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Jeff Koinange on Liberia

Aired September 04, 2003 - 14:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the mid-'80s, Jeff Koinange wanted to leave his homeland of Kenya and see the world. The first country he visited, coincidentally or ironically, Liberia. Jeff says it, at that time, was a paradise.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: But little did Jeff know that, 15 years later, he would return to Liberia. However, this time, paradise had become a war-torn hell. Jeff Koinange was no longer a tourist. He had become a CNN war correspondent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was an assignment few reporters would have wanted to take on, an unknown country in a faraway place where, danger seemed to lurk at every turn.

(on camera): It's become an all too-familiar-scene in the streets of Monrovia, innocent civilians caught in the crossfire between government forces and rebels. Now, President Taylor has said he is willing to step down if it will help bring about peace in Liberia. The rebels, it seems, aren't quite ready to take his word for it.

The situation in terms of internally displaced people or refugees is getting dire by the hour. The people we talked about earlier on in the stadium, there's over 12,000 right now gathered in there, and thousands are arriving by the minute.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Taylor needs to step down.

KOINANGE (voice-over): In an exclusive interview with CNN, Mr. Taylor responds for the first time to the U.S. president's remarks.

CHARLES TAYLOR, LIBERIAN PRESIDENT: Anything that's going to happen in Liberia is going to happen with the assistance of the United States.

KOINANGE: Tens of thousands of jubilant Liberians celebrating the arrival of the Americans. This is hardly what they were expecting.

(on camera): Here at the iron gates checkpoint, they have been told to turn around. The word hasn't come from on high that they can proceed beyond that point. So the entire convoy is turning around and heading back towards Monrovia.

(voice-over): But the Americans quickly discovered they were in for another surprise.

(on camera): We are literally meters away from the front line. Rebel forces are about 100 yards across that bridge. And that is the key strategic Saint Paul's River bridge. It looks like the rebels are making their last push into the capital, Monrovia.

A sight Liberians thought they would never see in their lifetimes, the presence of peacekeepers on the ground in this battle- scarred capital.

(voice-over): And just like that, President Taylor steps down as Liberia's 21st president, the third time ever in this country's 156- year history. As the jet lifted into the afternoon sky, many here left hoping this country can put itself back together again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Wow.

O'BRIEN: Good work.

KOINANGE: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Jeff Koinange now joins us here in Atlanta, not only to share his experience, but also to take your e-mails.

Great to have you.

KOINANGE: Great to be here. Thanks, guys.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: You and I have a lot of questions.

O'BRIEN: As you look back -- yes, let's start with our questions -- as you look back on your work there and you see those months -- kind of put it all together, it's going to be months of living dangerously. Toot your own horn a little bit. What was your proudest moment, getting the exclusives with Charles Taylor or just being there on the streets talking to people?

KOINANGE: Those exclusives were great. And he always spoke to us. Every time he had something to say, it's me he called, for some reason or other. Either he understood the power of the media more or he just trusted us for some reason.

But there were so many scary moments. Looking back now, I see, whoa, was I doing that? What was I doing there? But when you're on the ground doing the stories, you don't think of that. You are just thinking of the next move, where you're going from here, how do you tell this story, so that an American audience can see it the way we see it, because you know African stories are difficult to get on the air here. And to make an American audience understand the way we see it, you have be able to tell it like it is. PHILLIPS: Well, you had a relationship with Charles Taylor that goes way back, though. He trusted you. He knew you were a good journalist. That's why he talked to you.

KOINANGE: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Tell us about this relationship, because you said it was a bit of a sparring relationship, too.

KOINANGE: It was. I knew him when he was warlord Taylor, when he was pushing his revolution, all the way from 1989 to 1996, when I met him, right before the civil war ended.

And right from the start, we hit it off. There was a chemistry there. And when I kept going back to Liberia and doing interviews with him, sometimes he would refuse interviews completely. He wasn't in the mood. He didn't feel like it. But sometimes, he would say: Fine, let's do it. Let's talk about this, that, the other.

And we would spar. We would basically spar back and forth. And up until the end, I think he realized we're real journalists and we're here to do a job.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Given his record of alleged war crimes -- and I think the evidence is pretty strong in this case -- you, nevertheless, found him to be rather engaging on a one-to-one basis. How do you square those two things?

PHILLIPS: And how do you not get angry with him?

KOINANGE: Yes, you cannot help but be angry.

But the minute you face him, the eye contact, the words that come out of his mouth, this man is incredibly charming. He's smart. He's intelligent. And he knows that the world listens when he talks. So he knew how to manipulate it. Still, that didn't stop us from asking the tough questions.

O'BRIEN: It's kind of scary, isn't it?

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: We have got some e-mails for you, this one from Patti in Alexandria. She said: "You had to have been exposed to unbelievable situations. Which moment" -- sorry. Do we do the other one?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: "Which moment was the biggest adrenaline rush, in the true state, for you?"

KOINANGE: I think that moment when he stepped on to the plane to leave.

O'BRIEN: Sure.

KOINANGE: Because even I didn't know up until that moment he was going to get into that aircraft and leave the country. I didn't know. I thought, last minute, he is going to turn around or bid farewell to the other heads of state who were with him and go back into the VIP lounge and head back to his mansion. I didn't realize...

O'BRIEN: It could have happened, couldn't it?

KOINANGE: No.

O'BRIEN: Wouldn't that have been something, to write that story?

KOINANGE: Good lord.

O'BRIEN: Did you have that one written in your head already?

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Oh, wow.

KOINANGE: Seriously, it was -- yes, that was the moment. What a rush. And then the plane -- the doors close. The plane taxies. It takes off, and people on the runway left in a daze. People, even they couldn't believe it for quite a while after that.

PHILLIPS: Well, and now you're dealing with the kids, the refugee situation. Your stuff has been very compelling with those children.

KOINANGE: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Yes. You have a great gift of making us understand it.

KOINANGE: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: So keep up the good work.

KOINANGE: Appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: And best to you. Stay safe. And I'm sure while you're in those moments, your family is watching, going: Oh, boy, oh, boy, Jeff, take it easy now.

KOINANGE: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: A pleasure to finally meet you.

KOINANGE: Appreciate it. You, too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 4, 2003 - 14:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the mid-'80s, Jeff Koinange wanted to leave his homeland of Kenya and see the world. The first country he visited, coincidentally or ironically, Liberia. Jeff says it, at that time, was a paradise.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: But little did Jeff know that, 15 years later, he would return to Liberia. However, this time, paradise had become a war-torn hell. Jeff Koinange was no longer a tourist. He had become a CNN war correspondent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was an assignment few reporters would have wanted to take on, an unknown country in a faraway place where, danger seemed to lurk at every turn.

(on camera): It's become an all too-familiar-scene in the streets of Monrovia, innocent civilians caught in the crossfire between government forces and rebels. Now, President Taylor has said he is willing to step down if it will help bring about peace in Liberia. The rebels, it seems, aren't quite ready to take his word for it.

The situation in terms of internally displaced people or refugees is getting dire by the hour. The people we talked about earlier on in the stadium, there's over 12,000 right now gathered in there, and thousands are arriving by the minute.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Taylor needs to step down.

KOINANGE (voice-over): In an exclusive interview with CNN, Mr. Taylor responds for the first time to the U.S. president's remarks.

CHARLES TAYLOR, LIBERIAN PRESIDENT: Anything that's going to happen in Liberia is going to happen with the assistance of the United States.

KOINANGE: Tens of thousands of jubilant Liberians celebrating the arrival of the Americans. This is hardly what they were expecting.

(on camera): Here at the iron gates checkpoint, they have been told to turn around. The word hasn't come from on high that they can proceed beyond that point. So the entire convoy is turning around and heading back towards Monrovia.

(voice-over): But the Americans quickly discovered they were in for another surprise.

(on camera): We are literally meters away from the front line. Rebel forces are about 100 yards across that bridge. And that is the key strategic Saint Paul's River bridge. It looks like the rebels are making their last push into the capital, Monrovia.

A sight Liberians thought they would never see in their lifetimes, the presence of peacekeepers on the ground in this battle- scarred capital.

(voice-over): And just like that, President Taylor steps down as Liberia's 21st president, the third time ever in this country's 156- year history. As the jet lifted into the afternoon sky, many here left hoping this country can put itself back together again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Wow.

O'BRIEN: Good work.

KOINANGE: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Jeff Koinange now joins us here in Atlanta, not only to share his experience, but also to take your e-mails.

Great to have you.

KOINANGE: Great to be here. Thanks, guys.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: You and I have a lot of questions.

O'BRIEN: As you look back -- yes, let's start with our questions -- as you look back on your work there and you see those months -- kind of put it all together, it's going to be months of living dangerously. Toot your own horn a little bit. What was your proudest moment, getting the exclusives with Charles Taylor or just being there on the streets talking to people?

KOINANGE: Those exclusives were great. And he always spoke to us. Every time he had something to say, it's me he called, for some reason or other. Either he understood the power of the media more or he just trusted us for some reason.

But there were so many scary moments. Looking back now, I see, whoa, was I doing that? What was I doing there? But when you're on the ground doing the stories, you don't think of that. You are just thinking of the next move, where you're going from here, how do you tell this story, so that an American audience can see it the way we see it, because you know African stories are difficult to get on the air here. And to make an American audience understand the way we see it, you have be able to tell it like it is. PHILLIPS: Well, you had a relationship with Charles Taylor that goes way back, though. He trusted you. He knew you were a good journalist. That's why he talked to you.

KOINANGE: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Tell us about this relationship, because you said it was a bit of a sparring relationship, too.

KOINANGE: It was. I knew him when he was warlord Taylor, when he was pushing his revolution, all the way from 1989 to 1996, when I met him, right before the civil war ended.

And right from the start, we hit it off. There was a chemistry there. And when I kept going back to Liberia and doing interviews with him, sometimes he would refuse interviews completely. He wasn't in the mood. He didn't feel like it. But sometimes, he would say: Fine, let's do it. Let's talk about this, that, the other.

And we would spar. We would basically spar back and forth. And up until the end, I think he realized we're real journalists and we're here to do a job.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Given his record of alleged war crimes -- and I think the evidence is pretty strong in this case -- you, nevertheless, found him to be rather engaging on a one-to-one basis. How do you square those two things?

PHILLIPS: And how do you not get angry with him?

KOINANGE: Yes, you cannot help but be angry.

But the minute you face him, the eye contact, the words that come out of his mouth, this man is incredibly charming. He's smart. He's intelligent. And he knows that the world listens when he talks. So he knew how to manipulate it. Still, that didn't stop us from asking the tough questions.

O'BRIEN: It's kind of scary, isn't it?

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: We have got some e-mails for you, this one from Patti in Alexandria. She said: "You had to have been exposed to unbelievable situations. Which moment" -- sorry. Do we do the other one?

O'BRIEN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: "Which moment was the biggest adrenaline rush, in the true state, for you?"

KOINANGE: I think that moment when he stepped on to the plane to leave.

O'BRIEN: Sure.

KOINANGE: Because even I didn't know up until that moment he was going to get into that aircraft and leave the country. I didn't know. I thought, last minute, he is going to turn around or bid farewell to the other heads of state who were with him and go back into the VIP lounge and head back to his mansion. I didn't realize...

O'BRIEN: It could have happened, couldn't it?

KOINANGE: No.

O'BRIEN: Wouldn't that have been something, to write that story?

KOINANGE: Good lord.

O'BRIEN: Did you have that one written in your head already?

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Oh, wow.

KOINANGE: Seriously, it was -- yes, that was the moment. What a rush. And then the plane -- the doors close. The plane taxies. It takes off, and people on the runway left in a daze. People, even they couldn't believe it for quite a while after that.

PHILLIPS: Well, and now you're dealing with the kids, the refugee situation. Your stuff has been very compelling with those children.

KOINANGE: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Yes. You have a great gift of making us understand it.

KOINANGE: Thank you very much.

O'BRIEN: So keep up the good work.

KOINANGE: Appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: And best to you. Stay safe. And I'm sure while you're in those moments, your family is watching, going: Oh, boy, oh, boy, Jeff, take it easy now.

KOINANGE: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: A pleasure to finally meet you.

KOINANGE: Appreciate it. You, too.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com