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| CLUB TIMBUKTU African Night Club And Restaurant 520 East Center Street Minutes From Down Town Milwaukee |
| PRESIDENT Mamadee Konneh |
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| Abraham Kromah Speech WIMAM Inauguration |
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| Let us come together as one and let go our differences. By: Mr. Mamadee Konneh, WIMAM's President, July 9, 2006 |
It has been said and as we all are aware, “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”. Why can't we be good listeners and allow others to express their opinions? I would like to point out some issues that are affecting our community, and my administration will do every thing to solve this dispute if Allah’s agree. |
| Taylor boycotts war crimes trial POSTED: 5:33 a.m. EDT, June 4, 2007 |
| THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, accused of orchestrating unspeakable atrocities during neighboring Sierra Leone's bloody civil war, said Monday he did not believe he would receive a fair trial and boycotted its opening. In a letter to the court read by his defense attorney, Taylor said he was prevented from seeing his preferred lawyer and that his one court-appointed attorney was outgunned by the extensive prosecution team. "It is with great regret that I must decline to attend any further proceedings in this case," Taylor said in the statement read to the court by his lawyer, Karim Khan. "At one time I had confidence in this court's ability to dispense justice. Over time, it has become clear that confidence has been misplaced," Taylor's statement said. Chief Prosecutor Stephen Rapp disputed Taylor's assertion that he lacked an adequate defense, noting that Taylor had been assigned a lawyer, a special investigator and funds. "Everything that can be done is being done," Rapp told the court. Taylor, 59, who has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted. His trial is expected to last 18 months. Prosecutors allege that, in return for diamonds illegally mined in Sierra Leone, Taylor armed, funded and controlled rebels who murdered, raped and mutilated civilians before looting and torching their villages in a campaign of terror aimed at destabilizing the government in Freetown. Taylor, a former warlord who was elected Liberia's president in 1997, was indicted in 2003. He agreed to give up power and go into exile, but was taken into custody in March 2006 as he tried to cross the border from Nigeria to Cameroon. He was transferred to The Hague a year ago amid fears his trial in Sierra Leone could trigger fresh violence in the capital, Freetown. MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) -- At the Liberian capital's largest cemetery, where most of the dates on the tombstones are from the period of the country's 14-year civil war, four gravediggers listened to radio reports of the start of their former president's war crimes trial Monday. Taylor boycotted the proceedings Monday and his assigned lawyer walked out of court, but the hearing continued with the prosecutor laying out his case. The next hearing was scheduled June 25. Gravedigger Flomo Tokpah, 54, said his older brother was killed by Taylor's forces, and that he was glad Charles Taylor did not address the court himself. "I don't want to hear that wicked man's voice anymore," he said. But his co-worker, Teddy Taweh, 42, said Taylor "should face the court and tell people why he did what he did." From 1989 to 1997, Taylor led the rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia, whose aim was to unseat then-President Samuel K. Doe. Taylor is believed to be one of the first warlords to recruit children, who were organized into a Small Boys Unit and christened with names like "Babykiller." Taylor was elected Liberia's president in 1997. Taylor was indicted in 2003, accused of sponsoring neighboring Sierra Leone's rebel Revolutionary United Front in exchange for diamonds. Taylor agreed to give up power and go into exile, but was arrested in Nigeria in March 2006. He was transferred to The Hague a year ago amid fears his trial in Sierra Leone could trigger fresh violence in the region. His trial was taking place in a court room rented from the International Criminal Court by the U.N.-backed court that usually sits in Sierra Leone and was established to try those held most responsible for the Sierra Leonean war. Soon after their war, Liberians chose not to establish a war crimes court on their soil, opting instead for a truth and reconciliation commission, which was to issue a report next. Monday's proceedings were not broadcast live in Liberia, leaving people here relying on radio and Internet reports. In contrast, in Sierra Leone, live satellite hook-ups were available at the complex where the court trying Taylor usually sits and at three other sites in the capital, Freetown. "My interest in being here to watch the trial is I believe that if Charles Taylor is to be tried the truth will be out about the part he played during our rebel war and justice will be done," said Fatmata Kamara, a 17-year-old high school student who was among the school children, researchers, rights activists and others watching at Freetown court complex. |
| Source: CNN.com |
| Liberians, Sierra Leoneans follow Taylor trial POSTED: 11:53 a.m. EDT, June 4, 2007 |