DOCSLIB.ORG

Taylor Trial Transcript

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Taylor Trial Transcript Case No. SCSL-2003-01-T THE PROSECUTOR OF THE SPECIAL COURT V. CHARLES GHANKAY TAYLOR WEDNESDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2009 9.30 A.M. TRIAL TRIAL CHAMBER II Before the Judges: Justice Richard Lussick, Presiding Justice Teresa Doherty Justice Julia Sebutinde Justice El Hadji Malick Sow, Alternate For Chambers: Ms Erica Bussey For the Registry: Ms Rachel Irura Mr Benedict Williams For the Prosecution: Mr Joseph Kamara Ms Brenda J Hollis Mr Mohamed A Bangura Mr Christopher Santora Ms Maja Dimitrova For the accused Charles Ghankay Mr Courtenay Griffiths QC Taylor: Mr Morris Anyah CHARLES TAYLOR Page 31946 18 NOVEMBER 2009 OPEN SESSION 1 Wednesday, 18 November 2009 2 [Open session] 3 [The accused present] 4 [Upon commencing at 9.30 a.m.] 09:30:23 5 PRESIDING JUDGE: Good morning. We'll take appearances, 6 please. 7 MS HOLLIS: Good morning, Mr President, your Honours, 8 opposing counsel. This morning for the Prosecution, the Acting 9 Prosecutor Joseph Kamara, Brenda J Hollis, Mohamed A Bangura, 09:33:29 10 Christopher Santora, and our case manager Maja Dimitrova. 11 PRESIDING JUDGE: Thank you. Yes, Mr Anyah. 12 MR ANYAH: Good morning, Mr President. Good morning, your 13 Honours. Good morning, counsel opposite. I appear for the 14 Defence this morning, Morris Anyah. I am joined by two interns 09:33:47 15 from our office, Ms Haydee Dijkstal, and she has been with us 16 before, and joining us for the first time is Mr Michael Herz. 17 Mr President, Mr Griffiths is not present, as your Honours 18 can see. He should be joining us in one of the sessions later 19 today and Mr Taylor is aware of the circumstances of his absence 09:34:12 20 and I'm authorised to proceed. 21 PRESIDING JUDGE: Yes, thank you, Mr Anyah. 22 Just before we do proceed, Mr Taylor, I will remind you, 23 you are still bound by your oath. 24 DANKPANNAH DR CHARLES GHANKAY TAYLOR: 09:34:22 25 [On former affirmation] 26 CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MS HOLLIS: [Continued] 27 Q. Good morning, Mr Taylor. 28 A. Good morning, counsel. 29 Q. Mr Taylor, yesterday we were looking at the presence of SCSL - TRIAL CHAMBER II CHARLES TAYLOR Page 31947 18 NOVEMBER 2009 OPEN SESSION 1 ECOMOG troops and United Nations military observers in Liberia 2 throughout various periods and we had reached the point where we 3 were beginning to look at the presence of these forces in your 4 country after you had assumed the office of President of Liberia. 09:34:59 5 Do you recall that, Mr Taylor? 6 A. Yes, I do. 7 Q. And even at the point of the elections, ECOMOG had begun to 8 reduce their forces quite significantly as had the UNOMIL mission 9 in Liberia. You recall that, yes, Mr Taylor? 09:35:18 10 A. Well, I don't recall the way you've put the statement. I 11 would disagree with the prefix - with the premise of it, but I 12 don't recall it in that way, that they had reduced significantly 13 prior to elections. I do not recall that. 14 Q. Mr Taylor, yesterday we talked about a point where ECOMOG 09:35:42 15 had increased their numbers to approximately 11,000 before your 16 election. Do you recall that? 17 A. Yes, I do. 18 Q. And that in July 1997, 4,000 ECOMOG were sent from Liberia 19 to Sierra Leone. Do you recall talking about that? 09:35:58 20 A. I recall talking about -- 21 Q. And after the election, further reductions occurred in the 22 ECOMOG forces. Do you recall talking about that? 23 A. After election, yes. 24 Q. And, in fact, as at the end of September, in regards to the 09:36:18 25 United Nations mission, the mission had ended and the presence of 26 UNOMIL had ended as of 30 September 1997. That's correct, is it 27 not, Mr Taylor? 28 A. That is correct. 29 Q. Now, at this time the force commander for ECOMOG was SCSL - TRIAL CHAMBER II CHARLES TAYLOR Page 31948 18 NOVEMBER 2009 OPEN SESSION 1 General Malu and we talked about that yesterday, correct? 2 A. That is correct, yes. 3 Q. And General Malu was a very distinguished general from 4 Nigeria. That's correct, is it not? 09:36:47 5 A. Well, he was the general, yes. 6 Q. He was a career soldier? 7 A. I don't know. I know he was a general. Career, I'm not 8 sure how long he had been in the service. 9 Q. Now, he had been placed in the position of ECOMOG force 09:37:03 10 commander by Sani Abacha; is that correct? 11 A. That is correct. 12 Q. Now, after you became President, you came into conflict 13 with General Malu on several occasions, did you not? 14 A. That is correct. 09:37:21 15 Q. And one of the main areas of conflict with General Malu was 16 General Malu's insistence that ECOMOG be the one to restructure 17 and train the Armed Forces of Liberia police and security forces, 18 correct? 19 A. That is incorrect. 09:37:38 20 Q. That is correct, is it not, Mr Taylor? 21 A. I said that is incorrect. That was not the main issue of 22 contention between General Malu and the Government of Liberia. 23 Q. Mr Taylor, I didn't say it was the main issue. I said one 24 of the main areas of conflict. 09:37:56 25 A. One of the main areas, yes. 26 Q. And General Malu insisted that it be ECOMOG who do the 27 restructuring and retraining based on his understanding of the 28 prior peace agreements that had been entered into. Isn't that 29 correct? SCSL - TRIAL CHAMBER II CHARLES TAYLOR Page 31949 18 NOVEMBER 2009 OPEN SESSION 1 A. Yes, that is correct. 2 Q. And General Malu also felt it very important that ECOMOG be 3 the one to restructure and retrain the military security forces 4 and the police to ensure that, indeed, these forces would reflect 09:38:28 5 a national composition. Isn't that correct? 6 A. That is correct, yes. 7 Q. And that, indeed, they would not reflect a factional 8 representation. That is correct, is it not? 9 A. That is correct, yes. 09:38:43 10 Q. And, indeed, you opposed General Malu on this because it 11 was your aim that these forces would reflect a factional 12 representation. Isn't that correct? 13 A. That is totally, totally incorrect and a misrepresentation 14 of the government's position. Totally incorrect. 09:38:58 15 Q. It was your vision, was it not, Mr Taylor, that these 16 forces would be filled with people who had been subordinate to 17 you in the past and would be loyal to you in the future? 18 A. That's total nonsense. Total nonsense. Totally incorrect. 19 There was a plan that was put together that was done nationally 09:39:17 20 with international assistance and the Government of Liberia 21 insisted that the Armed Forces of Liberia be trained by the 22 United States. We requested that. We made representations. We 23 had meetings on it. What my government's view was that Victor 24 Malu or no other general represented ECOMOG could dictate to the 09:39:44 25 government and people of Liberia what should be the actions 26 regarding the armed forces. That once the constitution of 27 Liberia had been reinstated as of my taking the oath of office on 28 August 2, 1997, it is - it was left with the government and the 29 people of Liberia to make the determination of their destiny with SCSL - TRIAL CHAMBER II CHARLES TAYLOR Page 31950 18 NOVEMBER 2009 OPEN SESSION 1 the assistance of ECOMOG in whatever area we wanted. This was 2 the position of my government. And this was communicated to the 3 UN, the United States government, everyone, and the United States 4 government did meet with the Liberian government to discuss 09:40:21 5 possible training of the armed forces. This is the picture. 6 Q. Mr Taylor, all of that was simply a smokescreen to ensure 7 that you were able to place your people in these various forces; 8 isn't that correct? 9 A. Total nonsense, no. Incorrect. 09:40:38 10 Q. And, indeed, as you progressed in your presidency, that is 11 exactly what you did, is it not? 12 A. Totally incorrect, no. 13 Q. You placed all of the people who were subordinate and loyal 14 to you in these various forces; isn't that correct? 09:40:49 15 A. That is totally, totally incorrect. 16 Q. Now, this disagreement with General Malu was an ongoing 17 disagreement during the remainder of his tenure as the forces 18 commander, correct? 19 A. That is correct. 09:41:05 20 Q. But there were other areas of disagreement with General 21 Malu as well, yes? 22 A. I want to just say that, as far as the Government of 23 Liberia was concerned, we didn't have any disagreement with Malu. 24 For me, Malu did not represent anything, except the forces. We 09:41:23 25 were having as a government discussions with ECOMOG, so while I'm 26 answering these questions, it was not a Malu issue.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • LIBERIA War in Lofa County Does Not Justify Killing, Torture and Abduction
    LIBERIA War in Lofa County does not justify killing, torture and abduction “One of the ATU [Anti-Terrorist Unit] told the others ‘He is going to give us information on the rebel business’. They took me to Gbatala. I saw many holes in which prisoners were held. I could hear them crying, calling for help and lamenting that they were hungry and they were dying.” Testimony of a young man detained at Gbatala military base in August 2000. Introduction The continuation of hostilities in Liberia cannot be used as a justification for killing, torture and abduction. Unarmed civilians are again the main victims of fighting in Liberia – a country still bearing the scars of its seven-year civil war when massive human rights abuses were committed by all sides with impunity. Since mid-2000, dozens of civilians have allegedly been extrajudicially executed and more than 100 civilians, including women, have been tortured by the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) and other Liberian security forces. People have been tortured while held incommunicado, especially at the military base in Gbatala, central Liberia, and the ATU cells behind the Executive Mansion, the office of the presidency in Monrovia, the capital. Women and young girls have been raped by the security forces. All these victims were suspected of backing the armed incursions by Liberian armed opposition groups from Guinea into Lofa County, the northern region of Liberia bordering with Guinea and Sierra Leone. The security forces have mostly targeted members of the Mandingo ethnic group whom they associate with ULIMO-K 1 , a predominantly Mandingo warring faction in the 1989-1996 Liberian civil war, accused by the Liberian government of being responsible for the armed incursions into Lofa County in 1999, notably in April and August of that year and since July 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • Filming Illegals : Clandestine Translocation and the Representation of Bare Life / Lars Eckstein
    Philosophische Fakultät Lars Eckstein Filming Illegals Clandestine Translocation and the Representation of Bare Life Suggested citation referring to the original publication: Eckstein, Lars: Filming Illegals : Clandestine Translocation and the Representation of Bare Life / Lars Eckstein. in: Marga Munkelt, Markus Schmitz, Mark Stein, Silke Stroh (Hrsg.): Postcolonial Translocations : Cultural Representation and Critical Spatial Thinking. – Amsterdam : Rodopi Press, 2013. – S. 353–368 ISBN 978-90-420-3631-4 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-94-012-0901-4 (E-Book) Preprint published at the Institutional Repository of the Potsdam University: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85491 Universität Potsdam Filming Illegals: Clandestine Translocation and the Representation of Bare Life Lars Eckstein Filming Illegals Clandestine Translocation and the Representation of Bare Life Universität Potsdam University of Potsdam 2016 Published online at the Institutional Repository of the University of Potsdam: URN urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85491 http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85491 1 Filming Illegals Clandestine Translocation and the Representation of Bare Life Lars Eckstein 1. Introduction In this essay, I wish to exemplarily discuss the problematic of representing ‘illegal’ immigrants by investigating two very different attempts to capture their predicament in British film. Human ‘illegality’ is not a marginal phenomenon; in summer 2005, the British government estimated that around 430,000 people lived in Britain entirely off the
    [Show full text]
  • Journalism , Media and the Challenge of Human Rights
    JOURNALISM, MEDIA AND THE CHALLENGE OF HUMAN RIGHTS REPORTING The International Council on Human Rights Policy The International Council on Human Rights Policy was established in Geneva in 1998 to conduct applied research into current human rights issues. Its research is designed to be of practical relevance to policy- makers in international and regional organisations, in governments and intergovernmental agencies, and in voluntary organisations of all kinds. The Council is independent, international in its membership, and participatory in its approach. It is registered as a non-profit foundation under Swiss law. Additional information about the Council, and other research projects it is undertaking, can be found at the end of this document. Journalism, media and the challenge of human rights reporting The International Council on Human Rights Policy wishes to thank the Ford Foundation (New York), the Swedish International Development Co- operation Agency (SIDA), the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA), the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Human Rights (New York), OXFAM (United Kingdom) and Christian Aid (United Kingdom) for their financial support of the Council and of this research. Journalism, media and the challenge of human rights reporting © 2002, International Council on Human Rights Policy © Copyright 2002 International Council on Human Rights Policy 48, chemin du Grand-Montfleury, POB 147, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland Journalism, Media and the Challenge of Human Rights Reporting, 2002, International Council on Human Rights Policy, Versoix, Switzerland. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic mail, mechanical, photocopying, recording and/or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • Making Sense of a Senseless War
    H UMAN R IGHTS & H UMAN W ELFARE Making Sense of a Senseless War By J. Peter Pham A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone by Lansana Gberie. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2005. Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight by Rachel Brett and Irma Specht. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005. A “Senseless” War In a report on the United Nations-supervised disarmament process in Sierra Leone, veteran Washington Post correspondent Douglas Farah described the pathos of the ragged Revolutionary United Front (RUF) fighters: many were barely into their teens, straggling into a processing center in the diamond-rich eastern district of Kono with little more than ill-fitting rags draped over their emaciated bodies (Farah 2001). There was little evidence that these broken youths had, just a short while earlier, been part of one of the most brutal and effective insurgencies in the world, one whose strategy was predicated on terror in its most primordial expression. Farah’s piece was headlined, “They Fought for Nothing, and That’s What They Got,” a succinct description of a conflict that struck many as senseless, despite its heavy toll in lives and property. Founded by a group of British philanthropists in 1789 as a haven for freed black slaves, (thus the name of the capital, “Freetown”) Sierra Leone boasts of being one of the oldest modern polities in Africa. The foundation in the colony of the oldest university-level institution in sub-Saharan Africa, Fourah Bay College, in 1827 made it the “Athens of West Africa,” the alma mater of countless African leaders.
    [Show full text]
  • Reaping What's Been Sown: Exploring Diaspora-Driven
    REAPING WHAT’S BEEN SOWN: EXPLORING DIASPORA-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT FOR SIERRA LEONE by Robyn Joanne Mello A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Honors Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with Distinction. Spring 2009 Copyright 2009 Robyn Joanne Mello All Rights Reserved REAPING WHAT’S BEEN SOWN: EXPLORING DIASPORA-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT FOR SIERRA LEONE by Robyn Joanne Mello Approved: __________________________________________________________ Mark J. Miller, Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: __________________________________________________________ Wunyabari Maloba, Ph.D. Committee member from the Department of History, Black American Studies Program, and Women’s Studies Program Approved: __________________________________________________________ Eric Rise, Ph.D. Committee member from the Board of Senior Thesis Readers Approved: __________________________________________________________ Alan Fox, Ph.D. Director, University Honors Program Sierra Leone (darkened) in the African context ©2002 United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (uneca.org) Political Map of Sierra Leone ©2009 U.S. Department of State (state.gov) iii “Diaspora… originally referred to a scattering or sowing of seeds. The good thing about seeds is that they grow. The better thing yet is that they spread. And the best is that once spread they grow again.” Diaspora Dialogues, IOM, 2007 “We will drag ourselves out of this poverty zone And we’ll care for our own, our Sierra Leone We will raise up our hearts and our voices as one” “My Vision, My Home, My Sierra Leone” Ustina More “We originally planned to go back. It was the original plan for most people.” Sierra Leonean-American interviewee iv This work is dedicated to the memory of Ms.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of Sierra Tenne
    3 Are "Forest" Wars in Africa Resource Conflicts? The Case of Sierra tenne Paul Richards Until Rhodesia became Zimbabwe, African wars were wars of in­ dependence. During the 1980s the continent's conflicts mainly were deter­ mined by the Cold War or apartheid in South Africa. The 1990S saw a rise in African conflicts escaping earlier categorizations (Chabal and Daloz 1999; Goulding 1999). Seeking to account for these recent conflicts, au­ thors have opted for either the idea of reversion to a long-suppressed African barbarity (Kaplan 1994, 1996) or the notion of a "criminalization of the African state" (Bayart, Ellis, and Hibou 1997). Duffield (1998) shrewdly notes, however, that current or recent African wars fall, more or less, into two regional groupings: wars from the Horn of Africa to Mozambique that are in effect "old" proxy conflicts, perhaps pro­ longed by humanitarian interventions, and conflicts in the western half of the continent (from Zaire to Liberia) sustained by abundant local natural resources (oil, gemstones, gold, and timber). Stretching a point, we might label these two groupings "desert" and "forest" wars, respectively. Some recent literature treats African "forest" wars as predominantly eco­ nomic phenomena, directed by "war-lord" business elites (Berdal and Keen 1997; Chabal and Daloz 1999; Duffield 1998); the opportunist Charles Taylor in Liberia is seen as the paradigmatic protagonist (Reno 1997; Ellis 1999). All conflicts need resources, but we should be careful to distinguish the plausible idea that war has economic dimensions from the more contentious notion that resource endowments, and in particular re­ source shortages, "cause" violence (Homer-Dixon 1991, 1994; Kaplan 1994, 1996).
    [Show full text]
  • KT 7-1-2016 Layout 1
    SUBSCRIPTION THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016 RABI ALAWWAL 27, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Bahrain busts ‘terror’ Min 07º Max 23º cell linked to Tehran High Tide 11:03 & 21:19 Low Tide Djibouti cuts Iran ties • Qatar recalls envoy • Jordan summons ambassador 03:33 & 15:37 40 PAGES NO: 16748 150 FILS DUBAI: Bahrain said yesterday it had dismantled an Iran- Assembly panel linked “terror” cell that was planning attacks in the king- Amir returns home dom, amid a growing diplomatic crisis between Gulf debates revised Arab states and Tehran. The cell was allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon’s Tehran-backed Hezbollah militia and planning to carry out a “series of anti-graft law dangerous bombings” on the tiny Sunni-ruled kingdom, an interior ministry statement said. Members of the Deal on e-crimes law “secret terrorist organization” have been identified and many arrested, said the statement on the official BNA By B Izzak news agency, adding that others remain at large. Among those arrested were 33-year-old twins Ali and KUWAIT: The National Assembly’s legal and legislative Mohammed Fakhrawi identified as leaders of the group. affairs committee discussed yesterday a new law for the The cell is allegedly linked to the little-known Al-Ashtar establishment of the Anti-Corruption Authority after its Brigades which has reportedly claimed responsibility for law was annulled by the constitutional court over pro- bombings in the Shiite-majority kingdom, including one cedural flaws. The panel’s secretary MP Ahmad Al- outside a Sunni mosque in 2013. It is also linked to sus- Qudhaibi said the committee will vote on the new law pects involved a July 28 bombing that killed two police- on Sunday to be ready for an Assembly debate on Jan men and wounded six others.
    [Show full text]
  • Der Kunst Afrikas - Freie Universität Berlin (Stand: 28.11.2014)
    Bibliographie und Filmographie der Kunst Afrikas - Freie Universität Berlin (Stand: 28.11.2014) Bibliographie Aas, Norbert (1998): Eigen-Sinn : Marcia Kure 1998. Köln: R. Köppe. Abaza, Mona; Shafei, Sherwet (2011): Twentieth-century Egyptian art. The private collection of Sherwet Shafei. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press. ʻAbd al-Ḥayy, Muḥammad (1982): Cultural policy in the Sudan. Paris: Unesco Press. Abela, Pepe (1997): Emandulo re-creation. Johannesburg S. Africa: Artist Proof Studio. Abiodun, Rowland (1994): The Yoruba artist. New theoretical perspectives on African arts ; [based on a 1992 symposium held at the Museum Rietberg Zürich]. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Abiodun, Rowland; National Museum of African Art Washington, D. C. (1990): African art studies. The state of the discipline ; papers presented at a symposium organized by the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, September 16, 1987. Washington, DC. Aboudramane (1991): Murs-murs de terre : du 17 octobre au 17 novembre 1991 [exhibition catalog]. Paris: Galerie Maine Durieu. Abraaj Capital Ltd. Dubai International Financial Centre. Museum of Arts and Design (New York, N.Y.); Attia, Kader (2010): Abraaj Capital art prize 2010. [Dubai United Arab Emirates]: Abraaj Capital. Abraham, Arthur (1978): Cultural policy in Sierra Leone. [Paris]: Unesco. Abrous, Mansour (2011): Algérie, arts plastiques. Dictionnaire biographique (1900 - 2010). Paris: L'Harmattan. Abusabib, Mohamed A. (1995): African art. An aesthetic inquiry. Univ., Diss.--Uppsala, 1995. Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell (Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 6). ACA Galleries. (1972): Four American primitives: Edward Hicks, John Kane, Anna Mary Robertson Moses, Horace Pippin. New York. Achebe, Chinua (1971): Arrow of god. Reprinted. London [u.a.]: Heinemann (African writers series ; 16).
    [Show full text]
  • Africa Overview
    AFRICA 5 OVERVIEW Reassuring Omens, Bold Visions of parliament would have bordered on the On May 13, 2000, the Economist, the surreal. But that was precisely what hap- venerable and influential magazine of the pened. First, the Zimbabwean electorate global English-speaking political classes, voted down a government-sponsored consti- dubbed the continent “Hopeless Africa.” tution at a referendum in April, and two Yet beyond the ubiquitous images of may- months later the ruling party—that had been hem, positive, though less “newsworthy,” thought unassailable—came close to losing changes were evolving at the societal level. its parliamentary majority. The June elec- Thanks to discernible changes in public tions came in the wake of a period of unprec- attitudes and less willingness to accept the edented violence in which supporters of the inevitability of authoritarian rule, it was at ruling party reportedly killed nineteen people, the grassroots that the most promising battles including white farmers and opposition poli- were being waged for a more humane Af- ticians, beat up hundreds more, raped dozens rica. Human rights groups, churches, aca- of women, and occupied more than one thou- demics, and other civil society activists dem- sand commercial farms. At the vanguard of onstrated an uncommon resolve, courage pressure for change was a coalition of non- and willingness to put their lives on the line governmental forces that confronted the pow- to resist repression and lead the push among ers that be, questioning not only their effi- nongovernmental actors for transparency, cacy but also their legitimacy. This was an participation, and accountability.
    [Show full text]
  • Natural Resources and Conflict: Diamonds in Sierra Leone
    Natural Resources and Conflict: Diamonds in Sierra Leone RUF mining in Yengema, February 2000 http://www.sierra-leone.org/aerial.html KM Powlick UMass/New School Joint Workshop 5 November 2005 1 Introduction Sierra Leone is a small country encompassing approximately 72,000 square kilometers of mountainous, tropical terrain, about 7% of which is arable. The country, nestled in the West African coast, has a large share of lush forests, with some of the wettest rainforests in West Africa. The coastal, capital city of Freetown (population approximately 1 million), is surrounded on the three land-facing sides by green mountains. These mountains are featured in the country’s post-independence flag – the blue stripe at the bottom representing the sea, the green stripe at the top representing the mountains. The white stripe in the middle is to represent the people celebrating independence in the streets of Freetown in 1961, waving white flags. In addition to lush foliage, white beaches, lions, and more than 6 million Sierra Leoneans, the country, often described as the ‘poorest country in the world,’ is also home to deposits of diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, and chromite. If large endowments of natural resources can be a ‘blessing’ or a ‘curse,’ these resources, especially the alluvial diamond deposits, have been a curse for Sierra Leone as they are for many other countries that have found themselves embroiled in wars over abundant resources. Raw materials, such as coal in England during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, are necessary to the process of industrial development.
    [Show full text]
  • Africana Video Collection
    Africana Video Collection Contents: Africana Documentaries………………page 1 Africana Feature Films.……………page 155 Africana Television …………..…….page 216 Marjorie Iglow Mitchell Multimedia Center—Africana Video Collection AFRICANA DOCUMENTARIES A L’ÉCOLE NOMADE CALL NUMBER: 371.829 A111 vhs SUMMARY A documentary of efforts to scholarize nomadic Tuareg children in Niger. A.B.C. AFRICA CALL NUMBER: 362.73096 A111 vhs 84 minutes, c2001, director, Abbas Kiarostami ; producers, Marin Karmitz, Abbas Kiarostami. SUMMARY: In Kampala, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami and crew document the lives of Ugandan orphans to show the devastating effect of years of civil war and the AIDS epidemic, as well as the work of Ugandans who are trying to improve their conditions. ABEILLES FORESTEIRES AFRICAINES CALL NUMBER: 595.799 A138 vhs 27 minutes, 1981; director, Alain R. Devez SUMMARY: Ecological study of the meliponidae that, supposedly, went from Amazonia to Africa via North America and Asia. In Africa, these stingless bees cohabit with the Apis mellifica adansonii. ABOLICAO CALL NUMBER: 981.00496 A154 vhs 150 minutes, 1998, produced by Jeronimo Cesar de Freitas; directed by Zozimo Bulbul. SUMMARY: Abolicão is a startling look at the racial situation of Black Brazilians in contemporary Brazil. The director asks the following question to Black Brazilians from diverse walks of life - musicians, politicians, activists, people in government -- "We are celebrating 100 years since the abolition of slavery in Brazil, what does the abolition of slavery mean to you?" THE ACADEMY, WINDHOEK, NAMIBIA CALL NUMBER: 378.6881 A168a vhs 53 minutes SUMMARY Promotional film for the Academy and its three educational components: the College of Out-of-School Training, the Technikon Namibia, and the University of Namibia.
    [Show full text]
  • Civil Society and the Drive Towards an Arms Trade Treaty a Background Paper by Daniel Mack and Brian Wood
    Civil society and the drive towards an Arms Trade Treaty A background paper by Daniel Mack and Brian Wood 1) Introduction More than a thousand people on average lose their lives daily as victims of firearms, with many more thousands wounded, displaced, raped or otherwise abused as a result of armed violence. In addition, there are many victims and traumatized survivors of the blatant misuse of larger conventional weapons, munitions and military equipment in armed conflicts and brutal acts of repression across the globe. Yet incredibly, the international arms trade is poorly regulated and there are almost no binding standards for regulation agreed on a global scale. Despite growing awareness of the devastating effects of irresponsible arms transfers, many governments continue to approve the export of weapons, munitions and military equipment to parties stoking armed conflicts, to governments known to be perpetrating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, and to states where there are institutional and other substantial risks of diversion to unauthorized users. The idea of an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) initiated by several non-governmental organizations in the 1990s has gradually become accepted by governments, and now by the overwhelming majority of member states in the United Nations. Most proponents of an ATT aim to prevent such irresponsible arms trading through the establishment of the highest global standards in a binding international agreement to require states to effectively control all international transfers of conventional arms in their jurisdiction according to strict procedures that ensure maximum respect for established principles of international human rights law, international humanitarian law, social-economic development, international security and crime prevention.
    [Show full text]