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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE Global Village ALL AFRICA.COM — At a
Charles Taylor’s trial to end soon
Status Conference held re- cently in The Hague, the Spe- cial Court for Sierra Leone judges set a time table to end the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor.
The judges also dismissed
in entirety a defense con- tempt motion requesting an enquiry into how prosecutors conducted themselves during their investigations. Defense lawyers further indicated that they would call one final wit- ness to testify for Mr. Taylor.
As the Status Conference
commenced this morning, the presiding judge of the Trial Chamber, Justice Julia Sebutinde, first informed the parties that the Trial Cham- ber will deliver an oral deci- sion without reasons on the defense motion that contempt investigations be established against prosecutors for their conduct in dealing with wit- nesses during their investiga- tions. In the motion that was filed by defense lawyers for Mr. Taylor on September 24, 2010, defense lawyers alleged that prosecutors had mis- conducted themselves during their investigations by brib- ing, intimidating, and some- times physically assaulting witnesses to testify against Mr. Taylor.
As she delivered the very
short ruling of the Trial Cham- ber today, Justice Sebutinde said, “The Trial Chamber dis- misses this motion in its en- tirety and will publish its rea- sons in due cause.”
The court then heard from
Mr. Taylor’s defense lawyers that they will call one more witness to testify for Mr. Taylor. The witness, who is identified by the pseudonym DCT-102, will commence his testimony on Monday, Novem- ber 1. Defense lawyers intend to lead the witness in direct examination for two days, but it is not clear how long pros- ecutors will take to cross-ex- amine the witness. According to Mr. Taylor’s defense coun- sel Terry Munyard, they do not anticipate that the witness’s entire testimony will last for more than one week.
The court heard from both
the prosecution and the de- fense on various issues, in- cluding disclosure of materi- als by the prosecution, a time limit for the closure of the de- fense case, and the time limit and length of closing briefs. After a brief recess, the judges returned to the court with the following orders.
1. The defense case will for-
mally close immediately after the testimony of DCT-102 or at the latest by November 12, 2010.
2. The the court will observe
a judicial recess from Decem- ber 17, 2010 and will resume on January 10, 2011.
3. The parties will submit
their final trial briefs by Friday, January 14, 2011 but either party could do so at an earlier date if they wish to.
4. If they wish to, the par-
ties should file any written re- sponses to each other’s final trial briefs by January 31, 2011.
5. The court will hear final
oral arguments from the par- ties for three days starting on February 8, 2011. Prosecutors will first deliver their final oral arguments on February 8, fol- lowed by defense oral argu- ments on February 9, then the court will observe a one day hiatus on February 10, and the parties will make any rebuttals to each other’s oral arguments for two hours each on Febru- ary 11, 2011.
6. The the length of each
party’s final trial briefs should not be more than 600 pages while any responses to the trial briefs should not be more than 100 pages from each party.
After the closing argu-
ments, the court will then de- termine how long it will take before a final judgment is de- livered.
Huge domestic market for agribusiness in Ethiopia
With increasing commer-
cialization of the agriculture sector in Ethiopia, there are growing demands for inputs of agricultural products by manufacturing industries and for the provision of support services.
Ethiopia has seen sizeable growth in agricultural produc-
Charles Taylor
tivity in recent years. With in- creasing commercialization of the sector, there are growing demands for inputs of agri- cultural products by manufac- turing industries and for the provision of support services such as the maintenance of tractors, harvesters and other agricultural equipment such as grain silos, cold storage and transport.
The country is endowed
with abundant agricultural resources characterised by diverse physical features that allow it to be divided into 18 major agro-ecological zones and 62 sub-zones each with its own physical and biological potential. Given this diversity, there are major investment opportunities in the cultiva- tion of cash crops and horti- cultural products.
Processing also offers
large-scale investment oppor- tunities in Ethiopia, a country with a population of about 80 million.
There are attractive poli-
cies and incentives packages for agriculture investors. In- terested investors can contact Aby Berhane, the economic counselor at the embassy of Ethiopia in South Africa.
President Sirleaf
suspends cabinet President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf of Liberia last Wednes- day, ordered her entire cabinet to take an administrative leave effective immediately, an Ex- ecutive Mansion press release said.
“The president issued the
directive at an emergency cab- inet meeting held at the Min- istry of Foreign Affairs on No- vember 3rd,” the release said.
The release did not say what
prompted the extreme admin- istrative action, which observ- ers say is not only the first if its kind in living memories but also amounts to the shutting down of the government or to a musical game in which par- ticipants base their continued participation on swiftness or sheer luck.
But it quoted President
Sirleaf as saying that the “ad- ministrative leave” – actually a euphemism for suspension – would remain in force until each minister was ordered to report back to duty.
The president implied, ac-
cording to the release, that those not ordered back to work, within a time not speci- fied, should consider them- selves dismissed.
“President Johnson Sirleaf told the ministers that the
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reason for demanding their mass administrative leave is that this administration is entering a critical stretch and this would afford her the op- portunity to start with a fresh slate going forward. The presi- dent further announced that a cabinet restructuring will be made in the shortest possible time and that several minis- ters could be reappointed,” the release said, still baffling observers.
President Sirleaf has mean-
time designated the principal deputy in each line ministry, in keeping with the order of administrative seniority, to assume the duty of minister proper pending further notice.
“The president then
thanked all those affected for their patriotic services to gov- ernment and their nation. She also urged strong commitment from those who will remain on the team in the next phase of her dministration,” the release said.
The president told the min-
isters during the emergency meeting yesterday that she appreciated their contribu- tions, but that they could use the leave as opportunity for re- flection, especially those who might be considering other career opportunities.
She said that those minis-
ters who were travelling and on special assignments would be allowed to complete their missions before being affected by her directive.
She, however, made one
exception, asking Dr. Edward B. McClain, Jr., minister of state for Presidential Affairs, to hold on to his position in order to collaborate with Vice President Joseph N. Boakai.
She also noted that she was
considering applying measure to certain autonomous agen- cies, noting that she wanted to assess the ministers’ per- formance.
“I want this administration
to be the most effective going forward,” she said.
On behalf of the cabi-
net, former defense minister Brownie Samukai thanked the President for providing the ministers the opportunity to serve her administration and the country.
He said they would be avail-
able to serve again whenever called upon.
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