Moses Blah
Moses Blah | |
---|---|
23rd President of Liberia | |
In office 11 August 2003 – 14 October 2003 | |
Preceded by | Charles Taylor |
Succeeded by | Gyude Bryant |
28th Vice President of Liberia | |
In office 24 July 2000 – 11 August 2003 | |
President | Charles Taylor |
Preceded by | Enoch Dogolea |
Succeeded by | Wesley Momo Johnson |
Personal details | |
Born | Toweh Town, Liberia | 18 April 1947
Died | 1 April 2013 Monrovia, Liberia | (aged 65)
Political party | National Patriotic |
Moses Zeh Blah (18 April 1947 – 1 April 2013) was a
Career
Blah was born in Toweh Town, Liberia, a
Blah was known as a quiet and unassuming man, driving his own
In June 2003, Taylor had left the country for peace talks in Ghana, and while there he was indicted by the war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone. Blah was urged by the United States to take power from Taylor during his absence, but Blah made no such attempt. After Taylor's return, Blah was held under house arrest for ten days, but was subsequently absolved and reinstated as vice president.
When Taylor resigned in August of that year, Blah briefly succeeded him as president. He was condemned by Liberian rebel groups for his close ties to Taylor; they charged that he would simply continue Taylor's practices. Blah responded by calling the rebels "brothers" and saying "Let bygones be bygones. If there is power, we can share it." He invited the rebels to negotiate in his own house.
On 7 April 2008, Blah said that he had been sent a subpoena to testify at Taylor's trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague. He said that he would testify and "speak the truth",[1] and he testified on 14 May 2008, describing child soldiers and the relationship between Taylor and Foday Sankoh.[2] On 1 February 2009, Blah was accused of taking part in the murder of RUF commander Sam Bockarie, by a witness narrative to the commissioners of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The witness, a senior commander of the defunct Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) of exiled president Charles Taylor, claimed Vice President Blah was part of the conspiracy and participated in the killing of Bockarie in the town of Tiaplay in Nimba County.[citation needed]
Blah died early on 1 April 2013, at age 65, at the John F. Kennedy Hospital in Monrovia.[3]
References
- ^ "Former Liberian vice-president says he will testify in Taylor trial" Archived 2012-10-06 at the Wayback Machine, AFP, 7 April 2008.
- ^ "Charles Taylor's former deputy testifies" Archived 2012-06-14 at the Wayback Machine, Reuters (Mail & Guardian Online), 14 May 2008.
- ^ Paye-Layleh, Jonathan (April 1, 2013). "Former Liberian President Moses Blah Dies". Retrieved April 1, 2013.
External links
- BBC News: Moses Blah Profile
- Moses Blah Conspiracy
- Moses Blah Background, Emily Robinson, Lehrer NewsHour Online Backgrounder