|
Democracy: S. LEONE: Decision on Taylor trial venue rests with head of Special Court
|
©AP
Charles Taylor is waiting to hear where he will be tried for war crimes
FREETOWN, 1 Jun 2006 (IRIN) - The new president of the UN-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone, Justice George Gelaga King, is expected in the coming days to make the final call on whether to try former Liberian president Charles Taylor in Sierra Leone or The Hague in the Netherlands.
Taylor faces charges of war crimes in Sierra Leone including murder, rape and providing financial support for Sierra Leone rebel fighters who terrorised civilians, hacking off their hands and feet.
If Justice King decides to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and push for Taylor’s trial to be moved to The Hague, the indictments will still be served under jurisdiction of the Sierra Leone Special Court but will use the high security facilities of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Or, King could make an about turn and lobby to keep the landmark trial in Sierra Leone.
|
Posted by admin on Thursday, June 01 @ 14:19:55 EDT (1717 reads)
(Read More... | 2072 bytes more | Score: 0)
| |
|
Democracy: LIBERIA: Former fighters ordered off rubber plantations
|
![]() |
©IRIN
A Liberian rubber plantation
|
MONROVIA, 26 May 2006 (IRIN) - President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has asked UN peacekeepers to help the government take control of two rubber plantations occupied by former rebel fighters who have been illegally tapping latex.
Agriculture Minister Chris Toe on Thursday said the move followed a joint government/UN report stating that illegal occupation of the plantations threatened the safety of communities living in the vicinity and humanitarian agencies.
The report notably singled out the Guthrie and Sinoe plantations. Toe quoted Sirleaf as saying that these two estates “should be immediately repossessed, as an interim measure … until legitimate concession rights and management issues are clarified".
"Due to recurring violence, UNMIL was requested to support the securing of the plantations, as well as stoppage of illegal sale and purchase of rubber from the contested plantations," Toe added.
|
Posted by admin on Friday, May 26 @ 18:54:07 EDT (895 reads)
(Read More... | 2778 bytes more | Score: 0)
| |
|
Democracy: COTE D IVOIRE: Prime minister nudges divided country to peace
|
![]() |
©IRIN
Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny
|
ABIDJAN , 15 May 2006 (IRIN) - A pilot programme to identify millions of Ivorians who do not have nationality and voter papers is scheduled to kick off on Thursday, according to Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny, nudging Cote d’Ivoire closer to peace-sealing polls.
Less than six months before an election deadline, an estimated 3 million Ivorians - many of them first, second or third generation immigrants - have no identity papers and so, no voting papers. Identification is a key demand of rebels who say that immigrants and northerners are marginalised by the government.
The trial hearings will be held on two sites in the rebel-held north and five towns in the government-run south, and are meant to establish the identity of Ivorians and immigrants aged 13 and over who have no birth certificates, Banny said on Sunday.
“On 18 May, local hearings will be organised on seven pilot sites which have been chosen to be a representative sample of what will be done on a large scale,” Banny said on state television.
|
Posted by admin on Tuesday, May 16 @ 09:53:51 EDT (805 reads)
(Read More... | 3300 bytes more | Score: 0)
| |
| |
|
Democracy: GUINEA: Conte reshuffles government, gives trusted aide top job
|
![]() |
©Pierre Holtz/IRIN
Parts of Conakry don't have water
|
CONAKRY, 30 May 2006 (IRIN) - President Lansana Conte has reshuffled the government of Guinea, appointing a longtime trusted aide to the top cabinet post and bringing back several onetime ministers.
The reshuffle, announced on state radio and television on Monday evening, comes almost two months after the sacking of reformist prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, 5 April, and Radio France Internationale said it marked a return of the old guard in Guinea, where Conte has been in office for 22 years.
No new prime minister was immediately named, but instead the decree restructured government by creating six large ministries of state, practically super ministries.
Fode Bangoura, former secretary-general at the presidency, who has ministerial rank, was appointed to head the powerful Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs. The ministry will coordinate government and include the Defence ministry and Economic and Financial Control ministry. Bangoura has been close to Conte for years
|
Posted by admin on Wednesday, May 31 @ 17:07:07 EDT (933 reads)
(Read More... | 2382 bytes more | Score: 0)
| |
|
Democracy: S. LEONE: New war crimes court president pleads for extra funds
|
![]() |
©IRIN
Freetown
|
FREETOWN, 25 May 2006 (IRIN) - Sierra Leone’s UN-backed war crimes tribunal this week will be presided for the first time by a Sierra-Leonean, Justice George Gelaga King. And making sure the Special Court receives extra funding to survive will be a top priority, he told IRIN in an interview.
His appointment was "quite a big challenge, because it's a tremendous responsibility," said the 73-year-old judge. "I as a Sierra Leonean consider it quite an honour and I am proud because I am a Sierra Leonean."
But the court set up in 2002 initially for three years was far from accomplishing its mandate and needed more time and more funding, he stressed. Unlike the ICTR tribunal for Rwanda and the ICTY tribunal for Yugoslavia, financed by set contributions from the UN’s 187 members, the Special Court was dependent on voluntary funds.
|
Posted by admin on Friday, May 26 @ 18:44:19 EDT (715 reads)
(Read More... | 4153 bytes more | Score: 0)
| |
|
