[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 2887-2889]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             CHARLES TAYLOR

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, in 1989, a little known thief and thug 
named Charles Taylor set in motion a series of events which have thrown 
the impoverished nation of Liberia into chaos and its neighboring 
nations into genocide. From Ivory Coast he launched a successful coup 
against Liberia's sitting President, Samuel Doe, plunging Liberia into 
15 years of civil war. We are still dealing with the fallout of that 
war today.
  The coup, notably, followed after Charles Taylor had escaped from a 
Massachusetts prison in 1985, where he was about to be extradited for 
embezzlement.
  Groups on all sides of the Liberian conflict have committed 
atrocities, including widespread rape, massacres, mutilation and 
torture, and forced labor of children. There are literally hundreds of 
accounts of villagers having been slaughtered as they tried to flee, 
women being raped, children being brutally raped. Such atrocities have 
been part of the deliberate policies of Charles Taylor, his government, 
and the groups that fought for him.
  In the conflict, it is estimated approximately 60,000 to 200,000 
people died in the violence, and many more died from hunger, disease, 
and lack of medical care.
  After the end of the civil war in 1996--it really wasn't a civil war; 
it was more of an attempt by Charles Taylor to use brutality to force 
his way into Liberia--Charles Taylor became the President of Liberia by 
winning an election which he won simply by saying if he did not win, he 
would continue the violence, continue the rape and destruction and 
plunder of the country. Meanwhile, in 1991, civil war erupted in the 
neighboring country of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is one of the most 
impoverished nations in the world, which is particularly tragic in 
light of the fact that it has some tremendous natural resources. The 
conflict was primarily between the Government of Sierra Leone and a 
rebel group known as the Revolutionary United Front. The RUF lacked any 
discernible political agenda other than violence and plunder. Its main 
objective was to take control of the Sierra Leone diamond mines.
  The RUF became notorious for its use of forced amputations to control 
the civilian population. The conflict between the government and the 
RUF and other factions has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and 
the displacement of more than 2 million people, well over one-third of 
the population.
  The situation in Sierra Leone became so bad in 1999 the United 
Nations established a peacekeeping mission. This mission was called 
UNAMSIL and has cost the U.S. taxpayers a total of $646 million over a 
period of 6 years. This mission got off to a rocky start. The British 
intervention in 2000 helped stabilize the situation, and we should 
congratulate the British for being willing to step up to this issue.
  Today, Sierra Leone is a relatively stable country, which is quite a 
miracle. It is widely known that the then-Liberian President, Charles 
Taylor, during the time of the violence in Sierra Leone, was 
essentially the force behind the RUF. He was supplying the weapons, the 
training, and it was his purpose to use the RUF to control the diamond 
trade. For his support, he got a great amount of the resources in the 
diamond trade. This is an important point because herein lies two roots 
of the cause of Sierra Leone's woes: First Charles Taylor, and second, 
conflict diamonds.
  We have addressed the issue of conflict diamonds through the 
Kimberley Process, which is something that our committee has played a 
major role in driving forward, where we now have some control over the 
types of diamonds that are sold into the international market and 
whether or not they are conflict diamonds.
  We have also attempted to address Charles Taylor. This is why I come 
to the floor today, to talk about where we stand in addressing Charles 
Taylor. Back in Liberia, around the time that the mission to Sierra 
Leone got underway, the anti-Taylor forces began to mobilize and to 
actively fight the Taylor government in Liberia. In 1999, an anti-
Taylor faction called the Liberians United for Reconciliation and 
Democracy, LURD, was formed in northern Liberia. In 2003, a second 
anti-Taylor faction called the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, or 
MODEL, emerged in the southern Liberia area. Both groups have been 
accused of

[[Page 2888]]

atrocities similar to those committed by the Taylor forces.
  As the situation in Liberia worsened in the summer of 2003, the 
United States came under intense pressure to intervene. At one point, 
the U.S. sent marines in to protect U.S. citizens in Monrovia and to 
conduct an assessment of the situation in Monrovia. On September 19, 
2003, with U.S. support, the United Nations established a full-blown 
peacekeeping mission to Liberia, ordering the deployment of some 15,000 
troops. One month later Congress responded by appropriating $245 
million to cover the U.S. cost of the UNMIL project, which is the U.N. 
initiative there--$200 million for humanitarian aid in Liberia. In the 
fiscal year 2005 budget request, the State Department has requested 
another $215 million for UNMIL. I am told the amount fell short of what 
the U.S. believes its share of the cost will actually be. I am unclear 
what will be required to stabilize Liberia, but it is estimated that 
40,000 combatants, including 15,000 children, must be disarmed, 
demobilized, and reintegrated into society.
  Hundreds of thousands of civilians who were forced to flee their 
homes during the wars must be reintegrated into their villages from 
squalid refugee camps in and outside Liberia. Liberia's infrastructure 
must be rebuilt. So it is an expensive and long path.
  In the fall of 2002, the neighboring and equally unstable country of 
Ivory Coast also collapsed into violence. Charles Taylor is known to 
have recruited some of his mercenary fighters in Ivory Coast. He is now 
reported to have supported rebels in west Ivory Coast who were trying 
to oust the President of Ivory Coast. He is now reported to be 
supporting the rebels in west Ivory Coast that seek to oust the 
President of Burkina Faso, a neighboring country that has enjoyed 
relative stability.
  The U.N. is expected to take a vote as early as tomorrow, or maybe 
even today, on the establishment of another U.N. peacekeeping mission 
to Ivory Coast. The State Department has informed me that the United 
States will vote for such a mission. The U.S. share of that cost will 
be about $60 million.
  Both Sierra Leone and the Liberian missions are attributable in large 
part to Charles Taylor. It is clear that Taylor is also heavily 
involved in the Ivory Coast conflict. We know he continues to dabble in 
other west African countries.
  The conflicts that plague west Africa have many common denominators, 
but the one that stands out is Charles Taylor. Another one that stands 
out is the amount of death, destruction, and loss of economic well-
being that has occurred in that region as a result of Charles Taylor's 
actions.
  In 2000, with strong U.S. backing, the U.N. and the Government of 
Sierra Leone began the process of establishing a special court for 
Sierra Leone. The mission of the Special Court is to try those who bear 
the greatest responsibility for the genocide which occurred in Sierra 
Leone and to try them under Sierra Leone law.
  The Special Court for Sierra Leone indicted Charles Taylor as its 
first act. As its first act, it indicted the President of Liberia. He 
is accused of 17 counts of war crimes against humanity, and other 
serious violations of international humanitarian law.
  But where is Charles Taylor? Not in prison awaiting trial where he 
should be. He is living in a luxury villa in the southeastern port city 
of Calabar, Nigeria. He is able to live in luxury because of the timber 
he plundered from Liberia and the diamonds he plundered from Sierra 
Leone, much of which can be tracked to terrorists. He is able to live 
in luxury because he was allowed to leave Liberia and to go to Nigeria.
  When the situation in Monrovia last summer became so bad that his 
safety could no longer be assured, Taylor began looking for an escape 
route.
  As pressure mounted in the international community for an 
intervention in Liberia, key players such as the U.S., U.N., the 
Economic Community of West African States--ECOWAS--and Nigeria 
correctly realized that a peace agreement--a necessary precursor to 
U.N. intervention--could not include Taylor, an indicted war criminal. 
Further, the parties recognized that even if an agreement could be 
reached, the rebels would never trust Taylor to abide by it, given his 
long history of reneging on peace agreements. So Taylor had to go--and 
fast.
  The U.S., U.N., ECOWAS, and Nigeria engaged in talks about how to get 
Taylor out of Liberia. An agreement was reached in which Nigeria would 
offer Taylor asylum, but would not then be pressured to turn Taylor 
over. The details of these talks are vague, but finding a way to bring 
Taylor to the Special Court was reportedly not even discussed. But such 
a promise to Nigeria--that it would not be pressured to hand over 
Taylor--should not have been made.
  The parties involved decided that getting Taylor out of Liberia was 
the fastest way to ``stop the bloodshed.'' I would argue that, indeed, 
giving Taylor asylum in Nigeria was the surest way to prolong the 
bloodshed. Now safely ensconced in Nigeria with a hefty security 
detail, Taylor is arguably in a better position now to destabilize 
Liberia and other West African nations. I will come back to this point.
  Taylor, astutely, took Nigeria up on its offer of asylum. And on 
August 11, 2003, he and his entourage of 100 flew to Nigeria. Taylor 
used Nigeria's offer to escape both the rebels and prosecution by the 
Special Court.
  The Nigerians have been offended by Congress' recent calls for them 
to hand over Charles Taylor to the Special Court. The Nigerians should 
be commended for the important leadership role they have played in this 
and other West African crises. But their past and continued 
contributions do not justify their refusal to cooperate with the 
Special Court. If Nigeria is going to play a leadership role in West 
Africa, it must be committed to seeing those who destabilize that 
region stopped and held accountable for their actions. It must be 
committed to promoting the rule of law.
  But the blame does not rest on Nigeria alone. The blame rests equally 
on the parties that negotiated for Taylor's transfer to Nigeria instead 
of his delivery to the Special Court--the U.S. and the U.N. It is 
inconceivable that the U.S. and the U.N., which have been driving 
forces behind the Special Court, would cast aside an opportunity to get 
the Special Court halfway to its goal and would not pursue the first 
person consequential in their activities of violence in Sierra Leone.
  Upon his departure from Liberia, Taylor pledged: ``I'll be back.'' 
Taylor has reneged on at least 13 cease fire agreements and 8 peace 
agreements, each time using the negotiations to stall and re-arm. It is 
clear from statements like this and from Taylor's past actions that he 
intends to use asylum in Nigeria to stall and re-arm, just as he has 
done in the past. The result of this is that, now, no one believes 
Liberia has seen the last of Charles Taylor--least of all the 
Liberians.
  Very clear conditions were placed upon Mr. Taylor's offer of asylum: 
he was to completely disengage himself from the day to day affairs--
military or otherwise--of Liberia. Immediately upon his arrival in 
Nigeria, however, Taylor began breaking--flagrantly--the terms of his 
asylum agreement.
  Taylor has maintained contact with his lieutenants and supporters 
through telephone calls, instant messaging, and intermediaries who act 
as couriers. It is also said that Taylor maintains control over 
substantial numbers of combatants. Sources told me that Taylor was ``on 
a satellite phone every day talking with Liberian officials.'' Even the 
United Nations Security Council in October, 2003, then under U.S. 
chairmanship, issued a warning that Taylor should discontinue 
communications with his supporters in Liberia.
  In November, 2003, it was reported that Taylor's former chief of 
staff was recruiting mercenaries in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, and 
Ghana, all small and similarly troubled West African nations. Also in 
November, it was reported that Charles Taylor's son was in Ukraine 
negotiating for arms with which to launch a fresh attack from Ivorian 
territory.
  It is reported that Taylor lieutenants and loyalists have carved out 
a piece of western Ivory Coast and have clashed with French 
peacekeepers there.

[[Page 2889]]

  It has even been reported by highly reliable sources that Taylor 
engineered the attempted coup in Burkina Faso last October. The reason? 
The President of Burkina Faso, a former ally of Taylor's, was starting 
to cooperate with the Special Court. It is also thought that Taylor 
supported the coup because he believes renewed regional chaos would 
assist him in his return to power in Liberia. Taylor is reported to be 
training 400 armed men in the town of Guiglo Ivory Coast. This group, 
called ``Death Roll M-15'', was reportedly established for the sole 
purpose of destabilizing Burkina Faso.
  These are just reports. It will be partly the Special Court's job to 
confirm or discredit them. But if even one of these reports is true, 
that is enough.
  As long as Taylor's former warlords take their orders from the man 
himself, no one is going to disarm. I am told that Taylor supporters 
are already, in fact, refusing to disarm because they believe he will 
return to power. Anti-Taylor rebels also refuse to disarm because they 
too believe Taylor's exile is temporary. They believe they will need to 
maintain the ability to defend themselves against reprisals or prevent 
his return to power.
  Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration, or DDR, is the 
backbone of all U.N. peacekeeping missions. U.N. peacekeepers do not 
have the authority to disarm rebels forcibly. Disarmament is always 
voluntary. What incentive, I ask you, do combatants have to lay down 
their arms while their boss is still calling the shots from his mobile 
command center in Calabar?
  Similarly, many Taylor subordinates hold key positions in Liberia's 
transitional government. What incentive do they have to cooperate on 
necessary reforms when they too believe that Taylor could one day 
return? The longer Taylor escapes justice, the longer UNMIL will last 
and the worse its prospects for success.
  As if all of this weren't bad enough, I am told by well-placed 
sources that reports of Taylor's link to Al Qaeda and other terrorist 
groups are ``highly credible''. We have heard public testimony from 
members of the Liberian media, now living in the U.S., that Taylor 
``supports terrorists and encourages the presence of al-Qaeda members 
in Liberia''. Taylor's reported motive for supporting terrorists is to 
assure himself access to large amounts of arms.
  What am I missing here? Why are we so willing to go around cleaning 
up messes created by Charles Taylor, and yet we seem so content to let 
him live his life peacefully in his villa? He continues to terrorize 
and destabilize, and yet now he does so under the protection of a 
nation that is in danger of becoming an accomplice, though most 
certainly unwitting, to his crimes.
  The people of Sierra Leone deserve justice. They deserve the right to 
have the person who essentially designed and was the brains behind the 
RUF and the atrocities which it committed brought to justice.
  It sends a terrible signal to Charles Taylor, an indicted war 
criminal by an internationally recognized tribunal set up by the United 
Nations, underwritten by the United Nations and supported with American 
tax dollars. That tribunal has not been able to bring Charles Taylor 
before it. The forces which are keeping that from happening are the 
very forces which set up the tribunal itself. This is not only a bad 
precedent for the Sierra Leone situation but we know that other special 
courts are going to be needed to deal with atrocities in other 
countries, with genocide in other countries. Who is going to take those 
courts seriously when a court that has been set up by the U.N. and 
underwritten by the United States finds itself stymied when the person 
it believes is most responsible for the genocide and the horror, the 
destruction and the death in Sierra Leone is not allowed to be brought 
before the court because the intermediaries that allow him to maintain 
his safe haven in Nigeria are the same people who set up the court? 
Nobody is going to take the special court seriously if we do not pursue 
Charles Taylor and bring him to justice before that court. He cannot be 
tried in absentia under Sierra Leone law; he must be present in Sierra 
Leone.
  I have heard that some have the position, maybe we could try him in 
Nigeria while doing the trial in Sierra Leone. That does not work 
because Sierra Leone does not allow that to happen. Nigeria tried to be 
a positive and constructive player in this effort. I congratulate them 
for their purpose of being constructive and positive. But it is now 
time to hand over Mr. Taylor. We should support Nigeria in that effort. 
The United States should support Nigeria in that effort.
  We are not pursuing the handover of Charles Taylor to the special 
court for what I believe are selfish reasons. That we are pursuing the 
Taylor handover is critical to peace and stability in west Africa and 
because the people of Sierra Leone deserve justice.
  I commend the men and women of Sierra Leone. They have gone through 
extraordinary pain and trauma. They have made the difficult decision to 
support the special court. They are trying to run a democratic 
government. They have done this with the expectation that the 
international community will support the commitments we have made. 
Clearly, one of the fundamental commitments we have made is that the 
special court, when it indicts an individual, will have the ability to 
bring that person before it.
  The prosecutor of the special court is a man named David Crane. He is 
an American, a very competent and dedicated former Defense Department 
official. Each day, he and his team demonstrate that justice can be 
effectively and efficiently delivered in a war-torn region of the 
world. We should be proud of what they have done. What they have done 
is incomplete and will continue to be incomplete as long as they are 
not allowed to bring Charles Taylor before the bar of justice in Sierra 
Leone.
  It is time for the international community, the U.N., the United 
States, to put an end to this extraordinarily destructive chapter in 
west African history. The only way we can put an end to it is if we 
allow the court to try Charles Taylor and bring him to justice. It is 
time to support that effort.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to thank Senator Gregg for his 
important statement.
  As we all know, Charles Taylor was the brutal dictator of Liberia, 
responsible for numerous atrocities in West Africa. His loyalists 
raped, killed and hacked the limbs off of innocent civilians. To bring 
Mr. Taylor--and others responsible for these crimes--to justice, the 
United States and United Nations Security Council established an 
international tribunal--the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
  Congress has consistently supported the Special Court by 
appropriating $20 million for it. The Prosecutor for the Special Court 
is an American, a former lawyer in the Defense Department. He moved 
quickly to indict Mr. Taylor for his crimes. To back up this 
indictment, INTERPOL issued a Red Notice asking member states to help 
bring him to justice.
  Today, Mr. Taylor remains beyond the reach of the court. He is in 
Nigeria--shielded by that government. To make matters worse, Taylor 
continues to work to destabilize parts of West Africa. The State 
Department says it will not pressure Nigeria to turn Taylor over to the 
court.
  This is completely unacceptable. Taylor is under indictment by a UN-
backed court. He continues to destabilize parts of West Africa. We know 
where he is. The United States needs to act and it needs to act now.
  Yesterday, Senator Gregg and I--along with 5 other Senators--sent a 
letter to the State Department urging immediate action to get Taylor to 
the court. It is time for the United States to do the right thing. It 
is time for Taylor to come before the court.

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