President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Address To The Nation At The Unity Conference Centre, Outside Monrovia

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is addressing a divided Legislature at the Unity Conference Center in Virginia, outside Monrovia. President Sirleaf went to Virginia few hours after the Supreme Court of Liberia ruled that all actions by the renegade Representatives are unconstitutional.

Also, several Senators and Representatives including Speaker Edwin Snowe have converged on the Centennial Pavilion on Ashmun Street in Central Monrovia. The Legislators went to the Centennial Pavilion after the Supreme Court of Liberia upheld the Prohibition on the Virginia sitting, recognizing the Speakership of Snowe.

Speaker Snowe described the ruling of the Supreme Court as a victory for the rule of law in post-conflict Liberia. In a statement issued, Speaker Snowe called on the relevant institution of government to ensure the return of the chairs of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

The chairs mysteriously disappeared at the Centennial Pavilion last week and surfaced at the Unity Conference Center in Virginia. The General Services Agency, custodian of all government, denied having any acknowledge of how the left the Pavilion and surfaced in Virginia.

AS TAYLOR TRAIL STARTS: PROSECUTOR PROMISES ACESS FOR SIERRA LEONEANS

SPECIAL COURT PRESS RELEASE Freetown, 29 January 2007:

The trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor is slated to begin this spring, as ordered by a Judge of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The case against Mr. Taylor, who is accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the civil war in Sierra Leone from 1996 through 2002, will begin on June 4.

At the Taylor Status Conference held on January 26 at the trial venue in The Hague, it was announced that the date for commencement of trial had been changed from the original date of April 2 at the request of the Taylor Defence to provide additional time for its preparations.

Justice Teresa Doherty, who presided at the Status Conference, made rulings on several other matters, including the setting of the date for the filing of pre-trial briefs.

Taylor has pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the killing, mutilation, and sexual violence involving thousands of victims, as well as the recruitment and use of child soldiers.

Responding to reporters questions after the hearing concerning the nature of the Prosecution's case, Stephen Rapp, The Prosecutor, said, “The indictment alleged acts that included the most horrendous things humans can do to one another.

Whereas the other trials of the Special Court for Sierra Leone are being conducted in that nation's capital, Freetown, the Taylor case will unfold at the facilities of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The Prosecutor noted that the decision to move the trial was a result of negotiations aimed to keep the peace in Sierra Leone and the region as a whole.

The decision was supported by the United Nations and the key governments in the region, including Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. Mr. Rapp emphasised that while the trial has been moved due to regional security concerns, it is the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and only the Special Court, that is conducting this trial.

I want to emphasise from the outset that this trial will be conducted first and foremost in the name of, and on behalf of, the people of Sierra Leone. Regarding concerns that the distance between The Hague and the Sierra Leonean capital would prevent the people of the country from witnessing justice being done, The Prosecutor spoke about the extensive Outreach programme of the Court.

Last year, 780 meetings were held in every region of the country to inform the public of the Court's work, Mr. Rapp commented. Every effort is being and will be made to ensure that Sierra Leoneans have transparent access to this trial. Each case at the Special Court is heard, argued and decided upon in their name, and the many miles between The Hague and Freetown will not change that.

IN SUPRIME COURT HEARING: SNOWE DEFEATS MAJORITY BLOC, REMAINS SPEAKER

Over 46 members of the House of Representatives who are currently holding session in Virginia, outside the Capitol and opting for the removal of the Speaker of that august body were today disappointed following a Supreme Court that their action is “unconstitutional” for them to sit in the Township of Virginia and called for the removal of the Speaker.

During the hearing today with hundreds of onlookers and supporters of the two groups (Snowe and the Virginia lawmakers), the Supreme Court ruled that the procedure used by the renegade Representatives to remove Speaker Edwin Snowe is not in the interest of the rule of law.

The Supreme Court handed down ruling today in the constitutional crisis at the House of Representatives. In the ruling, the Supreme Court said every act carried on by the renegade Representatives in Virginia is unconstitutional and illegal. The nation’s highest court considered as an affront the decision of the renegade Representatives to ignore a Writ of Prohibition from the court. The full-bench of the Supreme Court of Liberia ruled that the Writ of Prohibition from its Justice in Chamber is upheld. This means Mr. Snowe is the legitimate Speaker of the House of Representatives until his removal is done legally.
Following the ruling, Speaker Snowe and his team of lawyers headed by Cllr. Varney Sherman were seen in a jubilant mood, as they drove in a convoy towards the city centre.