Charles Taylor: Difference between revisions

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'''Charles Ghankay Taylor''' (January 28<sup>th</sup>, 1948 - ) was the 22nd President of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003. Prior to his presidency he served as the leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, which initiated the First Liberian Civil War, and was known as one of Africa's most preeminent warlords.

==Biography==

Taylor was born in Arthington, a town near the capital of Monrovia, Liberia, on 28 January 1948, to Nelson and Bernice Taylor. He attended The Newman School in his early years. He took the name "Ghankay" later on, possibly to please and gain favor with indigenous Liberians. His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group, part of the 95% of the people who are indigenous to Liberia. According to most reports, his father was an Americo-Liberian (descended from African-American colonists) who worked as a teacher, sharecropper, lawyer and judge.

Taylor was born in Arthington, a town near the capital of Monrovia, Liberia, on 28 January 1948, to Nelson and Bernice Taylor. He attended The Newman School in his early years. He took the name "Ghankay" later on, possibly to please and gain favor with indigenous Liberians. His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group, part of the 95% of the people who are indigenous to Liberia. According to most reports, his father was an Americo-Liberian (descended from African-American colonists) who worked as a teacher, sharecropper, lawyer, and judge.

[[File:Taylor's Mugshot 1983.png|thumb|Taylor's Mugshot 1983]]

Taylor graduated from The Bentley Academy and returned to Liberia to join the government of [[Samuel Doe]]. He was accused of embezzlement, being arrested and imprisoned in US territory. He escaped from prison and arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla under the tutelage of Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. He returned to his country in 1989 as head of a resistance group, the National Patriotic Forces of Liberia (FPNL), to assassinate the repressive Doe, initiating the first Liberian Civil War.

Taylor graduated from The Bentley Academy and returned to Liberia to join the government of [[Samuel Doe]]. He was accused of embezzlement, being arrested, and imprisoned in US territory. He escaped from prison and arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla under the tutelage of Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. He returned to his country in 1989 as head of a resistance group, the National Patriotic Forces of Liberia (FPNL), to assassinate the repressive Doe, initiating the first Liberian Civil War.

Taylor’s forces advanced on the capital of Monrovia in 1990, but his bid for power was checked by rival groups. Doe was brutally [[torture]]d and killed by Taylor's ally [[Prince Johnson]], and for the next seven years the armed factions fought a brutal civil war in which more than 150,000 people were killed and more than half of the population became refugees.

Taylor’s forces advanced on the capital of Monrovia in 1990, but his bid for power was checked by rival groups. Doe was brutally [[torture]]d and killed by Taylor's ally [[Prince Johnson]], and for the next seven years, the armed factions fought a brutal civil war in which more than 150,000 people were killed and more than half of the population became refugees.

Although the NPFL never took the capital, it controlled the countryside and its rich natural resources. The fighting also spilled over into ~~neighbouring~~ Sierra Leone, and at one point the Economic Community of West African States attempted to intervene with peacekeeping troops. A 1996 peace pact led to elections on July 19, 1997. Critics accused Taylor of unfair tactics, including giving handouts to the largely impoverished and illiterate electorate, but he won the election with 75 percent of the votes.

Although the NPFL never took the capital, it controlled the countryside and its rich natural resources. The fighting also spilled over into neighboring Sierra Leone, and at one point the Economic Community of West African States attempted to intervene with peacekeeping troops. A 1996 peace pact led to elections on July 19, 1997. Critics accused Taylor of unfair tactics, including giving handouts to the largely impoverished and illiterate electorate, but he won the election with 75 percent of the votes.

[[File:Sierra Leone War Victims.jpg|thumb|273x273px|Several mutilated victims of the Civil War|link=Special:FilePath/Sierra_Leone_War_Victims.jpg]]

As president, Taylor restructured the army, filling it with members of his former militia. Conflict ensued between Taylor and the opposition, and Monrovia became the scene of widespread gun battles and [[looting]]. Governments around the world accused Taylor of supporting the rebelling [[Revolutionary United Front]] in Sierra Leone, and in 2000 the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Liberia. The country was subsequently gripped again by civil war, and Taylor, accused of gross human rights violations, was indicted by a UN-sponsored war-crimes tribunal (the Special Court for Sierra Leone) in 2003. Following widespread international condemnation, Taylor agreed to go into exile in Nigeria. In March 2006, however, the Liberian government requested Taylor’s extradition, and Nigeria announced that it would comply with the order. Taylor subsequently attempted to flee Nigeria but was quickly captured. Charged with [[crimes against humanity]] and [[war crimes]] committed during Sierra Leone’s civil war, he was later sent to The Hague, where he was to be tried before the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

As president, Taylor restructured the army, filling it with members of his former militia. Conflict ensued between Taylor and the opposition, and Monrovia became the scene of widespread gun battles and [[looting]]. Governments around the world accused Taylor of supporting the rebelling [[Revolutionary United Front]] in Sierra Leone, and in 2000 the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Liberia. The country was subsequently gripped again by civil war, and Taylor, accused of gross human rights violations, was indicted by an UN-sponsored war-crimes tribunal (the Special Court for Sierra Leone) in 2003. Following widespread international condemnation, Taylor agreed to go into exile in Nigeria. In March 2006, however, the Liberian government requested Taylor’s extradition, and Nigeria announced that it would comply with the order. Taylor subsequently attempted to flee Nigeria but was quickly captured. Charged with [[crimes against humanity]] and [[war crimes]] committed during Sierra Leone’s civil war, he was later sent to The Hague, where he was to be tried before the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The trial began in June 2007, despite Taylor’s refusal to appear in court for the opening session. The proceedings at The Hague unfolded slowly. The court heard the testimony of 91 witnesses called to testify against Taylor before the prosecution rested its case in February 2009. It was not until July 2009 that Taylor took the stand in his own defense. In his testimony he denied all charges against him, including conscripting child soldiers, ordering amputations and other mutilations of civilians, and illegally dealing in diamonds to fuel the 1990s conflict (so-called “blood diamonds”). The investigation into whether Taylor had indeed trafficked in diamonds was highly publicized, in part because British model Naomi Campbell was called to testify in August 2010 about a stone (or a number of stones) that Taylor allegedly had given her in South Africa in 1997.

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 '''Charles Ghankay Taylor''' (January 28<sup>th</sup>, 1948 - ) was the 22nd President of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003. Prior to his presidency he served as the leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, which initiated the First Liberian Civil War, and was known as one of Africa's most preeminent warlords.
 ==Biography==
-Taylor was born in Arthington, a town near the capital of Monrovia, Liberia, on 28 January 1948, to Nelson and Bernice Taylor. He attended The Newman School in his early years. He took the name "Ghankay" later on, possibly to please and gain favor with indigenous Liberians. His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group, part of the 95% of the people who are indigenous to Liberia. According to most reports, his father was an Americo-Liberian (descended from African-American colonists) who worked as a teacher, sharecropper, lawyer and judge.
+Taylor was born in Arthington, a town near the capital of Monrovia, Liberia, on 28 January 1948, to Nelson and Bernice Taylor. He attended The Newman School in his early years. He took the name "Ghankay" later on, possibly to please and gain favor with indigenous Liberians. His mother was a member of the Gola ethnic group, part of the 95% of the people who are indigenous to Liberia. According to most reports, his father was an Americo-Liberian (descended from African-American colonists) who worked as a teacher, sharecropper, lawyer, and judge.
 [[File:Taylor's Mugshot 1983.png|thumb|Taylor's Mugshot 1983]]
-Taylor graduated from The Bentley Academy and returned to Liberia to join the government of [[Samuel Doe]]. He was accused of embezzlement, being arrested and imprisoned in US territory. He escaped from prison and arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla under the tutelage of Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. He returned to his country in 1989 as head of a resistance group, the National Patriotic Forces of Liberia (FPNL), to assassinate the repressive Doe, initiating the first Liberian Civil War.
+Taylor graduated from The Bentley Academy and returned to Liberia to join the government of [[Samuel Doe]]. He was accused of embezzlement, being arrested, and imprisoned in US territory. He escaped from prison and arrived in Libya, where he was trained as a guerrilla under the tutelage of Libyan dictator [[Muammar Gaddafi]]. He returned to his country in 1989 as head of a resistance group, the National Patriotic Forces of Liberia (FPNL), to assassinate the repressive Doe, initiating the first Liberian Civil War.
-Taylor’s forces advanced on the capital of Monrovia in 1990, but his bid for power was checked by rival groups. Doe was brutally [[torture]]d and killed by Taylor's ally [[Prince Johnson]], and for the next seven years the armed factions fought a brutal civil war in which more than 150,000 people were killed and more than half of the population became refugees.
+Taylor’s forces advanced on the capital of Monrovia in 1990, but his bid for power was checked by rival groups. Doe was brutally [[torture]]d and killed by Taylor's ally [[Prince Johnson]], and for the next seven years, the armed factions fought a brutal civil war in which more than 150,000 people were killed and more than half of the population became refugees.
-Although the NPFL never took the capital, it controlled the countryside and its rich natural resources. The fighting also spilled over into neighbouring Sierra Leone, and at one point the Economic Community of West African States attempted to intervene with peacekeeping troops. A 1996 peace pact led to elections on July 19, 1997. Critics accused Taylor of unfair tactics, including giving handouts to the largely impoverished and illiterate electorate, but he won the election with 75 percent of the votes.
+Although the NPFL never took the capital, it controlled the countryside and its rich natural resources. The fighting also spilled over into neighboring Sierra Leone, and at one point the Economic Community of West African States attempted to intervene with peacekeeping troops. A 1996 peace pact led to elections on July 19, 1997. Critics accused Taylor of unfair tactics, including giving handouts to the largely impoverished and illiterate electorate, but he won the election with 75 percent of the votes.
 [[File:Sierra Leone War Victims.jpg|thumb|273x273px|Several mutilated victims of the Civil War|link=Special:FilePath/Sierra_Leone_War_Victims.jpg]]
-As president, Taylor restructured the army, filling it with members of his former militia. Conflict ensued between Taylor and the opposition, and Monrovia became the scene of widespread gun battles and [[looting]]. Governments around the world accused Taylor of supporting the rebelling [[Revolutionary United Front]] in Sierra Leone, and in 2000 the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Liberia. The country was subsequently gripped again by civil war, and Taylor, accused of gross human rights violations, was indicted by a UN-sponsored war-crimes tribunal (the Special Court for Sierra Leone) in 2003. Following widespread international condemnation, Taylor agreed to go into exile in Nigeria. In March 2006, however, the Liberian government requested Taylor’s extradition, and Nigeria announced that it would comply with the order. Taylor subsequently attempted to flee Nigeria but was quickly captured. Charged with [[crimes against humanity]] and [[war crimes]] committed during Sierra Leone’s civil war, he was later sent to The Hague, where he was to be tried before the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
+As president, Taylor restructured the army, filling it with members of his former militia. Conflict ensued between Taylor and the opposition, and Monrovia became the scene of widespread gun battles and [[looting]]. Governments around the world accused Taylor of supporting the rebelling [[Revolutionary United Front]] in Sierra Leone, and in 2000 the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Liberia. The country was subsequently gripped again by civil war, and Taylor, accused of gross human rights violations, was indicted by an UN-sponsored war-crimes tribunal (the Special Court for Sierra Leone) in 2003. Following widespread international condemnation, Taylor agreed to go into exile in Nigeria. In March 2006, however, the Liberian government requested Taylor’s extradition, and Nigeria announced that it would comply with the order. Taylor subsequently attempted to flee Nigeria but was quickly captured. Charged with [[crimes against humanity]] and [[war crimes]] committed during Sierra Leone’s civil war, he was later sent to The Hague, where he was to be tried before the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
 The trial began in June 2007, despite Taylor’s refusal to appear in court for the opening session. The proceedings at The Hague unfolded slowly. The court heard the testimony of 91 witnesses called to testify against Taylor before the prosecution rested its case in February 2009. It was not until July 2009 that Taylor took the stand in his own defense. In his testimony he denied all charges against him, including conscripting child soldiers, ordering amputations and other mutilations of civilians, and illegally dealing in diamonds to fuel the 1990s conflict (so-called “blood diamonds”). The investigation into whether Taylor had indeed trafficked in diamonds was highly publicized, in part because British model Naomi Campbell was called to testify in August 2010 about a stone (or a number of stones) that Taylor allegedly had given her in South Africa in 1997.