The NEWS (Monrovia)
16 May 2008
interview
Monrovia — On the second day of his testimony, ex-Liberian President Moses Blah has told the war crimes court in The Hague that former President Charles Taylor rejected complaints from Sierra Leone rebels about atrocities committed by his fighters.
Mr. Blah said RUF rebel leader Foday Sankoh personally complained to Mr. Taylor about the rape, looting and killings committed allegedly by Liberians helping the RUF in Sierra Leone.
According to Mr. Blah, "he [Taylor] said this kind of thing must happen when you're fighting war."
The RUF had a reputation for brutality, such as chopping off the arms and legs of civilians, as well as killing and raping. The RUF rebels were also notorious for mutilating civilians.
Mr. Blah told the war crimes court Thursday that his former boss responded by threatening to withdraw his troops from neighboring Sierra Leone if complaints about atrocities were not halted. Mr. Blah, who briefly succeeded Mr. Taylor as President, is the most senior figure to testify in The Hague.
Mr. Taylor faces 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is accused of helping Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in their brutal conflict with the government.
Mr. Blah informed the court that Mr. Taylor mediated in arguments between the rebels. He said on one occasion a rebel commander disagreed with the Liberian President's judgment, but said he had to accept "the chief's decision".
Mr. Blah said RUF fighters tried to help Mr. Taylor's forces against Liberia's LURD rebels, who eventually forced him from power in 2003.
Mr. Taylor sat in court taking notes during his former deputy's testimony.
Earlier Mr. Blah disclosed that the commander of one of Mr. Taylor's units in Liberia "had a habit of eating fellow human beings".
Blah said he saw Nelson Gaye roasted a human hand on a fire, ate it with boiled cassava and noted that Gaye's Marine unit was one of Taylor's forces which, he was told, should not be pursued if they committed atrocities.
As Mr. Blah took the witness stand on Monday, he was careful not to look at the man he served for nearly 20 years.
He gave the court a detailed account of Mr. Taylor's bloody rise to power and acknowledged the use of child soldiers.
Mr. Blah became Vice President of Liberia in 2000, and President after Taylor was forced into exile in 2003. However, he was only president for two months, until October 2003, when a United Nations-backed transitional government was sworn in.
Moses Blah continues with his testimony.
The prosecutor Stephen Rapp ("PO") continues the direct examination of former Liberian vice-president Moses Blah ("WW").
PO: I would like to go back to yesterday: you mentioned your flight from Burkina Faso to Liberia. Why did you obtain the sheep?
WW: We did not have that type of sheep in Liberia.
PO: Why did you need the sheep?
WW: We had a farm.
PO: Did you still have farm when you were ambassador?
WW: Yes.
PO: What is current status of this farm?
WW: I still have the farm and work there myself.
PO: What was the reason for your trip to Burkinabe president Blaise Compoare?
WW: I had to deliver a message and bring back the response to Taylor.
PO: Was this an oral message?
WW: Yes, orally.
PO: What was the message?
WW: I had to say that Mr. Taylor still saw Compaore as his friend. Although he had difficulties, he should still remember him to be a friend.
PO: What was the response of Compaore?
WW: Compaore was not happy with the way that the friendship had been going. He was no longer happy with the relationship. He said he had risking his life for Mr. Taylor.
PO: What do you think he meant with risking his life?
WW: He had been helping Mr. Taylor, for instance with shipping consignments.
PO: What did these consignments consist of?
WW: Arms and ammunition.
PO: In Burkina Faso you met Mr. Cisse and Grace Minor, did you know that they would be there?
WW: No.
PO: Did they inform you of their mission.
WW: No, Mr. Cisse told me in a joke that Mr. Taylor was running a Russian government. They all laughed over it.
PO: What did you think about the joke?
WW: I think too many people were send there. They did not know what the others, who were on different missions, where after.
PO: What was Mr. Taylor after?
WW: I did not know.
PO: Can you tell us what happened with the cargo?
WW: The cargo was offloaded on Roberts International airport. There were several trucks in a long row.
PO: What kinds of trucks were present?
WW: It was long trucks, used for transportation in Liberia.
PO: Who did the offload?
WW: Soldiers of NPFL group, I did not know who. They did it very fast.
PO: Was there any international presence?
WW: Not at that moment.
PO: Were the persons you met in Burkina Faso (three), who were on different missions, also on the plane?
WW: No, only Mr. Cisse was on the plane. Ms. Minor stayed in Burkina Faso because she was afraid.
PO: Did she tell you why she was afraid?
WW: No, I do not know.
PO: In what year did the shipment occur?
WW: I can not record the date.
PO: It was at the time you were in Liberia, right? When were you in Liberia normally?
WW: I was in Liberia during June, July and August. That is because of the terrible raining months in Libya. After the raining months, I returned to Libya. I was always in Libya the other months. I was always home when it was cold.
PO: Did you know where the weapons went?
WW: They were offloaded. I know as a member of the NPFL where they went. They were usually brought to the back office of Mr. Taylor's house, White Flower.
PO: Is this the same as the Executive Mansion?
WW: No, that is different. There was only one White Flower; the residence of Mr. Taylor. Even if he changed houses.
PO: Was there ever more than one White Flower?
WW: Yes, at the time he built his new house at Tubman Boulevard. The old house, he still lived in and the new house were both White Flower.
PO: Which location did you refer to regarding the weapons?
WW: That was this new house. Underground there was a secret place where the weapons were put.
PO: Was Taylor at the time of the shipment in his new mansion?
WW: Yes, he was there.
PO: Where did the weapons go after White Flower?
WW: No idea. The weapons were normally distributed to the different units.
PO: Have you any knowledge of any shipment of arms from Liberia to Sierra Leone?
WW: No.
PO: What was the security situation in Liberia?
WW: There were rumors of war. It was a very tense situation. The war had however not reached Monrovia.
PO: Were there any other forces active in Liberia?
WW: Ulimo-J and Ulimo-K.
PO: So, there were no other forces than those?
QWW: No other forces. NPFL was of course also active.
PO: Which groups were threatening the government of Mr. Taylor?
WW: Ulimo-K and -J.
PO: How where the shipments paid for?
WW: No idea.
PO: Were you during vice president / ambassador aware of any other shipments?
WW: Yes, in particular one shipment during my vice presidency. Mr. Taylor was not there, people thought he disappeared. Suddenly Mr. Taylor appeared. There were rumors of a large plane with weapons.
PO: When did this occur?
WW: At the end of my vice presidency.
PO: And during your early time as vice president?
WW: I was at my office of vice president and did not know of any shipments of weapons.
PO: Did you investigate the weapons' shipments?
WW: No, but I remember that at Roberts international airport a plane crashed.
PO: Did you go there?
WW: Yes, I went there. There were a lot of explosions. It was dangerous to go there so I waited. Afterwards I drove to the main airport. I saw two white men carried into ambulances. They had Ukranian passports. One died and one got wounded.
PO: So you are aware of three shipments to Roberts International Airport. Was any other airport used?
WW: No, I would not know which one.
PO: Let's go back for a moment. Before your vice presidency. Did any shipments come in by air?
WW: No, not that I know of.
PO: I now would like to discuss the individuals in the Taylor government. Mussa Cisse, what was his role?
WW: He was chief of protocol in the executive mansion.
PO: What were his responsibilities?
WW: He had to receive guests and to inform the president of who was going in and out. Sometimes he was sent on missions.
PO: Did he have an informal role also?
WW: Mussa Cisse was a friend of the president. The first time I met him he was a friend of Taylor, who met him in Ouagadougou. He is a Mandingo (tribe).
PO: What was the position Mandingos in Liberia?
WW: The Mandingos were against Taylor, except Cisse.
PO: What was the role of Grace Minor?
WW: She was a friend of the president. Later she became senior senator, of Montserrado County, where Monrovia is located.
PO: What kind of assignments did Taylor give her?
WW: There were two senators of each country. She was closed to the president. What ever the president wanted she was prepared to do. She was always present at the president's request.
PO: Did you ever meet her informally?
WW: Yes. Grace gave me 300.000 USD for transportation to Liberia, when I stopped in Abidjan. I was on my way to Libya.
PO: Did any other women handle such financial affairs?
WW: There was Kiddiatua Finley.
PO: Any other women?
WW: No.
PO: Are you familiar with Martina Johnson?
WW: Yes, she was at the military side during the war.
PO: And after the war?
WW: After the war she got a job at the Roberts international airport.
PO: Who did Taylor rely on in finance?
WW: When I was president, I relied on the minister who was in charge of finance. Taylor did rely on the minister also.
PO: Who was the first Finance Minister?
WW: I do not recollect his name. All money you obtained from the Finance Minister had to be signed for. He only gave money at signing. Nathanial Barnes was Minister of Finance at the time. When Mr. Taylor requested money, he said he had to sign for it too. Subsequently he was fired.
PO: Who succeeded him?
WW: I think it was Charles Bright.
PO: How was he appointed?
WW: All cabinet ministers were appointed by the president.
PO: You mentioned the LPRC yesterday, who headed that?
WW: First Cyril Allen, secondly Bell, subsequently Dumba.
PO: What was the role of Taylor in the LPRC?
WW: I do not know.
PO: Liberia is known for its flags on vessels. Who handled the flags for shipping?
WW: The Maritime Bureau.
PO: Who headed this?
WW: Mr. Benonina Urey. This bureau had its headquarters in London.
PO: Where did the money go?
WW: When I became president I investigated this on the basis of receipts. There was nothing there. It had been paid in advance to the President Taylor, according to the Finance Minister.
PO: Who appointed the head of this office?
WW: The president.
PO: Do you know if there were officers that were bringing in funds for Liberian government?
WW: No.
PO: Do you know Talal Al Nadi?
WW: Yes, he is a friend of the president.
PO: What was his business?
WW: He was a big boss. He was involved in building materials, fishing companies, a lot of business.
PO: Let's go back to yesterday; to your meeting with Gaddafi. Gaddafi asked about men trained in Liberia. You said you lied, how?
WW: I said that I was only an Ambassador. Targa Wunti was Ambassador in Guinea. Not all people I mentioned however were working for the government.
PO: Did you keep track of the men that were trained with you?
WW: Yes. We belonged to the same ethnic group. They were around when there were difficulties.
PO: Have you made a list of these men?
WW: Yes, we made a list. Sometimes there were also forces from Libya. We had to know who was NPFL and who was involved. So we would know who was lying.
PO: [presents list to WW] Do your recognize this list?
WW: Yes.
PO: Who created this list?
WW: This list was drawn from training to know who was in the group of the NPFL.
PO: Can this list be marked for identification?
Court: Yes, this can be marked for identification, 5 pages with names.
PO: The first name on the list is Charles Taylor. Further names are sometimes marked with X's. What is the reason for that?
WW: These people are killed during time of war.
PO: Who placed X's?
WW: I, Moses Blah.
PO: Copper Miller, number 2, has been X-ed.
WW: He left and tried to establish his own organization. Taylor set up an investigation and he was arrested. He was taken to Burkina Faso, together with Augustus Wright (number 3).
PO: Do you know what happened to them?
WW: They were taken there so they could not return to Liberia. In a clash between our troops and Prince Johnson, Miller was killed. He was killed in a fight. The order to move into the base of Prince Johnson was of Taylor. Augustus was executed because he had a weapon on him when his was in the presence of Taylor.
PO: Who authorized this execution?
WW: Taylor authorized all executions in NPFL. Wright was arrested because of carrying a weapon. Probably Taylor ordered his execution.
PO: Where was this?
WW: LAMCO (Liberian American Mining Company) Jecepa. Where the iron ore mines are. He was executed there.
PO: And number 58, Dogoleh, the former vice-president (before Blah). How did he die?
WW: He was sick. Taylor sent him to France for medication. He was taken to Abidjan. Afterwards, there were rumors that Mr. Taylor beat him and that he died because of that. I do not know where these rumors came from.
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Blah his self needs to be tried.Where did he get money from to build a house he never build before his vise presidency? i know of stories that blah order enocent people to be killed.He haven't told the court about his names duing the war.
A HALF TRUTH IS JUST A BAD AS A LIE. MR. BLAH, HAVING DECIDED TO TESTIFY, MUST ACTUALLY GIVE ALL OF THE FACTS THAT WILL ENHENCE THE WORK OF THE COURT. I WILL SAY BRAVO TO HIM PROVIDED, HE GIVES ALL OF THE INFORMATION HE HAS REGARDING THE COMMISSION OF THESE UGLY ACTS AGAINST HUMINITY.
BRAVO BRAVO PRESIDENT MOSSES BLA PLS EXPOSE ALL OF THEM INCLUDING GHADAFI BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT REPET IT AGAIN,
THIS IS FOR OUR CHILDREN FOR OUR GRAND CHILDREN TO LEAVE IN PEACE