Taylor, stubborn since his childhood

A year after Charles Taylor launched his rebellion from deep in the Liberian forest sparking war across the region that cost more than 300,000 lives, his mother said that he had always been a stubborn child. “I borne Charles, and among all my children Charles’ attitude is just different. He is a very stubborn person – since his childhood days,” Taylor’s mother, Yassa Zoe Taylor told reporters in 1990. Charles Taylor, charismatic and charming, a showman with a zeal for costume and dramatic effect, was born on 28 January 1948 in the small riverbank town of Arthington, some 25 kilometres outside the Liberian capital Monrovia. The poor boy born of American slave-stock that carved out Liberia in the 1800s was educated in the United States, studying economics at Bentley College in Boston, Massachusetts. While there Taylor joined the Union of Liberian Associations in The Americas and was highly critical of the Liberian government, in which current Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was Finance Minister. Taylor, or Charlie to his friends, returned to Liberia in the late 1970s, shortly after the country’s first bloody military coup d’etat staged by semi-literate Master Sergeant Samuel Kanyon Doe. Executions and reprisals followed the military takeover, including the killing of President William R Tolbert on grounds of rampant corruption and mismanagement. Doe appointed Taylor as Director General of the General Services Agency – essentially the leader’s logistics man. But three years on, Taylor was accused of stealing US $1 million of government money and he bolted to the United States. Despite his bloody military background, Doe was a frequent White House guest under US President Ronald Reagan and the Liberian leader filed an extradition suit for Taylor’s arrest and deportation. The United States arrested and detained Taylor and sent him to Plymouth County House of Correction in Massachusetts but after 15 months Taylor broke jail in September 1985; the circumstances of his escape remain murky. While in prison, Taylor turned to former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who is currently leading the defence in the trial of former Iraq president Saddam Hussein. After his jail-break, Taylor resurfaced in Libya, Burkina Faso, and Cote d’Ivoire where he mustered financial support and men to launch his rebel movement. Below is a chronology of Taylor’s rise and fall:

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1989 December 24, 1989 - Civil war begins as Charles Taylor’s new rebel movement, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), launches its anti-government crusade from neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire. The first territory to fall is the border town of Butuo in Nimba County, helped by guerrilla fighters trained in Libya. Taylor dubs himself “Tatay” meaning father in the local Gio language, and many of the fighters he brought in were children.

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1990 June 1990 - Charles Taylor’s rebels and Doe’s army battle in Monrovia leading to indiscriminate killings of civilians and mass displacement.

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1991 January 1991 - Rebel leader Charles Taylor throws out previously signed peace deals and forms a government based in the central Liberian town of Gbarnga. At this stage his forces control 90 percent of the country.

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1997 July 19, 1997 - Charles Taylor is elected president during a break in the fighting, winning 75 percent of votes cast. His victory is widely seen as a desperate bid to bring an end to the fighting. August 2, 1997 - Charles Taylor is sworn in for a six-year term as president before six West African heads of state, including former-soldier presidents Lansana Conte of neighbouring Guinea and Sani Abacha of Nigeria.

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1998 June 28, 1998 - Charles Taylor urges nationals involved in a conflict in Sierra Leone to return home. The appeal by Taylor followed an agreement in Abuja, Nigeria with his Sierra Leone counterpart, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, in which they agreed to stop supporting each other's rivals.

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1999 July 1999 - A rebel group of exiled Liberians form a rebel faction in Freetown, Sierra Leone, named Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) to oppose Taylor’s regime.

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2000 May 15, 2000 – Sierra Leonean rebels, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), hand over 124 UN peacekeepers held hostage for several weeks, after the intervention of Charles Taylor. The UN petitions Taylor to use his influence to intervene after 500 UN troops are captured by the flip-flop clad, gun-toting rebels. May 19, 2000 - A US government delegation headed by the Reverend Jesse Jackson and accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Howard Jeter, the former special envoy to Liberia, arrive in Monrovia to discuss with President Charles Taylor how the crisis in neighbouring Sierra Leone might be ended. June 13, 2000 - European Union foreign ministers agree to a British request to suspend millions of dollars in aid to Liberia over its support for rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone. The British government accuses Taylor of selling guns to the RUF in exchange of diamonds. July 19, 2000 - Charles Taylor admits that his government has links with Sierra Leone’s RUF rebels, saying the ties are “constructive and should be used in a positive way as in the case of the release of over 500 UN personnel taken hostage by the rebels. I have always told the RUF that next to God is the United Nations. It is terribly stupid to take UN personnel hostage.” July 17, 2000 - US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering meets with Taylor in Monrovia, and expresses Washington’s displeasure over Liberia's alleged role in the war in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Pickering said, "satisfied with the evidence it has seen regarding Liberia's involvement in Sierra Leone and that if Liberia fails to act positively it would mean severe consequences for bilateral relations between Monrovia and Washington, and possibly the entire international community”. Taylor remained indignant: “We refuse to accept and reject efforts on the part of any nation to muffle this country.”

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2001 February 7, 2001 - The Government of Liberia announces the departure from Liberia of Sierra Leonean warlord Sam Bockarie and the closure of the RUF liaison office in Liberia. Bockarie was a notorious guerrilla fighter, nicknamed ‘Mosquito’ for his ability to catch victims off guard and an alleged advocate of the RUF tactic of hacking off the hands and feet of civilians. March 7, 2001 - The UN Security Council in Resolution 1343 demands the government of Liberia immediately cease support for the RUF in Sierra Leone and for other armed rebel groups in the region and take the following steps: expel all RUF members from Liberia, prohibit all RUF activities on Liberian territory, order the RUF to release all abductees, weapons and equipment seized from UN peacekeepers. April 12, 2001 - Liberian government says a letter from the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia to the Minister of Justice confirmed the non-existence of RUF accounts in commercial banks in Liberia (with the exception of former RUF leader Foday Sankoh’s personal account with the Liberian Bank for Development and Investment credited with US$ 500).

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2002 February 8, 2002 - Charles Taylor declares a state of emergency in Liberia placing a ban on all mass political rallies following clashes between government troops and rebel fighters in the interior. After several months, he lifts the ban on September 16.

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2003 March 7, 2003 - The judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone approves an arrest warrant and indictment on 17 counts of war crimes charges against Charles Taylor. May 6, 2003 – Taylor’s government announces that notorious Sierra Leonean rebel leader Sam Bockarie, wanted for war crimes by a UN-backed special court, has been killed in a shoot-out on the Liberian border with Cote d'Ivoire. Bockarie had been living in Monrovia up to his death. June 4, 2003 - At the formal opening ceremony of Liberian peace talks in Accra, Ghana – attended by Taylor and rebel leaders - the Special Court issues Charles Taylor’s arrest warrant, but the Ghanaian government denied receiving the warrant and indictment. Before returning home, Taylor makes a formal declaration to step down as Liberian president to make way for peace. June 12, 2003 - Taylor demands in a hastily arranged news conference in Monrovia that his indictment for war crimes by a Special Court in Sierra Leone be rescinded as a condition for peace in Liberia and the sub-region saying, "Peace in Liberia is dependent and hangs upon that particular situation [the indictment]. It has to be removed," He described his indictment as “racist, politically motivated and aimed at disgracing an African leader...Washington, London did it. They can help to fix it. It is not about Taylor, it is about the question can Africa be free. It sets an unhealthy precedent. Tomorrow it could be Museveni, Kagame, Mugabe, Gbagbo," he added, referring to the presidents of Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Cote d'Ivoire. July 6, 2003 - Charles Taylor buckles under US-led international pressure and agrees to leave Liberia and take up asylum in Nigeria after being offered shelter by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. July 23, 2003 - Taylor’s lawyers and the Liberian government file an application to the Sierra Leone Special Court to quash the indictment against him citing “immunity as head of state”. Court prosecutors throw out Taylor’s application. August 10, 2003 - Charles Taylor, in a live radio address announces his resignation the following day, handing power to vice president, Moses Blah. Taylor criticises US President George Bush on his insistence that he leave the country which he calls “a foolish policy that would hurt Liberia”. August 11, 2003 - Charles Taylor steps down handing over power to his vice president. Three African leaders travel to Monrovia to watch the ceremony. Taylor, dressed head to toe in white, makes an impassioned speech, closing with: “God willing, I will be back.” December 4, 2003 - At the request of the Special Court, Interpol issues a Red Notice from Lyon, France for Charles Taylor declaring him as wanted. The arrest warrant follows a cooperative agreement signed between the Court and Interpol on November 3, 2003.

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2004 March 7, 2004 - Special Court investigators search the private residence of Charles Taylor in Monrovia to find information for the court prosecution. March 12, 2004 - UN Security Council in resolution 1532 orders the freeze of Charles Taylor’s economic and financial assets - including those of his wife, children and some of his senior officials - to prevent them from engaging in activities that might undermine peace and stability in Liberia and the region. March 16, 2004 - Taylor’s lawyers file an application to Liberia’s Supreme Court to restrain investigators from searching Taylor’s home, but the Court denies the application. April 12, 2004 - Liberia's transitional leader, Gyude Bryant says Taylor should remain in Nigeria, “This transitional government will not request that Taylor be removed from Nigeria. His presence there is part of the peace process.” May 31, 2004 - Special Court rules against an application by Charles Taylor’s lawyers to dismiss the indictment against him. June 24, 2004 - Emyr Jones Parry, head of a UN Security Council delegation touring West Africa says in Monrovia, “It is a matter of time, in due course, Taylor will face justice. There cannot be impunity for Charles Taylor.” July 6, 2004 - Liberia's transitional government rejects a petition from local human rights groups to pressure the Nigerian government to hand over Charles Taylor to face war crimes charges in Sierra Leone. The parliament said, “Allowing Taylor to face the Court in Freetown, Sierra Leone, will hamper the [Liberian] peace process.”

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2005 July 4, 2005 - Liberia's interim government calls for the exile agreement of former president Charles Taylor to be reviewed, after accusing him of repeatedly breaking the terms of his asylum in Nigeria with daily phonecalls back home issuing orders to supporters that could threaten peace in Liberia and beyond. July 28, 2005 - Liberian interim leader Gyude Bryant, Guinean Prime Minister Cellou Diallo and Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in a joint statement call for the review of Charles Taylor’s asylum deal in Nigeria, citing interference that could undermine regional peace.

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2006 March 5, 2006 – Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf sends a communication to the Nigerian government requesting Charles Taylor be turned over for transmission to the Special Court for trial. March 17, 2006 – Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo’s office confirms in a statement that President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had made a “formal request” for the extradition of former warlord Charles Taylor. March 25, 2006 - President Olusegun Obasanjo sends a Special Envoy to Liberia to inform President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf that the “Government of Liberia is free to take former President Charles Taylor into its custody.” March 27, 2006 - Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf tells religious leaders in Monrovia that her government does not have the capacity to bring Charles Taylor to Monrovia, but rather the Court which indicted him has the responsibility to do so. March 28, 2006 - A statement from the Nigerian presidency announces that Charles Taylor has disappeared from his luxurious exiled mansion in Calabar, southeastern Nigeria. March 29, 2006 – Nigerian police confirm the arrest of Charles Taylor in northern Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon. Taylor is rapidly put on a plane for the capital Abuja, before departing for Liberia. UN forces arrest and handcuff Charles Taylor on the runway in Monrovia, Liberia, before taking him by helicopter to the custody of the Special Court in Sierra Leone.