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Taylor's recapture sends strong message to region: Annan+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)NEW YORK, March 29_(Kyodo) _ U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday expressed relief that Charles Taylor has been recaptured and indicated that it sent a strong message to the region that justice will be carried out. "I think his capture and being put on trial does not only close a chapter, but it also sends a powerful message to the region that impunity will not be allowed to stand, and would-be warlords will pay a price," Annan told reporters at the U.N. headquarters. "And I think this is relevant, not just for what happened in Sierra Leone and Liberia, but in other parts of the region and the continent." Taylor, who has been accused by human rights groups of masterminding regional conflicts, was Liberia's president from 1997 until he was forced from office in 2003. The former president was indicted in June of that year by a U.N.-backed war crimes court in neighboring Sierra Leone on 17 counts of war crimes after accusing him of supporting rebels in that country who were committing atrocities against civilians. In July 2003, Taylor had accepted an offer of asylum from Nigeria's president and the following month he stepped down as president and left for Nigeria. Annan said he expected that Taylor would be sent to the Sierra Leonean Court some time on Wednesday where he would be put under custody and that the United Nations would be offering technical assistance in his transfer. The U.N. chief also added that after his conversation with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo who was in Washington on Tuesday night he was assured that every measure was undertaken to search for Taylor and that the guards assigned to watch over the former leader were arrested. |