-Caveat Lector- >>_________________________________________________________________ >> >> ROBERTSON, LIBERIAN LEADER HOPE TO STRIKE GOLD >> IN COASTAL AFRICA >>_________________________________________________________________ >> >> THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT >> Wednesday, June 2, 1999 >> http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0602gol.html >> BY BILL SIZEMORE, The Virginian-Pilot >> >> Pat Robertson, whose failed African diamond-mining operation >>five years ago stirred criticism and prompted a still-ongoing >>state investigation, is embarking on a new African mining >>venture. >> >> This time he's searching for gold. >> >> As an ally, Robertson has an African strongman with a >>colorful and bloody past. >> >> Liberian President Charles Taylor has signed a mineral >>development agreement with Freedom Gold Ltd., a Robertson-owned >>company based at the Virginia Beach headquarters of Robertson's >>Christian Broadcasting Network. It allows for exploration and >>subsequent mining rights in the Bukon Jedeh region of >>southeastern Liberia, which is believed to have substantial gold >>reserves. >> >> The for-profit company was incorporated in the Cayman >>Islands last December. Robertson is listed as the company's >>president and sole director. >> >> Joseph Mathews, vice president of finance and administration >>for Freedom Gold, last week confirmed Liberian media reports that >>Robertson's company is committed to spending $10 million to $15 >>million in the exploratory phase of the venture. The mining >>company has no connection to Robertson's television ministry, >>Mathews said. >> >> ``At this point we're not sure where all that money is >>coming from,'' Mathews said. ``. . . One of the options we have >>is, in the process of exploration, the government has allowed us >>to use some of the gold that we uncover then to defray some of >>the costs of exploration. We've got some geologists trying to >>find out how much that is.'' >> >> If the agreement is ratified by the Liberian legislature, >>the Liberian government will get a 10 percent equity interest in >>the company and Liberians will be offered the opportunity to >>purchase at least 15 percent of the shares after the exploration >>period, Mathews said. >> >> A Liberian government press release issued last month quoted >>Robertson as telling Taylor, ``I pray that this investment may >>become a wonderful blessing to the people of Liberia and will be >>one of many significant investments that will be made under your >>administration in the nation of Liberia.'' >> >> Mathews said Robertson's intent is to help ``kick-start'' >>the Liberian economy, which has been shattered by years of civil >>war. >> >> There was no indication from the press release or Freedom >>Gold's incorporation papers of how the company is capitalized or >>its projected employment, income and start-up date. >> >> Taylor has declared his intention to head a government that >>respects human rights and the rule of law. But the U.S. State >>Department has maintained an arm's-length relationship with him, >>citing his record of alleged human rights abuses and the >>atmosphere of intimidation that attended his ascension to power. >> >> Among other claims to fame, Taylor, 51, is the only man to >>escape from the Plymouth County, Mass., jail and never be caught. >> >> He fled to the United States in 1983 after being accused of >>embezzling $1 million from the Liberian government. He was >>arrested by U.S. marshals and was locked in the Plymouth jail as >>a federal detainee awaiting extradition. >> >> On Sept. 15, 1985, with a hacksaw and a rope of knotted >>bedsheets, he and four other inmates climbed out a second-story >>window and ran into the woods. His fellow escapees were captured >>within days, but Taylor was never seen in this country again. >> >> A warrant for his arrest on escape charges, which was >>ultimately withdrawn, remained on the books in Massachusetts for >>years. >> >> Taylor vanished until 1989, when he turned up in Liberia >>with an armed band of rebels and began a long, bloody march to >>power. >> >> He became president in a 1997 election that ended seven >>years of factional fighting in which half of Liberia's 3 million >>people were killed or displaced. >> >> A report this year by Human Rights Watch blamed all factions >>in the civil war for atrocities -- including executions, torture, >>forced labor and extortion -- against civilians. >> >> After taking power, Taylor placed many of his faction's >>fighters in the Liberian security and police forces. He created a >>special security unit, known informally as the ``tie-dye boys'' >>because of their blue camouflage uniforms. The unit quickly >>became noted for harassing civilians and looting, Human Rights >>Watch said. >> >> In one incident, Taylor critic Samuel Dokie, his wife, and >>two other people were killed in custody after their arrest by >>Taylor's special security bodyguards in November 1997. The >>officers brought to trial for the killings were acquitted. >> >> Last fall, Taylor's troops tried to arrest rival warlord >>Roosevelt Johnson, accusing him of attempting to overthrow >>Taylor. Johnson sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, >>the capital, and was flown to safety in Sierra Leone. >> >> In an incident reported by Liberian media two weeks ago, >>Taylor sacked virtually his entire Cabinet and several heads of >>public corporations -- 25 people in all -- for failing to attend >>a national prayer service as ordered by the president. >> >> ``Any government official who does not know God will not >>serve in my government,'' Taylor was quoted as saying. >> >> A week later he reversed himself and reinstated the ousted >>officials, acting, he said, on the wishes of the Liberian people. >> >> Taylor's critics portray him as a corrupt leader who has >>looted the country while most Liberians barely eke out a living. >> >> In an article published last fall, the expatriate group >>Liberian Democratic Future estimated Taylor's personal wealth at >>$450 million and compared him to the late Mobutu Sese Seko, who >>amassed a fortune while ruling Zaire (now Congo) with an iron >>hand for three decades before he was driven out by rebel forces >>in 1997. >> >> It was Mobutu who granted Robertson diamond-mining rights in >>Zaire in the early 1990s. >> >> Two pilots told The Virginian-Pilot in 1997 that airplanes >>sent to Zaire by Operation Blessing, Robertson's tax-exempt >>humanitarian organization, were used almost exclusively to ferry >>equipment for the diamond venture. >> >> Those accusations sounded alarms with a Northern Virginia >>state senator, who suggested that the arrangement had potential >>tax and consumer fraud implications. A nearly two-year-long state >>investigation ensued. >> >> The matter now rests in the office of Attorney General Mark >>Earley, who pledged an impartial inquiry untainted by the $35,000 >>campaign contribution he received from Robertson in 1997. >> >> A spokesman for Earley said last week the investigation >>should be completed in the next few weeks. >> >> Robertson's diamond venture ultimately failed and was shut >>down. >> >> Copyright 1999, Landmark Communications Inc. >> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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