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CHARLES TAYLOR CONTINUES TO CAUSE TROUBLE FROM EXILE
Charles Taylor has been indicted by the
Special Court for Sierra
Leone for 17 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes for his
role in destabilizing Sierra Leone. Taylor was the President of neighboring
Liberia until 2003. During his time as President, he was responsible for
more than a decade of conflict in Liberia and stands accused of fostering
rebellions in several of his neighbors, including Sierra Leone.
The Special Court’s indictment only covers Taylor’s activities in Sierra
Leone. He is accused of supporting, training and arming the Revolutionary
United Front (RUF), one of the rebel groups in Sierra Leone’s civil war. He
supported the RUF and perpetuated the civil war to gain access to Sierra
Leone’s diamonds and make it easier to smuggle them out of the country.
With his support, the RUF engaged in a campaign that deliberately targeted
the civilian population of Sierra Leone. Thousands of men, women, and
children were killed. Many victims were mutilated, their limbs hacked off
and the letters “RUF” carved into their bodies. Thousands of civilians were
abducted to be used as sex slaves, child soldiers and laborers in the RUF
diamond mines.
In 2003, Taylor fled Liberia as rebels closed in on the capital, Monrovia.
Nigeria offered Taylor asylum (and protection from extradition to the Special
Court) in return for a promise that he would stop trying to overthrow the
governments of West Africa and permanently retire from politics. Taylor has
reneged on this promise. There have been repeated allegations that Taylor
was continuing to scheme against various West African governments through
intermediaries in Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
This week, David Crane, the Special Court’s Prosecutor revealed that Taylor
was responsible for the recent attempt to assassinate President Conte of
Guinea. He has also left Nigeria to meet with co-conspirators (in violation
of his exile) and is collaborating with a Liberian lawyer to run a political
party that is participating in Liberia’s presidential elections (also in
violation of his exile). The Prosecutor indicated that the attempted
assassination of President Conte was part of a plan to overthrow the
governments of Guinea and Ivory Coast and install Taylor as President of
Guinea.
Taylor was originally allowed into exile to avoid what some predicted would
be a bitter battle for control of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, but
exile has not worked. Rather than staying out of West African politics, as
he has promised, Taylor has used his time in exile to plot the overthrow of
two neighboring governments, try to kill a head of state, and manipulate the
outcome of the upcoming Liberian presidential elections. It is time for
Nigeria to publicly recognize that Taylor has repeatedly violated the terms
of his exile and turn him over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone so that
he can be tried for his crimes in that country.
+READ MORE ABOUT THE
SPECIAL COURT FOR SIERRA LEONE
Updated
April 29, 2005
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