Concord Times (Freetown)
Sahr Morris Jr
15 April 2009
Freetown — The shadow over Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaoré is that Liberia's ex-President Charles Taylor may, during his trial at the Sierra Leone Special Court, sitting in the Hague, produce some embarrassing revelations about their cooperation (AC passim).
According to Africa Confidential 2009, Compaoré collaborated with warlord Taylor from the start of his rebellion in 1990 until around 2004, when they fell out over money.
Despite international condemnation (though Paris hardly said a word), Compaoré continued to supply arms to Taylor and the late Sierra Leonean militia leader Corporal Foday Sankoh and his Revolutionary United Front.
The Special Court has RUF documents which explicitly refer to the help Compaoré gave Sankoh.
It could be recalled that The Washington Post in 2000 reported that intelligence sources on Sierra Leone's rebel war and diplomats said international efforts almost failed in part because the isolated nation of Burkina Faso provided a key lifeline in the rebels' procurement of weapons.
Despite being under an international arms embargo, leaders of Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front procured at least five large planeloads of weapons from the former Soviet bloc through Burkina Faso in 1998 and 1999.
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Correct, the war was not a civil war, but a rebel war financed and supported by the soupist regime of Charles Taylor. Now, the Court in the Hague accuses Taylor of crimes against humanity, among other charges.
But, why stop with Taylor?
Let's go to the root: begin with Gadaffi, snake down to your man in Burkina Faso, and then swing to the now moribund blurry image of little Paris in soupist West Africa, the Ivory Coast, and therein, we find the dirty hands of now deceased Boigny (he could be indicted in absentia).
Now, a few members of the RUF were just convicted for the same atrocities that the "Kamajors" allegedly committed. Why are the leaders of the Kamajors not in the dock? And, who are some of the leaders of the Kamajors? No list would be be complete without Tejan Kabba. Therefore, he should be indicted.
But, if Kabba is indicted, then anyone in the know knows that Kofi Annan has to be indicted for giving material support to Kabba and, therefore, aiding and abetting the Kamajors. And, don't forget to add some military and civilian representatives of INVADER BRITAIN.
The trail ends with 'journalists' who parroted the 'ideology' of the RUF, the AFRC and Kabba's extra-judicial force of Kamajors.
Under this analysis, one can reasonably conclude that Taylor is the fall guy, and we agree.
Quite an interesting analysis. I stand with it, with a support but bear in mind that a 'thief sometimes get more punishment than the buyer of the stealing items'.
Taylor, waged war on Sierra leone because we refused him passage to pass through Sierra Leone to enter Liberia,by way of Zimmi and Kailahun. Zimmi would've given him the quickest route to enter the capital of Liberia.Again,yes, it was not a civil war per say.We refused him entry,so he had to go to the stupid francophone Ivory Coast,backed by the colonialist-France,who gave more support.
Taylor is ready to reveal more names when he takes the stand in July.Taylor is not a society man to keep a secret. He knows he will go to jail. Why keep the other monsters standing. The Clintonians,should also watch out for Taylor.The fist day, Taylor will be on the stand for 3hours, to name all those monsters and gun-runners in Africa.
Fair enough,again there was no civil war because Sierra Leoneans don't civil war.All through out, they knew only political halahala.
We agree.
It is going to be a "hot, hot, hot" (Jamaican song) in soupist Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso in July, when Taylor, who has nada to lose, spills the beans, if, as is widely reported and expected, he takes the stand.
He is going to play what kids play: gotcha!
Happy July me nor die o!
The article "If Taylor, Why Not Compaore'? There's a lot of international political injustice around the world. And one of them is related with the above mentioned article.
If there is an authentic prove to surport the authenticity of Campaore's bloody hands involvement in the rebel crisies in Sierra Leonem, why has he not being brought to justice?
Proponents of democracy, national, regional or international development including my self, will never forgive Campaore' for murdering one of the great sons of Africa-the late president of the republic of Burkina Fasso "Thomas Sankra".
Twenty years on Campaore' is still in power. The earlier he is arested, and brought to stand trial at the Hague, the better it could be to justify his involvement in the bloody rebel war in Sierra Leone.