[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15657-15658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                LIBERIA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2003

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, after six years in power and over a 
decade as a regional warlord there are signs that Liberian President 
Charles Taylor, one of the worst violators of human rights in the world 
may be leaving power. On June 17, the Associated Press reported that 
the Liberian Defense Minister Daniel Chea committed Taylor to step down 
as part of a peace agreement with rebel groups fighting his government. 
Taylor's rule has been marked by human rights violations on a massive 
scale.
  Currently Liberia is enmeshed in a vicious civil war. According to 
the Associated Press, ``The past three years of rebellion have uprooted 
more than 1.3 million Liberians, sending hundreds of thousands of them 
fleeing into neighboring countries.'' His rule has not only brought 
death and destruction to Liberia but undermined stability throughout 
West Africa. He sponsored the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in 
Sierra Leone, a rebel group which conducted a gruesome campaign of 
murders,

[[Page 15658]]

rapes and kidnappings. The RUF became known for chopping off the arms, 
lips and hands of their victims. Taylor has supported rebel groups in 
Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Burkina Faso as well.
  Last week a U.N.-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone indicted 
Taylor accusing him of ``bearing the greatest responsibility for war 
crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international 
humanitarian law'' during Sierra Leone's civil war. As the brave men 
and women of our armed forces work to bring peace and stability to the 
peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq it is important to point to other 
victims of human rights abuses in other parts of the world that do not 
receive as much media attention. The Bush administration has spoken 
about the importance of promoting human rights and democracy, but has 
done little to support the aspirations for freedom on the part of the 
Liberians despite Liberia's deep historical ties to the United States. 
We can and should do all that we can to support the peaceful removal 
from power of Charles Taylor and ensure that he faces the charges 
brought against him by the U.N.-backed court.

                          ____________________