Charles Taylor today told Special Court for Sierra Leone judges that he received money from both Taiwan and Libya as contributions to his campaign to become president of Liberia in 1997.
"In 1996-1997, i received money from Taiwan and Libya," Mr. Taylor told the court today.
Mr. Taylor explained that during his campaign in the Liberian presidential elections in 1997, the Taiwanese government gave him 1,000,000 United States Dollars to support his candidacy. The money, Mr. Taylor said was delivered through the Taiwanese embassy in Ivory Coast and was received by his Chief of Protocol Musa Sesay. Although the check was addressed in his name, Mr. Taylor said that it was cashed by Mr. Sesay in Abidjan, based on his (Taylor) authorization. Asked by lead prosecutor Ms. Brenda Hollis why the Tawainese government had given him such amount of money, Mr. Taylor explained that the Taiwanese government probably did so for Public Relations (PR) reasons.
"They developed an interest in me," Mr. Taylor said. "At that particular time, it was clear that elections were coming up. There was this concern that after the elections, they were concerned that China will block their interest in Liberia. It was like a form of PR for them because they were concerned that diplomatic support will continue after i became president. It was part of a policy to try to court foreign countries or prospective leaders."
Mr. Taylor further explained that the Taiwanese government provided him with two ambulances which he donated to the Liberian government. Part of the money received from the Taiwanese government was also used to establish the Charles Ghankay Taylor Educational and Humanitarian Foundation, the former president said.
Source: allafrica.com/
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