Vol. 8 Issue 7 - Public International Law & Policy Group

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Sirleaf said she and other expatriates sent money to Taylor to fund his rebellion. In addition, she said in May 1990, she visited Taylor in the Liberian town of Gborplay, where Taylor had made his base. "There were some of us who agreed that the rebellion was necessary. And I will admit to you that I was one of those who did agree that the rebellion was necessary," she said. "But I was never a member of the NPFL." The rebellion was aimed at overthrowing President Samuel K. Doe, an illiterate soldier who came to power in a 1980 coup. Doe, a member of the Krahn ethnic group, openly promoted his kinsmen and discriminated against the Americo-Liberians, the country's former elite who are descendants of the U.S. slaves that colonized Liberia in the early 1800s. Both Taylor and Sirleaf are Americo-Liberians. Jerome Verdier, the commission's chairman, said he was pleased she had finally submitted to the process. The commission has been holding public hearings for nearly a year and some of the biggest names in the conflict have appeared before the televised panel, including Prince Johnson, now a senator, who videotaped himself as he ordered his men to torture Samuel K. Doe. "All we want from witnesses is to explain their roles and share their experience," said Verdier. The 14-year conflict had a momentary lull when Taylor ran for office in 1997 and was elected president. Many say they voted for him because they were afraid of the chaos that would follow if he lost. One of the campaign slogans at the time was, "He killed my Ma, he killed my Pa, but I'll vote for him anyway." Fighting soon resumed and Taylor was forced into exile in Nigeria in 2003, where he lived until his arrest in 2006. Learn about PILPG’s work in Liberia Return to Table of Contents
Macedonia EU mulls economic support for crisis-hit Balkans Agence France Presse, 2/12/09 The European Union is considering a package of financial support to help Balkan states deal with fallout from the global economic crisis, EU enlargement chief Olli Rehn said on Thursday. "The whole of Europe including Serbia is undergoing very difficult times because of the economic and financial crisis," Rehn said in Belgrade after meeting with Serbian President Boris Tadic. "The European Union has taken initiatives to counter this recession by an economic recovery programme and our neighbors rightly wish to benefit from the stability and solidarity of the European Union in these very testing times. "That's what we also do with the Western Balkans and Serbia," said the EU enlargement commissioner. "As a concrete sign of our support in these times of economic crisis, the European Union is currently considering a proposal to put forward a budgetary support facility to help Serbia to overcome this crisis." Serbia had earlier appealed to the 27-nation bloc to provide aspiring members in the region with assistance in the face of the widening impact of the global financial and economic crisis. Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic made the request at the end of an economic meeting in Belgrade also attended by officials from Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia and Montenegro on February 4. The countries asked the EU to allocate as soon as possible 120 million euros of pre-accession funds to regional projects, particularly for energy and infrastructure. All of them aspire to join the European Union, but only Croatia and Macedonia are official candidates for eventual membership in the 27-nation bloc. Former war crime suspect to run for Macedonian president Agence France Presse, 2/16/09 A former war crimes suspect is among seven candidates for the presidency of Macedonia in next month's elections, an electoral official said Monday. Former interior minister Ljube Boskovski will run for the job after having been released from the Hague-based <strong>International</strong> Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in July 2008.
Page 1 and 2: PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WATCH Thursday,
Page 3 and 4: Kosovo marks 1 year of independence
Page 5 and 6: Whitman said he could not discuss p
Page 7 and 8: "Now that we have realized this is
Page 9 and 10: "However, the aforesaid statements
Page 11 and 12: The court has linked the former Bos
Page 13 and 14: The military regime has promised to
Page 15 and 16: Former US President George W. Bush'
Page 17 and 18: "How can we go on without the main
Page 19 and 20: "I don't want to be on the side of
Page 21 and 22: EU enlargement commissioner Olli Re
Page 23 and 24: "Have I said that Bosco Ntaganda ha
Page 25 and 26: The first victim of the operation h
Page 27 and 28: The five-day war and Russia's subse
Page 29 and 30: Tengku Syamsuddin, a spokesman for
Page 31 and 32: India and Pakistan have fought thre
Page 33 and 34: New Delhi has noted with strong app
Page 35 and 36: Serbs consider Kosovo to be the hea
Page 37: "The key to our success is in unity
Page 41 and 42: "As for the content of the document
Page 43 and 44: The UN Security Council has called
Page 45 and 46: Moro Islamic Liberation Front which
Page 47 and 48: Somalia Overcrowding at Kenya refug
Page 49 and 50: "We are happy with that," he said,
Page 51 and 52: "With a growing number of children
Page 53 and 54: Dr. Thurairaja Varatharaja, the top
Page 55 and 56: Without a borehole, water was colle
Page 57 and 58: The New York Times reported on Wedn
Page 59 and 60: The talks mediated by Doha are the
Page 61 and 62: Aid workers and human rights activi
Page 63 and 64: "They have no way out of these swam

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