Liberia's Taylor boycotts war crimes trial

THE HAGUE, Jun 4 (Reuters) Former Liberian leader Charles Taylor boycotted the opening of his trial in The Hague for war crimes in Sierra Leone today, saying he had lost faith in the U N-backed court and upstaging the proceedings.

Taylor faces charges of instigating murder, rape and mutilation in the first such trial of an ousted African president and prosecutors hope the case will send a message that nobody can escape punishment for atrocities.

But the first session descended into confusion.

''I cannot participate in a charade that does no justice to the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone,'' Taylor said in a letter read by a defence lawyer, who said the former president now wanted to represent himself.

''I choose not to be a figleaf of legitimacy for this court,'' Taylor said in the letter, complaining his defence lacked resources and he was not sure of a fair trial.

Taylor, 59, has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity during Sierra Leone's civil war, which left 50,000 people dead between 1991 and 2002.

Taylor's decision to defend himself echoed that of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who frustrated the efforts of war crimes prosecutors for over four years. Milosevic died before a verdict was delivered.

Presiding Judge Julia Sebutinde ordered the prosecutor to make his opening statement despite Taylor's absence, overruling protests from the defence lawyer and prompting him to walk out.

''You don't just get up and go,'' said a shocked Sebutinde, commenting at one point, ''Sanity will return to this court.'' SAVAGERY Even among Africa's horrific wars, the fighting in Sierra Leone stood out for its exceptional brutality -- casual murder, mass rapes, the hacking of limbs from civilians and the press ganging of child soldiers as young as eight.

Prosecutors say Taylor sought to gain control of Sierra Leone's diamond mines and destabilise the Freetown government to boost his own regional influence.

They argue Taylor supported and directed Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels as they carried out a campaign of terror against Sierra Leone's civilians. Prosecutors say he failed to use his power to prevent war crimes being committed.

Taylor's defence does not dispute the horrors, but says he was not giving orders to fighters in Sierra Leone, supplying weapons to the rebels or recruiting child soldiers.

It says the prosecution cannot prove his involvement during the period of the charges, which start from 1996.

Taylor invaded Liberia with a rebel force in 1989 to end a dictatorship and was elected president in 1997. His enemies regrouped abroad and their fighters forced him from Monrovia in 2003, first to refuge in Nigeria.

Taylor was handed over by the Nigerians under international pressure. In the past, ousted African rulers often lived out their lives in comfortable exile. The trial is being held in The Hague because of fears that it could revive regional instability if held in Freetown.

REUTERS AE HT1650