Well, I'd just like to -- yes, your Honour. I'd just like to state that I'm very appreciative of the handling of the proceedings so far and I have -- I believe that the right thing will be done by the grace of Almighty God. Thank you.

When you say "to the Panel," you mean to the Panel of Judges, or to the entire Court?

I do have no questions.

(Microphone not activated).

Yes, I am Your Honour.

Most definitely.

That is correct.

Preliminarily, yes. Not in total, but to an extent, yeah. I will be following up, because there are some additional issues.

Yes, I have, Your Honour.

Yes, I am, Your Honour.

May I leave now?

Thank you, Your Honours.

Mr President, Justice Lussick, Justice Sebutinde, Justice Doherty, members of the Registry here, the Prosecutors past and present, members of the Defence past and present, the visiting gallery, and may I say the world's audience, the last six years have been challenging years for all ...

Oh, after the war we located some of them. Some of them were killed. Some of them were displaced or misplaced during the fighting.

There were a lot of orphans. In fact the bulk - the bulk of them had been displaced from the Monrovia and general area that had been brought, runaway kids, individuals that ran away from different regions trying to get involved in the war would be picked up and put in ...

The largest one on an average day would have about close to 400 children.

Oh, we got all our copies of the codes from the United States. The same Uniform Code of Military Justice code, the entire booklet is used by Liberia. So all we have to do is to get one from the United States armed forces. It's 100 per cent the ...

Of the codes?

I'm not sure I understand your question, your Honour. I don't want to --

Oh, I would hope so, your Honour. That was in Gbarnga. I sure don't have any records. It's very possible that one or more persons may have some records.

That is correct.

In Liberia at the time, no, your Honour, we did not have a Court of Appeals.

Yes, your Honour.

Yes, your Honour.

No, your Honour. The military code of military justice is a bunch of laws that are universally approved to be used by the military in dealing with issues of court martials and the conduct of military personnel. And to be very clear with you, as I would say yes because ...

Yes.

No. Never.

No. They moved me on the Committee of Five on the Sierra Leonean crisis simply because they felt that my experience and expertise in dealing with revolutionary activities, in dealing with guerilla warfare and having managed the NPFL, the largest fighting force in Liberia, and finally negotiating peace, because peace ...

Exactly what I said before. I disagree. That's total - that's basic to what the Prosecution - well, let's take him out and shoot him, or do whatever else. This is just total nonsense and in order to make their case that they have not been able in my ...

I see that.

Yes.

Oh, but that's easy. That's very easy. Look, people can compartmentalise their activities. That's how these things work out there. It's happening right as we're sitting in this Court. China and the United States are - they are friends but they are fighting now over the ...

No, not the whole word. If the United States is against you, that's it. What's the rest of the world when the United States wants something done? Nothing. So it's got nothing to do with the whole word. It's got something to do with the regime ...

No, I'm not.

Yeah. What - yes. What the CIA would do with friendly governments, they would tell you there is in the work an attempt to assassinate you and they will give you some general information and leave it at that and you can work from that. And you have to be very ...

Yes.

Yes.

No, not exactly. From a military perspective, counsel, and I'm sure any military person here will understand, one of the toughest things you have during a period like this, even when you are withdrawing from an area sometimes more force is applied during withdrawal than when you are there ...

Yes.

Oh, it was given before. It was given before the - I made the decision to step down in June in Accra. That was placed before June, yes.

Oh, I would say that was about the - oh, I would say somewhere - that could have been about March, April of - of 2003.

Oh, there was a long line. There was a list given as far back as 2000 and we would tell what to send based on the need at the time, okay. For example, you have a shipment, a large shipment that cannot come. They were coming in maybe 20 tons ...

Yes, there was supposed to be, but they were late. In fact, we just lost --

It never came.

Yes, but it never came.

No. I think it was the right decision. Lives were saved and that is why up until today the Liberian people still love and respect me as their President - their former President. And while I don't know what my future will be and I have no interest in politics ...

Well, if you look at it in a very logical way, most decisions have to be pragmatic anyway. But it was purely, purely based on the moral decision that I had taken that I would step down and leave. Because, to be very blunt, the type of war we were ...

Yes, I do.

No, no, no. Yeah, I follow, but it's not the case. I decided to step down --

That Baptist mission LURD - Lott Carey is in an area called Brewersville that's just right outside of the - we talked about the Unity Conference Centre here before. I will put it to about 4 miles from the centre city of Monrovia.

Oh, our commanders in the area reported. The helicopters were flying from the ships. There were five massive ships within eyesight of land that were flying into an area called Lott Carey Baptist Mission supplying LURD with materials.