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LIBERIAClosing in on Taylor
24/07/05, Martin Luther King
Like the vulture, waiting patiently for carrion, the prosecutors and
investigators at the United Nations-backed War Crimes Court for Sierra
Leone remain hopeful about putting former Liberian President Charles
Taylor in the dock sooner than later. The court officials accuse Taylor
of deep involvement with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network
and have warned that west Africa could be turned into another
Afghanistan unless Taylor is brought to book.
Alan White, the court's chief investigator, disclosed that he had
turned up evidence of Taylor's active involvement in efforts to create
turmoil in the region, including last January's attempt to assassinate
Guinean President Lansana Conte. Said White: "In November we started
learning about a plot that Charles Taylor and others in the region were
trying to engage in destabilising the region, in particular Guinea. We
reported it in November, and we reported it in December. In January it
went down exactly the way our sources had reported it was going to
occur, and that is on January 19th, the assassination attempt on
President Conte."
White said the sources advised him that another attempt on President
Conte's life was being planned. Speaking through a spokesman, Taylor
has denied the allegations.
Dismissing his plea of innocence, however, the court has approached the
UN's apex organ, the Security Council, with a request to assist in
getting Nigeria to surrender the former warlord for trial. Taylor gave
up Liberia's presidency and fled into exile in Nigeria in 2003. His
departure was part of a hastily-brokered peace deal as rebels besieged
the Liberian capital, Monrovia. As part of the deal, Taylor was granted
asylum as long as he stayed out of Liberian affairs.
Taylor's problems, however, multiplied when the War Crimes Court for
Sierra Leone later indicted him on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes
against humanity for fomenting trouble in that country through an
illegal trade in guns for diamonds. The tribunal's chief prosecutor
David Crane said there is clear evidence of Taylor's involvement with
Al Qaeda.
"Al Qaeda has been in west Africa, it continues to be in west Africa,
and Charles Taylor has been harbouring members of al Qaeda, including
those who took part in the takedown of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and
Kenya. He harboured them in 1998, we have activities as late as 6
April, 2005," Crane alleged.
The chief prosecutor said he was asking the UN Security Council's
assistance in having Taylor turned over to face trial. He admitted,
however, that the mechanics of such a handover are awkward. One
possible solution, he said, is to have the Council pass a resolution
praising Nigeria for its assistance in removing Taylor from Liberia,
but point to his meddling in the region.
Tribunal investigator White said the former Liberian leader remains a
threat to regional stability. "It is clear that until Charles Taylor is
brought to justice he will be an immediate clear and present danger to
the threat and peace and security, not only to Liberia, but the entire
west African region," he said.
And now, Liberia's interim government seems to be giving more power to
White's fire. Nearly two years after Taylor arrived Nigeria, his home
government, for the first time, now wants a review of his exile
agreement. It accuses the former president of repeatedly breaching his
asylum deal with daily phone calls back home as well as orders to his
supporters-developments which the government says could threaten peace
in Liberia and beyond.
"(The) preponderance of evidence of Mr. Taylor's interference in
Liberian politics as well as his destabilisation efforts of the sub-
region combines to provide compelling legal necessity for a review of
that internationally-brokered exit agreement," the Liberian Justice
Ministry says in a statement.
"The ex-president's current activities," the ministry
alleges, "(include) daily phone calls to cronies in Liberia and other
parts of the world, through which he issues orders and instructions,
much to the detriment of peace and security of Liberia and the sub-
region. The ex-president cannot continue to be beneficiary of this
agreement in the face of increasing, compelling evidence of his
notorious violation of that self-same agreement."
The ministry however gave no details about those Taylor had been
reportedly calling from his Nigerian hideaway, or specifics of the
orders he was giving them.
As Liberia prepares for the October 11 general elections, the final
chapter in the country's transition to democracy, allegations of
meddling by Taylor continues to mount. Reports from research groups
Global Witness and the Coalition for International Justice have said
that Taylor is controlling or helping to finance at least nine of the
30 or so political parties that have thrown their hat into the ring for
the October ballot. Special Court prosecutors in Sierra Leone have,
similarly, accused Taylor of wiring US $160,000 to his supporters in
the Liberian capital Monrovia last October to help start riots that
killed 16 people and injured hundreds of others.
Taylor's asylum deal is currently protecting him from standing trial on
17 counts of crimes against humanity perpetrated in Liberia's civil
conflict. Among others, he is accused of supporting the brutal
rebellion waged by the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone's
decade-long war that officially ended in 2002, by supplying its leaders
with guns and ammunition in return for smuggled diamonds.
Despite a chorus of calls from Western governments and international
human rights groups to hand over Taylor to face justice, Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo has so far refused to expel the one-time
Liberian leader until he has concrete proof that the terms of his
asylum agreement have been violated. At the last African Union Summit
in Libya, Nigeria actually gave notice of its intention to formally lay
the matter of Taylor before the AU as well as the sub-regional body,
ECOWAS.
The latest development, however, looks certain to pile more pressure on
Obasanjo, who has publicly promised to send Taylor back to Monrovia to
stand trial, only when a future elected government in Liberia decides
to press charges and demand his extradition.
Liberia's interim leader, Gyude Bryant, had previously said that
Taylor's presence in Nigeria was part of the peace process, but warned
that if Taylor started behaving in a way that derailed peace, it would
change things.
Diplomats at the UN Security Council in New York have stopped short of
a resolution officially calling for Taylor to be handed over, but have
hinted that discussions were taking place in Africa on the subject.
Monrovia's recent appeal to review the terms of Taylor's exile
agreement is seen to be the first step in that direction.
So far, mum has been the word from Nigerian officials in Abuja.
But prosecutors from UN tribunals around the world are insisting that
firm commitment by various governments of the world to the discharge of
their legal and treaty obligations is the only way to rid the world of
war criminals.
Meeting in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the prosecutors from the UN's four
major tribunals, for Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone as well as the
International Criminal Court, noted that the various tribunals have
made "great progress" and set "new precedent" in international law.
They stressed that state cooperation with the international criminal
tribunals remains a major pillar upon which the future development of
international law depended.
"Violators of international criminal law including heads of state or
government have been indicted and brought to justice. Others are
awaiting trial. All this underline the fundamental principle that in
the rule of law no one is above the law. Nevertheless, many continue to
suffer from these crimes throughout the world, we affirm that only a
sustained commitment to accountability will deter these atrocities,"
the prosecutors said in a communiqué.
They called "upon all national and international authorities to
strengthen their dedication to justice," adding: "We believe that the
people of the world are entitled to a system that will deter grave
international crimes and hold to account those who bear the greatest
responsibility. Only when a culture of accountability has replaced the
culture of impunity can the diverse people of the world live and
prosper together in peace."
Last May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding
resolution urging Nigeria to cancel Taylor's asylum and turn him over
for prosecution. American President George Bush similarly brought up
the matter May 5 during a White House meeting with Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo, but the visiting Nigerian leader would not shift
ground on the matter. It remains to be seen if Obasanjo would remain
adamant on the issue if the UN Security Council eventually asks him to
make Taylor available to the War Crimes Court in Sierra Leone.
Back in Liberia, excitement is heightening about the presidential and
parliamentary elections to elect a new government on October 11.
Interest in the polls has increased dramatically following the return
to the airwaves of Star Radio, an internationally-sponsored independent
radio station that was shut down by Taylor during his days in power.
Star Radio started broadcasting in 1997 with the aim of providing a
voice for all Liberians in the run-up to the elections that brought
Taylor to power halfway through the country's 14-year civil war. It
soon established itself as the primary source of independent and
unbiased information for Liberians. But in 2000 the station was taken
off the air for allegedly transmitting hate messages against Taylor's
government.
After a five-year absence, Star Radio can now be heard on the FM band
for 17 hours a day in the areas around Monrovia. Residents in rural
Liberia can listen to two hours of programmes per day on the short wave.
Many ordinary Liberians have welcomed the return of the popular radio
station whose reputation for credibility and accuracy endeared it to
listeners. The station, which is backed by the Swiss-based Hirondelle
Foundation, is expected to bridge the information gap in Gbarnga and
other rural areas that depend only on community radios which,
unfortunately, are not properly equipped and lack sufficiently trained
staff.
During the run-up to the October elections, Star Radio is expected to
broadcast voter education programmes and also serve as a vehicle for
the multitude of candidates to explain their mission to the electorate.
Gyude Bryant, head of the broad-based transitional government that took
over after Taylor was forced into exile as part of an August 2003 peace
deal, lifted the ban on Star Radio 18 months ago. Funding problems,
however, delayed the reopening of the radio station.
Eugene Nagbe, a supporter of Taylor during the civil war who is now
minister for Post and Telecommunications, has welcomed the radio
station's return to the air. "From all records available at the
ministry, there was no justification for the station's closure by the
government then and it was closed down without investigation," he said.
Robin White, retired editor of the BBC World Service for Africa, has
been brought in to help launch the born-again station's news
programmes. For news-hungering Liberians, that is another piece of good
news.
August 2005
PETER W.VAKUNTA
DEPARTMENT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON
602 VAN HISE HALL
1220 LINDEN DRIVE
MADISON WI 53706-1525
U.S.A
Office 608 262 4067
Home 608 422 6089
Cell 608 381 0407
"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of the wise man is
in his heart."
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
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