Appiah Kusi Adomako
7 April 2006
opinion
Kumasi — LAST week's arrest of the former Liberian President and warlord shall forever be stenciled on the mental sheet of post-war Sierra Leone generation.
To the United Nations Court in Sierra Leone, it is a major breakthrough. The historical record suggests that West Africa has a pattern of caving in to threats from Taylor that appears to have been encouraged by the wider international community and the consequences have always been fatal.
The charges against the former Liberian president relate to the much wider conflict in West Africa, which started in 1989 with the rebellion he initiated in Liberia, but later spread to engulf the whole region. Sierra Leone saw some of the worst atrocities. The war there started just over a year after Liberia's. The basis of the charges against Charles Taylor is the belief that he was the moving force behind that conflict.
The le ader of the Sierra Leone rebellion, Foday Sankoh, was an old friend of his and a number of his Liberian fighters also fought with Mr. Sankoh's Revolutionary United Front (RUF). The RUF used Liberia as their real base; it was through Liberia that they sold their diamonds and got their arms, which thus funded and fueled the war. Liberia under the leadership of Mr. Taylor was a source of instability for Guinea and the Ivory Coast as well, and kept the regional organisation, ECOWAS, in a constant state of crisis. So other West African leaders probably breathed a sigh of relief when he was taken out of circulation and went into exile in Nigeria. The arrest of Charles Taylor will be an eternal reminder to every warlord in Africa that there can be no sanctuary for such characters.
We must however be careful and avoid this unwarranted optimism that the arrest of Charles Taylor means that all evil is dead. All progress is precarious. So the solution of one problem brings us face to f ace with another problem. Charles Taylor has numerous supporters in Liberia who are willing to fight and die for him. We must also know that the peace and stability of post war Liberia is more of a priority than the trial of Charles Taylor.
The trial and any future conviction and subsequent jailing of Taylor could send his supporters back to the bush, which could put the peace of Liberia in disequilibrium. In criminal justice system, experts hold the view that it is better to free a criminal person than to jail an innocent person. This by extension means that it might be better to allow one person to remain free (for a period) than to let a whole region suffer through violence as a result of his imprisonment. I have said already that Taylor's arrest sends a very welcome signal to all warlords who plunge entire communities into chaos for their personal gratification of future power. However, in the case of Charles Taylor, I believe that the timing needs to be right.
Given the volatility of the region, it might have been helpful to let sleeping dogs lie for a period until relative stability had been achieved in Sierra Leone and Liberia itself. A problem identified is half solved. Knowing that Charles Taylor had some questions to answer and the fact that he was known to be safe and sound in Nigeria was half the problem solved. What really is the rush in this? Like the old adage that admonishes care in handling the fly that settles on your wounds. If care is not taken, you end up worse off because the wound bleeds.
Liberia has just gone through a historic election with Africa's first woman Head of State. The elections itself did not pass without comment and it took what I see as the magnanimity of national hero, George Oppong Weah, to allow the democratic process to go on. Had Oppong Weah been any of the rebel leaders we are all so familiar with, he would have retreated into the bush and launched one of the many so-called liberation wars that we ha ve gotten so used to in Africa. With Liberia's new lady leader still trying to steady her boat, I think this Taylor issue could undermine her authority. I do not know what her position on this matter is but I think her government would be better off without all this fuss, at least not at this time. Then also the security implications of this trial in Sierra Leone.
I think the suggestions that the war crimes tribunal in the Hague are a step in the right direction is premature. We know what happened to the late Liberian President, Samuel Doe; he was snatched from right under the noses of an international force and brutally murdered. The logistics available to the international peacekeepers who will be in charge at the War crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone will not be the same as they would enjoy in the Netherlands. In any cases, the level of risk will be much reduced, given the hassle any would-be freedom fighters from Africa will go through to get visas to go to the Hague. Anyw ay, now Charles Taylor is under lock and key. One is of the hope that this helps to bring the much-needed peace to the region so that the work of development can start.
However, it is the responsibility of all those who matter to exercise good judgment in order for this to happen. Given the esteem in which our neighbors hold us and even amongst the wider international community when it comes to issues pertaining to the sub region, let our leaders be that moderating influence to ensure that the right thing is done at the right time.
Appiah Kusi Adomako, Leaders of Tomorrow Foundation, Kumasi.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2006 Ghanaian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
