These, the fleeing refugees, must be at the centre of sustaible  peace

S/Leone Trials Begin Without The Prime Suspect—Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor: Free to roam

30 May 04

Sierra Leone War crimes trials will begin today in Freetown, but one person that will not appear, thanks to the Nigerians, is Charles Taylor, the prime suspect described as carrying the main responsibility for the slaughters that marred that country for over a decade. Several attempts to have Taylor extradited have failed, and the Liberian interim leader, Charles Gyude Bryant, insists he will not seek Taylor’s extradition because the indicted war criminal’s exile was a deal that made him interim leader.

But Liberian civic society groups are now planning to take matters into their hands by organising to demand extradition of the indicted war criminal. A consortium of human rights and pro-democracy groups, the Civil Society Organizations of Liberia (CSOL) has launched its campaign demanding extradition. 

The campaign, which organisers say will last for three months, will include legal action to be filed in the Nigerian high court by two yet unnamed victims of the Sierra Leonean war against Charles Taylor’s exile and protection in Nigeria. Simultaneous campaigns will be launched in America, and Europe, campaigners say.  

But Charles Taylor remains a formidable force in Liberian politics and its economy. A detailed report by the environmental rights group, Global Witness, says his role is “significant.” It reveals a number of secret bank accounts through which funds are channelled to Taylor, and at the forefront of the scheme is Mr. Emmanuel Shaw, an advisor to Mr. Bryant who manages Taylor’s business entity called Lone Star. Mr. Shaw was once wanted in South Africa on fraud charges.

With the trials beginning, chances of Charles Taylor facing justice for his enormous role in organising and launching Sierra Leone rebel movement, the Revolutionary United Front, are getting dimmer. RUF’s leader and close aide to Taylor in the Liberian war, Foday Sankoh died of illness in prison. Another key RUF Commander with links to Taylor, Sam Bocakarie, was executed on Taylor’s orders on claims he resisted arrest. Another accused, Sierra Leone junta leader Johnny Paul Koroma, was  allegedly killed upon Taylor’s orders.

The regional implications of a free Charles Taylor are dire, and the leaders of Guinea and Cote d'Ívoire, two countries affected by Taylor’s policies of exporting rebel wars, have warned that the region is in danger without Charles Taylor facing justice.