Federal Court Jury Finds Son of Former Liberian President Guilty of Five Counts of Torture
October 31, 2008
The first case brought against a U.S. citizen, Charles McArthur Emmanuel AKA Chuckie Taylor, for committing torture abroad ended with a guilty verdict on Thursday from a federal jury in Miami, Florida.
A federal court jury found the son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, Chuckie Taylor, guilty of five counts of torture, conspiracy to torture, using a firearm to commit a crime and conspiracy to use a firearm to commit a crime.
The jurors deliberated for almost two days. Prosecutors said 31 year old Chuckie was involved in killings and torture as head of an elite Anti-terrorist Unit in his father’s government also known as the “Demon Forces.”
From 1999 to 2003, Chuckie’s job was to use his paramilitary soldiers to silence opposition to his father and train soldiers for conflict in neighboring African countries, according to trial testimony.
A succession of witnesses and victims told the jury about Chuckie’s involvement in horrific acts including at least three killings and torture using electric shocks, lit cigarettes, molten plastic, hot irons pressed to flesh, stabbings with bayonets and even biting ants shoveled onto people’s bodies.
Chuckie Taylor faces life in prison, with sentencing set for January 9th 2009.
Son of Liberian despot Charles Taylor guilty of torture
From correspondents in Miami
Agence France-Presse
October 31, 2008 07:33am
A US court has found the son of Liberian former president Charles Taylor guilty of involvement in summary executions and torture in the west African nation.
Charles McArthur Emmanuel, 31, a US citizen also known as "Chuckie Taylor" who was the head of Liberia's anti-terrorist services during his father's 1997-2003 rule in Liberia, was found guilty today by a jury in Miami, Florida of charges including conspiracy to commit assassination and torture.
"He was declared guilty," said a spokesperson for federal judge Cecilia Altonaga who presided over the case.
"The judge set the sentence for January 9, 2009."
The trial is the first under a 1994 US law that allows prosecution of US nationals charged with torture outside the United States.
The indictment against Emmanuel included graphic detail of brutal killing and torture Emmanuel allegedly ordered and in some cases carried out between April 1999 and July 2003.
One victim was allegedly placed naked in a pit as stinging fire ants were shovelled over him.
Emmanuel was also alleged to have tortured his victims with melted plastic, electric shocks and scalding water as well as beatings with "sharp metal rods".
END
Tamils For Justice was created for exactly this purpose, to relentlessly persue the US citizens and residents who are perpetrating crimes against humanity and Tamils in Sri Lanka, including torture, rape, kidnapping and abduction.
They are also responsible for brazenly murdering members of Parliament as well as innocent and unarmed civilians with impunity.
Unfortunately T4J encountered some problems with it"s attorney and some Tamils in
the diaspora as well as certain Tamil charities and associations. T4J is working on all legal and humanitarian issues, except Genocide litigation or debates with Non Entities.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Lankan issue rocks LOK SABHA , RAJYA SABHA
Lankan issue rocks LOK SABHA , RAJYA SABHA
PEACE:WAY FORWARD
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[Image: A lorry carrying fruits and vegetables from Indian-administered Kashmir begins crossing over to Pakistan-administered Kashmir at the peace bridge in Chakoti Line of Control, about 60km (37 miles) south of Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, October 21, 2008. Trucks loaded with apples, onions and nuts crossed the frontier in divided Kashmir for the first time in decades on Tuesday as nuclear-armed India and Pakistan opened a trade link aimed at easing tension. ] reuters
Lankan issue rocks LS, RS
(October 21, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon within minutes of assembling today following uproarious scenes over the issues of plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra.
When Lok Sabha met for the day, DMK, a key partner in the UPA Government, raised the issue of plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka while members of other opposition parties, including NDA and Left, were also on their feet raising separate issues.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said he has got five notices for suspension of Question Hour and requested all the members to speak one at a time but his plea went unheeded.
‘You have put me in this chair (of Speaker), I don’t want to be here,’ he said. As the din continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till afternoon.
Rajya Sabha witnessed similar scenes where DMK members brought banners which read ‘Save the Tamils’ and ‘Stop Genocide in Sri Lanka’ while the Left MPs claimed the nation’s autonomy had been ‘mortgaged’ in the nuclear deal with the US.
Sharad Yadav (JD-U) wanted to the raise the issue of attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra. Some members of the BJP also supported him. Chairman Hamid Ansari repeatedly requested for order in the House. He asked members to raise the issue during Zero Hour and suggested that they could have a structured debate.
But disruptions continued. Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said there were provisions of raising the issue during Question Hour. ‘We are exercising our option under the rules.’ Eight minutes into the commotion, Ansari adjourned the House till noon. - Sri Lanka Guardian
PEACE:WAY FORWARD
*
[Image: A lorry carrying fruits and vegetables from Indian-administered Kashmir begins crossing over to Pakistan-administered Kashmir at the peace bridge in Chakoti Line of Control, about 60km (37 miles) south of Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir, October 21, 2008. Trucks loaded with apples, onions and nuts crossed the frontier in divided Kashmir for the first time in decades on Tuesday as nuclear-armed India and Pakistan opened a trade link aimed at easing tension. ] reuters
Lankan issue rocks LS, RS
(October 21, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned till noon within minutes of assembling today following uproarious scenes over the issues of plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Indo-US civilian nuclear deal and attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra.
When Lok Sabha met for the day, DMK, a key partner in the UPA Government, raised the issue of plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka while members of other opposition parties, including NDA and Left, were also on their feet raising separate issues.
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said he has got five notices for suspension of Question Hour and requested all the members to speak one at a time but his plea went unheeded.
‘You have put me in this chair (of Speaker), I don’t want to be here,’ he said. As the din continued, the Speaker adjourned the House till afternoon.
Rajya Sabha witnessed similar scenes where DMK members brought banners which read ‘Save the Tamils’ and ‘Stop Genocide in Sri Lanka’ while the Left MPs claimed the nation’s autonomy had been ‘mortgaged’ in the nuclear deal with the US.
Sharad Yadav (JD-U) wanted to the raise the issue of attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra. Some members of the BJP also supported him. Chairman Hamid Ansari repeatedly requested for order in the House. He asked members to raise the issue during Zero Hour and suggested that they could have a structured debate.
But disruptions continued. Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) said there were provisions of raising the issue during Question Hour. ‘We are exercising our option under the rules.’ Eight minutes into the commotion, Ansari adjourned the House till noon. - Sri Lanka Guardian
Is Sri Lanka a Country or an Island? - A SENIOR TAMIL MEMBER OF THE DIASPORA:
Is Sri Lanka a Country or an Island?
by Oor Kuruvi
(October 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In our writings, discussions, representations, and deliberations we must be careful to use certain words which form part of our vocabulary and express exactly what we mean to others.
At this time,
when there are references to Sri Lanka being a country, and questions are being asked whether other countries can interfere in this "country";
when Tamils are referred to as citizens of the country - when it suits the so-called Sri Lankan government, of course, and not when they are bombed, shelled, abducted, tortured, raped, denied homes, food and medicines;
when almost every country including the Sinhala government in the island (with tongue in cheek), speaks of a political solution and not a military solution;
when for over 60 years since independence the conflict has not been solved;
when the current Sinhala government came in with a mandate of a “Chinthanaya”(chinthani in Tamil);
when those fighting for freedom against state terrorism are themselves called terrorists;
when the current Sinhalese government appointed an All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to find a political solution to the national question, to which the 22 MPs representing Tamils were not even invited;
when the APRC has been meeting for three years and is still not able to produce a suggested solution;
when the President forced the Chairman of the APRC to announce an "interim solution (the President’s own), at the beginning of this year, based on the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, but even that too is not yet complied with;
when the President has formed another All Party committee (APC) , (again only to please the outside world) to which he has again not invited the members of the Tamil Party mentioned earlier, but invited a paramilitary party now working with government which has only one parliamentarian nominated by the government;
when the President has said that he will recognize all Buddhist temples, even those built illegally;
when the Army commander says that the island belongs to the Sinhalese and the minorities should not make undue demands, and no one has contradicted him as yet—
We Tamils should stand up and be counted.
In our writings, discussions, representations, and deliberations we must be careful to use certain words which form part of our vocabulary and express exactly what we mean to others.
1.Our Fighters are not terrorists, tigers, separatists, rebels or even the LTTE. They are Freedom Fighters.
2. Freedom Fighters are fighting against Sinhala State terrorism and for the Liberation of our “homelands” as specified in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. Our homeland is where Tamils flee when attacked by Sinhala goondas [hoodlums], or where they are sent for safety by the government in Power. The Tamil homelands are the areas which the armed forces have no compunction against shelling and bombing.
3. The Government of Sri Lanka does not deserve the dignity of that name. Call it the Sinhala Majority Government of the island. You might add “hegemonic” for good measure.
4. Tamils insist on Democracy. Who is ruling in the island of Ceylon (or Serendib) are Sinhalese who are ruling over their lands and our homelands by default of the British, when they left the island, and by force thereafter. Tamils wished to stay together in a united country till 1956 and thereafter under a Federal system where there would be Equality and Dignity and Justice.
5. It was only in 1976, 28 years after independence, that the Tamils decided wanted to live in their homelands separately, as they had done from times immemorial, and gave that mandate to their elected representatives. Democracy would have implemented the wishes of the people.
6. In1948 and later in 1965, Tamils entered into Pacts with Sinhalese leaders of the time to live together in one island and the conditions for doing so. If either of the Pacts had been implemented, the agony and destruction that has followed would not have happened. Both Pacts were unilaterally abrogated by the Sinhalese leaders.
7. For those amongst us who do not know and those around us where we live, some lessons in history should be given.
From times immemorial there have been three Kingdoms in the island called Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka by the Sinhalese majority governments), all of which had Territorial Integrity and Sovereignty. During short periods following wars, a Sinhalese king or Tamil King ruled over the entire island.
Therefore, there was no country called Sri Lanka until very recently, only an island called Ceylon and other names prior to that.
8. At the time of the advent of the first colonial power, the Portuguese, there were three separate kingdoms, each with a king and well demarcated borders. (a) A Tamil Kingdom in the North and East. Now referred to as the Tamil Homelands, (b) A Sinhalese kingdom in the coastal areas, also known as the maritime provinces, (c) A Sinhalese Kingdom in the hilly areas in the center called the Kandyan kingdom (the last four kings of which were Tamils).
The Portuguese conquered the Maritime Sinhalese Kingdom in 1505. They conquered the Tamil Kingdom 104 years later. The Dutch took over from the Portuguese, and the British from the Dutch. The Kandyan Kingdom was captured by the British only in1815. This is irrefutable proof that Ceylon was not a country, but an island. There were three separate countries before these conquests .
This is not unusual. There are several islands in the world where there are more than one country. The British isles are made up of the countries of England, Scotland, Wales sharing one island. Brunei and Borneo share one island. Haiti and the Dominican Republic share an island, and so on.
All colonial powers administered the countries they conquered separately, till the British in 1833 brought all three countries under one administration for convenience.
When the British gave up the island, they should have restored the three Kingdoms back to the original occupants—the Tamil and the Sinhalese nations. Lord Soulsbury, the architect of the independent constitution of the island, said he later regretted that he had not made a different arrangement. He was misled by Sinhalese leaders, and naïve and trusting Tamil leaders.
These facts must be made known to the International Community. - Sri Lanka Guardian
by Oor Kuruvi
(October 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) In our writings, discussions, representations, and deliberations we must be careful to use certain words which form part of our vocabulary and express exactly what we mean to others.
At this time,
when there are references to Sri Lanka being a country, and questions are being asked whether other countries can interfere in this "country";
when Tamils are referred to as citizens of the country - when it suits the so-called Sri Lankan government, of course, and not when they are bombed, shelled, abducted, tortured, raped, denied homes, food and medicines;
when almost every country including the Sinhala government in the island (with tongue in cheek), speaks of a political solution and not a military solution;
when for over 60 years since independence the conflict has not been solved;
when the current Sinhala government came in with a mandate of a “Chinthanaya”(chinthani in Tamil);
when those fighting for freedom against state terrorism are themselves called terrorists;
when the current Sinhalese government appointed an All Party Representative Committee (APRC) to find a political solution to the national question, to which the 22 MPs representing Tamils were not even invited;
when the APRC has been meeting for three years and is still not able to produce a suggested solution;
when the President forced the Chairman of the APRC to announce an "interim solution (the President’s own), at the beginning of this year, based on the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, but even that too is not yet complied with;
when the President has formed another All Party committee (APC) , (again only to please the outside world) to which he has again not invited the members of the Tamil Party mentioned earlier, but invited a paramilitary party now working with government which has only one parliamentarian nominated by the government;
when the President has said that he will recognize all Buddhist temples, even those built illegally;
when the Army commander says that the island belongs to the Sinhalese and the minorities should not make undue demands, and no one has contradicted him as yet—
We Tamils should stand up and be counted.
In our writings, discussions, representations, and deliberations we must be careful to use certain words which form part of our vocabulary and express exactly what we mean to others.
1.Our Fighters are not terrorists, tigers, separatists, rebels or even the LTTE. They are Freedom Fighters.
2. Freedom Fighters are fighting against Sinhala State terrorism and for the Liberation of our “homelands” as specified in the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. Our homeland is where Tamils flee when attacked by Sinhala goondas [hoodlums], or where they are sent for safety by the government in Power. The Tamil homelands are the areas which the armed forces have no compunction against shelling and bombing.
3. The Government of Sri Lanka does not deserve the dignity of that name. Call it the Sinhala Majority Government of the island. You might add “hegemonic” for good measure.
4. Tamils insist on Democracy. Who is ruling in the island of Ceylon (or Serendib) are Sinhalese who are ruling over their lands and our homelands by default of the British, when they left the island, and by force thereafter. Tamils wished to stay together in a united country till 1956 and thereafter under a Federal system where there would be Equality and Dignity and Justice.
5. It was only in 1976, 28 years after independence, that the Tamils decided wanted to live in their homelands separately, as they had done from times immemorial, and gave that mandate to their elected representatives. Democracy would have implemented the wishes of the people.
6. In1948 and later in 1965, Tamils entered into Pacts with Sinhalese leaders of the time to live together in one island and the conditions for doing so. If either of the Pacts had been implemented, the agony and destruction that has followed would not have happened. Both Pacts were unilaterally abrogated by the Sinhalese leaders.
7. For those amongst us who do not know and those around us where we live, some lessons in history should be given.
From times immemorial there have been three Kingdoms in the island called Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka by the Sinhalese majority governments), all of which had Territorial Integrity and Sovereignty. During short periods following wars, a Sinhalese king or Tamil King ruled over the entire island.
Therefore, there was no country called Sri Lanka until very recently, only an island called Ceylon and other names prior to that.
8. At the time of the advent of the first colonial power, the Portuguese, there were three separate kingdoms, each with a king and well demarcated borders. (a) A Tamil Kingdom in the North and East. Now referred to as the Tamil Homelands, (b) A Sinhalese kingdom in the coastal areas, also known as the maritime provinces, (c) A Sinhalese Kingdom in the hilly areas in the center called the Kandyan kingdom (the last four kings of which were Tamils).
The Portuguese conquered the Maritime Sinhalese Kingdom in 1505. They conquered the Tamil Kingdom 104 years later. The Dutch took over from the Portuguese, and the British from the Dutch. The Kandyan Kingdom was captured by the British only in1815. This is irrefutable proof that Ceylon was not a country, but an island. There were three separate countries before these conquests .
This is not unusual. There are several islands in the world where there are more than one country. The British isles are made up of the countries of England, Scotland, Wales sharing one island. Brunei and Borneo share one island. Haiti and the Dominican Republic share an island, and so on.
All colonial powers administered the countries they conquered separately, till the British in 1833 brought all three countries under one administration for convenience.
When the British gave up the island, they should have restored the three Kingdoms back to the original occupants—the Tamil and the Sinhalese nations. Lord Soulsbury, the architect of the independent constitution of the island, said he later regretted that he had not made a different arrangement. He was misled by Sinhalese leaders, and naïve and trusting Tamil leaders.
These facts must be made known to the International Community. - Sri Lanka Guardian
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