Charles Taylor, Foday Sankoh, and Johnny Paul Koroma (1999): Exclusive footage of a discussion among these three individuals
For downloads and more information go to:www.journeyman.tv/?lid=65449&b...
Convicted of 11 war crimes by The Hague last year, Charles Taylor's involvement in the serious crimes committed in Sierra Leone's Civil War has been fiercely debated, finally being charged with 'aiding and abetting rather' than directly 'ordering' the RUF.
This exclusive footage, only just now released, following the Lomé Peace Accords held in Liberia after the end of September 1999, shows the discussions behind closed doors between Foday Sankoh of the RUF, Johnny Paul Koroma the Chairman of the AFRC, and Charles Taylor acting as the intermediary.
Addressing each other as 'brothers', Charles Taylor encourages them to 'feel at home here' whilst they begin to negotiate a settlement in order to return to Freetown together.
During the talks, Taylor emphasizes Liberia being under intense international scrutiny, '[we] have been accused of helping the resistance movement in Sierra Leone, God forbid, is anything goes wrong from here, they'll say "Oh well, we told you, they planned this whole thing..." So you have to help me.'
Whilst Charles Taylor maintains an official stance, some familiarity with Foday Sankoh, whom he is alleged to have supported, is shown when he jokes with him 'you haven't seen your sister for long, go talk to Victoria', and suggesting to both Sankoh and Koroma that they should go for a BBQ at his own farm, perhaps dropping in at the cameraman's along the way.
Addai Sebo - Ref. 5628
Journeyman Pictures is your independent source for the world's most powerful films, exploring the burning issues of today. We represent stories from the world's top producers, with brand new content coming in all the time. On our channel you'll find outstanding and controversial journalism covering any global subject you can imagine wanting to know about.