Smillie to Testify on Conflict Diamonds at Taylor’s War Crime Trial
January 07, 08
The war crimes trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor is resuming Monday in To finance the campaign, areas containing diamond deposits were captured and locals were enslaved and forced to mine the gems, which were later sold or traded for arms and ammunitions. According to the prosecution, Taylor’s interest in diamonds was one of the reasons for his alleged involvement in the war. Smillie, who is a research coordinator at Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) and a consultant at Tuffs University Humanitarianism and War Project, is the first of 144 prosecution witnesses. Following Smillie, a victim of the militias will testify, the first of 77 witnesses to the atrocities in the country.