we need. Another warcriminal in a scandinavian prison...
I cannot find any reason why scandinavians choose to incarcerate these evil entities in our very liberal prison-systems. Is this what I pay my taxes
for? Housing war-criminals/powermongers/über-pricks?
I should make a thread about scandinavian prisons, vs. their 'guests'. Aka. an inventory list. 
Why can't them be stored in an Myanmarian prison? I wouldn't mind investing some of my hard-earned, obviously wasted, money on promoting the
Burmesian Junta's fashionable inn's, -and their guards' being properly educated in the use of their rattan-sticks. Why wrap this guy in cotton,
when we can beat him warm.
[edit on 10-4-2006 by Ulvetann]
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reply posted on 23-4-2006 @ 07:48 AM by Hellmutt
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I heard the UN asked Denmark to put him in one of their prisons if he is convicted. And I think they said yes to it as well. Just what I need, my tax
money to be used for feeding and entertaining one of the world's worst warcriminals... 
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reply posted on 18-5-2006 @ 02:01 AM by Hellmutt
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Enter Pat Robertson and President Jammeh
Gambia's President Jammeh is linked to Viktor Bout and Charles Taylor. Plus a little surprise, Pat Robertson was/is business partner with Charles
Taylor and President Jammeh! I wonder if the trial of Charles Taylor is going to reveal anything interesting? There are some more stuff about Viktor
Bout in that article as well. Click to read the whole thing.
allAfrica.com: President Jammeh's Links to International Crime (Part 1 of 3)
May 15, 2006
As the Gambia Journal continues with its series of investigative reports on the suspected corrupt deals by the Jammeh regime, we, in this article,
expose some of President Jammeh's most hair-raising connections with a motley crowd of hustlers, mobsters, ultra-conservative Republican Party
politicians, and notorious criminal arms and diamond dealers.
Mr. Lissouba looked at the aircraft and was aghast to see that the aircraft indeed carried the flag and seal of the Central African Republic. He flew
in to a rage when he got to know that the plane in fact flew in with the Gambian delegates headed by Vice President Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy. Mr.
Lissouba wanted to seize hold of the plane there and then. It was only the diplomatic intervention of President Bongo that saved the plane from being
impounded.
The aircraft had had a nebulous history. Before being registered in The Gambia as the IL-62 (C5-GNM) [Gambia], it had been CCCP-86511 [USSR], RA-86511
[Russia], 3D-RTI [Swaziland], and finally, TL-ACL [Central African Republic]). In the Central Africa Republic it had been used to supply weapons to
Savimbi's rebel army, then active in Angola, and combatants fighting in the nonsense civil wars that then raged in Liberia and Sierra Leone,
returning with precious but illegal gems of diamonds for the lucrative international market. The aircraft and its owner, Mr. Victor Bout, have become
the ultimate icons of what has become known as the internationally deplored "Blood Diamonds" affairs.
As the trial of Charles Taylor on war crimes starts unfolding, Gambian observers are holding their breath in anticipation of what Mr. Taylor may
divulge on his dealings with President Jammeh. Their lines have crossed too many times for observers not to believe so. It was not only Bout's
connections that the two West African "leaders" shared. Taylor was known to be a business partner with Christian Coalition founder Pat
Robertson. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
The article promises more details on the Pat Robertson link in part 2.
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reply posted on 18-5-2006 @ 02:08 AM by twitchy
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reply posted on 18-5-2006 @ 09:07 AM by Ulvetann
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What a world. -I agree.
On the flipside, 200.000 AK-47's for the cost of 500$ each, I would surely figure out how to 'loose' them too. 
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reply posted on 18-5-2006 @ 11:13 AM by Hellmutt
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Pat Robertson
...sold his soul to the devil.
Defending the Indefensible President of Liberia
Robertson has criticized President Bush's call for Taylor to step down, has praised Taylor as a "fellow Baptist," and has accused the State
Department of being the real cause of Liberia's problems. To quote Robertson's own words:
So we're undermining a Christian, Baptist president to bring in Muslim rebels to take over the country. And how dare the president of the United
States say to the duly elected president of another country, 'You've got to step down.'
So why is Pat Robertson such a big fan of Liberia's President Charles Taylor? What you won't hear much about on Robertson's shows is the fact that
he has a huge financial interest in Liberia. Under Taylor's regime in 1999, Robertson negotiated an $8 million investment in a gold mining
venture.
Fortunately, Pat Robertson is very much alone in this position - not even other conservative Christian leaders in America who might otherwise be
inclined to sympathize with an African Christian politician are joining the defense of Charles Taylor. Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist
Convention's public policy arm, has stated that "I would say that Pat Robertson is way out on his own, in a leaking life raft, on this
one."
Related ATS Threads:
Pat Robertson says kill all UFO believers
Pat Robertson calls Muslems "Satanic"
Robertson Blames Demonic Power for Islamic Zeal
Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson´s view on current events: Kill Chavez and Sharon got what he
deserved
Related links:
CBS News: Pat Robertson Slams Bush On Liberia
Washington Post: Pat Robertson's Gold
Washington Post: Pat Robertson and His
Business Buddies
Pat Robertson Engages in Illegal Mining Operation in Liberia
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reply posted on 23-5-2006 @ 05:12 AM by Hellmutt
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The Director of the West African Network for Peace Building (Wanep), Pamela Cole says there are at least 630 million illegal weapons in circulation in
the world. At least 8 million of these weapons are in West Africa. At least 630 million illegal weapons!  And that's just the illegal
weapons.
Much of the weapons used in the civil wars of Sierra Leone and Liberia are now in the Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The UN are now in process of
disarming people there ahead of an upcoming election in October (good luck). Related ATS thread about the situation in Cote d'Ivoire:
Ivory Coast Civil War May Erupt - Annan Wants Thousands Of Reinforcements.
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reply posted on 6-6-2006 @ 07:58 PM by Hellmutt
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Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and Charles Taylor
Gaddafi is not happy about Nigeria handing over Charles Taylor to face justice. He said: "This also means that every (African) head of state could
meet a similar fate—this sets a serious precedent". Gaddafi has good reasons to be worried. He trained Taylor (and others) and provided weapons and
ammuniton for the wars. Gaddafi's training camps in the desert have been described as "the Harvard and Yale of a whole generation of African
revolutionaries".
Douglas Farah: Why Gaddafi is so Afraid of Charles
Taylor
Jun 1, 2006
Gadaffi, more than any other leader except perhaps Blaise Campoare in Burkina Faso, has good reason to fear Taylor’s testimony. It was Gaddafi who
trained not only Taylor and his thugs for Liberia, but also Foday Sankoh and other leaders of the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone, Laurent
Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Campaore’s troops who assassinated president Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso, and on and on.
But it was not just the training Gaddafi provided. He provided the tons of weapons and ammuniton that stoked the wars that claimed hundreds of
thousands of lives and destroyed most of an entire sub-region that is still reeling from his ego-driven destruction.
He established the World Revolutionary Headquarters in the desert where he trained would-be revolutionaries from Latin America, Africa and Asia. The
facilities were, in the words of Prof. Stephen Ellis, “the Harvard and Yale of a whole generation of African revolutionaries.”
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reply posted on 7-6-2006 @ 06:41 PM by Hellmutt
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The UAE And Viktor Bout
A group in the U.S. Congress has sent a letter to the UAE pressing them for accountability on several important issues. The letter also asked UAE for
assurances that Viktor Bout would not be allowed to reappear i.e. by using different companies. They are worried that advanced US weaponry might go to
"the enemy"...
Douglas Farah: A Hardy Ban in Congress
Press for UAE Accountability
Jun 6, 2006
A small but determined bipartisian group in Congress continues to press the United Arab Emirates for accountability on several important fronts. In a
recent letter to UAE ambassador Al Asri Al Dhahri, the group asked for further information on UAE’s efforts crack down on the use of diamonds and
gold by terrorist and criminal groups, the operations of Viktor Bout, monitoring hawalas and other informal value transfer systems and money
laundering.
[---]
“We believe that weaknesses in the UAE’s financial defenses tie directly to the ability of nuclear proliferators and terrorist operatives to
successfully operate in the UAE,” the letter said.
[---]
On Viktor Bout, the letter noted that the UAE has reportedly taken some action to keep Bout’s aircraft from operating there, but asked for further
assurances that he would not be allowed to reappear using different companies. “The US exports its most advanced weaponry to the UAE on the
assumption it will not go to its enemies. This assumption is undermined by the tolerance of arms traffickers such as Bout,” the letter said.
Click the link to read the full
article...
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reply posted on 8-6-2006 @ 03:29 PM by Hellmutt
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Gus van Kouwenhoven
Dutch business magnate Gus van Kouwenhoven was yesterday sentenced to 8 years in prison for selling weapons to Charles Taylor. The prosecutors
demanded a 20-year prison sentence and a fine of 450,000 euros. He got much less...
allAfrica.com: Gus Gets 8 Years
June 8, 2006
The first of several individuals to be convicted of crimes related to Liberia's brutal civil war is the Dutch business magnate Gus van Kouwenhoven. A
Dutch court yesterday found the 63-year old timber merchant guilty of breaking a UN arms embargo on Liberia. He was sentenced to eight years in prison
but was acquitted of war crimes charges. The court said it could not gather sufficient evidence to prove that the Dutchman, who ran a chain of
businesses, including the Hotel Africa in Liberia, had any links to any of the many atrocities committed during Liberia's 14-year civil war. He was
persistently reported to have sold weapons to ex-President Charles Taylor.
According to a UN report submitted to The Hague, van Kouwenhoven, known in Liberia as "Mr Gus," formed part of Charles Taylor's "inner circle."
"Militias formed by the Dutchman's timber companies are alleged to have participated in massacres of civilians where even babies were not spared,"
a prosecution statement said. "The weapons used by the militias to commit these war crimes are alleged to have been supplied by the
Dutchman." Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 15-6-2006 @ 10:21 AM by Hellmutt
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UK has agreed to jail Taylor if he is convicted. A trial in The Hague and prison in the UK seems to be his future.
BBC: UK agrees to jail Charles Taylor
15 June 2006
The British government has agreed that former Liberian leader Charles Taylor could serve a prison sentence in the UK, if he is convicted of war
crimes. This paves the way for his trial to start in The Hague, after other European countries refused to host him. A UN-backed tribunal in Sierra
Leone, where he is in prison, wants the trial to be moved due to security fears.
Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front rebels were notorious for mutilating civilians, by hacking off their arms or legs with machetes. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 20-6-2006 @ 04:18 PM by Hellmutt
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Charles Taylor landed in the Hague a couple of hours ago. Mrs Taylor said that the case against Charles Taylor is politically motivated and that the
Sierra Leoneans did the cutting off of arms and legs themselves...
BBC: Taylor flies in for Hague trial
20 June 2006
Liberian ex-President Charles Taylor has arrived in the Netherlands where he is to be tried on war crimes charges.
[---]
Mrs Taylor said that the case against her husband was politically motivated. "There is not basis for the charges that have been levied on Mr
Taylor," she said. "The cutting off of arms and legs of the Sierra Leoneans was done by Sierra Leoneans themselves. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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reply posted on 22-6-2006 @ 09:54 PM by Hellmutt
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Taylor is currently held incommunicado at The Hague. He is not allowed to receive or make telephone calls.
allAfrica.com: At the Hague: Taylor Not Allowed Phone Calls
June 23, 2006
Charles Taylor is currently held incommunicado at The Hague, Karim Khan, defense counsel for the accused revealed at a Special Court status conference
Wednesday.
Khan, while addressing the conference submitted his client was transferred to The Hague "precipitously." The defense counsel complained that he was
not even contacted by the Special Court when his client was taken away to The Hague. "I have not been officially contacted by the court whether my
client arrived safely in The Hague. I have been asked by his family members but my response was I don't know," Khan submitted. "I only saw my
client arriving in The Hague when I tuned to CNN," he said. Khan revealed that he has not been able to get access to his client since his transfer to
The Hague Tuesday. Taylor's defense council revealed he called The ICC in The Hague demanding to speak to his client but was refused. "I was told
sorry, Taylor is not allowed to receive or make telephone calls," Khan said. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
Good. Taylor still has many friends and supporters. He also has many enemies and he could be dangerous to some people as well. It's important to make
sure that he doesn't escape again and that no one assassinate him.
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reply posted on 29-9-2006 @ 08:30 PM by Hellmutt
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Update On Operation Firedump
On page three I posted this post. regarding the Operation Firedump. Now there
is an updated list of Viktor Bout planes.
A quote from the original TYR: Operation Firedump
All bloggers are invited to mirror this and help land them on the fire dump
TYR: Firedump: Update
September 24, 2006
It's time to shake up the embers of Operation Firedump, our effort to monitor compliance with the UNSC asset freeze list on the Viktor Bout
companies.
Since December, 2005, the original list of aircraft shows a few changes.
Click the link to see the list...
...and keep your eyes open for these planes!
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reply posted on 21-10-2006 @ 04:16 AM by Hellmutt
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UN Voted To Retain Liberian Diamonds Ban
A ban on Liberian diamonds was imposed by the UN in May 2001. Current Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has asked the UN to end the ban, as
they need the money. The UN Security Council has now voted "nope" regarding lifting of the ban. They say Liberia need to do more to comply with
rules to confirm the origin of gems. The whole point of the ban is to make sure that diamond sales is not being used to fuel wars ( Charles Taylor
<-> Viktor Bout). Liberia is now trying to comply with the regulations as soon as impossible...
BBC: UN retains Liberian diamonds ban
21 October 2006
The United Nations Security Council has voted to retain a ban on Liberian diamond exports, used in the past to finance the country's civil war. A UN
panel said that Liberia needed to do more to comply with international rules on confirming the origin of gems. The measure is intended to ensure
diamond sales are not used to finance conflict.
Trade in illegal diamonds has been blamed for fuelling wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone in recent years. The UN imposed the ban in May 2001. Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
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