By: Musue N. Haddad
In March 2003, Charles Taylor was indicted for 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his alleged role in the civil war in Sierra Leone. Taylor is accused of backing rebels responsible for widespread atrocities in Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor is also accused of selling diamonds and buying weapons for Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front rebels, who hacked off the hands and legs of civilians during the Sierra Leone’s war. In August 2003, Taylor was forced into exile through a diplomatic deal. Taylor disappeared in late March 2006 from his exile home in southern Nigeria, when there was increasing pressure to send him to the Special Court for Sierra Leone. He was captured, handcuffed and sent to the Special Court for Sierra Leone for prosecution.
The man who first indicted Charles Ghankay Dakpannah MacArthur Taylor, the former prosecutor for the Sierra Leone Court, David Crane, is a distinguished visiting professor of law at Syracuse University College of Law where he teaches various aspects of international law. Professor Crane has been speaking on the Special Court for Sierra Leone and West Africa’s human rights issues at various forums. FrontPageAfrica’s reporter, Musue N. Haddad caught up with Professor Crane recently. Crane tells Musue N. Haddad the implications of the arrest of Charles Taylor for Justice and what the prospects for peace and justice is for Sierra Leone, Liberia and the challenges West Africa faces.
Thanks a lot for granting this interview to FrontPageAfrica. FrontPageAfrica believes that it is very important for the people of Sierra Leone, the people of Liberia and the people of West Africa to hear from you, particularly after the arrest of Charles Taylor. They also want to know your views on the prospects for justice, Order and peace in the region. Before we delved into the issues of justice and the arrest of Charles Taylor, let us take a look at your background. You were the second American appointed as prosecutor for an international tribunal.
David Crane: It has been an honored to be able to represent the people of Sierra Leone and to seek justice for them. They suffered so crudely.
There was another American who was the prosecutor of the international military tribunal in Numberg and I just happened to have the historical honor of being the second American appointed prosecutor of an international tribunal. Justice Robert Jackson was the first American, appointed to be the chief prosecutor of the tribunal in Nuremberg in 1945.
During the recent US Institute for Peace event, in your presentation, you hinted that the Special Court for Sierra Leone had some limitations. What are some of the limitations of the Special Court for Sierra Leone?
The limitations of the Sierra Leone Court are really more of challenges than limitations. The Special court for Sierra Leone is a very innovative first ever experience in international criminal justice and it is proving to be largely a success. The challenges that this tribunal is experiencing, as many tribunals do face is the indifference the world shows towards what is being done in places such as West Africa and other parts of the world. It is very, very important that you get the world energized and focused on the tragedies that do take place in places such as in Sierra Leone. So it is very important that you get out and talk and present the situation before the world to get the world to focus on justice and wherever that may be needed
You also disclosed that there are over 500,000 victims in Sierra Leone and Liberia has over 600,000 victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Liberia does not have a special court and it is not clear whether the government of Liberia is interested in establishing a Special Court for Liberia? As an advocate, what would you proposed?
I think that it is very, very important that once Charles Taylor is given a fair trial in Sierra Leone for the murder, rape, maiming and mutilation of over 500,000 Sierra Leoneans, that the international community along with the Republic of Liberia consider setting up a hybrid international tribunal in Monrovia so that Charles Taylor and others can be fairly tried for the destruction of over 600,000 Liberian. I think that the setting up of a Court for Liberia needs to be done over the next year or two.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone was established and has been functioning for few years; setting the precedent for justice and peace. At this point in Liberia, the government is focused on the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. What justice, do you believe the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, (TRC) can bring to victims of the Liberian conflicts and what are the limitations of a TRC?
I think it is very, very important that when you have situations where you have a country transitioning from war to peace, let the truth be told, and so a truth commission like we had in Sierra Leone and like what was in South Africa establishes some of the truth but you must also have justice. I will say to your readers that you have to have both truth and justice to have sustainable peace. I know that the TRC in Liberia is just starting up, that is a good thing. After the TRC have completed their work, the Liberians are going to want to have justice for those who did such terrible things to them and so it will be necessary that a tribunal be put together so that there can be justice for the victims.
Charles Taylor claims that he does not have funds to pay for his legal representation. This claim stuns many who have witnessed the lavish life style of Charles Taylor and his supporters. Are there any means for the court to determine whether, Charles Taylor truly is poor, and that resources amassed during the years of conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and monies he collected during his administration as President are gone?
The special court for Sierra Leone has a process to review the particular financial circumstances of anyone who is indicted and brought before the court. The court has financial investigators who will investigate to see whether Charles Taylor has money or not. Regardless, it is very important that Charles Taylor be properly represented before the tribunal because it is very important for the people of West Africa to understand that the law is fair and the burden of proof is on the prosecutor himself. Charles Taylor is innocent until proven guilty he has being indicted but until judgment is passed he has not an absolute right to plead not guilty and be fairly represented. So he will be appropriately represented by good barristers who will ensure that there is a fair trial.
The number of persons prosecuted by the Special Court for Sierra is far lesser than those who actually committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. What implications, if any, will that have to Sierra Leone’s peace process?
As I told the people of Sierra Leone during my many town hall’s meetings over a period of three years, speaking to tens of thousands of the brave people of Sierra Leone; I told them that we have to follow the law. The law for the international tribunal statue says that we are supposed to prosecute those who bear the greatest responsibility. That is around twenty to twenty four people or less, and so I explained to them that is our mandate. That means, we can only go as far as our mandate requires. In addition, the Sierra Leone justice system is still rebuilding, it would be very difficult, making it difficult to prosecute other individuals who committed crimes during the war.
I also explained to the Sierra Leoneans that due to the Lome peace accord, there was a domestic amnesty for those who committed crimes in Sierra Leone itself by Sierra Leoneans themselves. That amnesty was the legal challenge as far as trying to prosecute others who committed crimes, even if we could because of the domestic amnesty that was granted in Lome back in 1999.
Is that domestic amnesty similar to the amnesty various Liberian factional groups granted one another during the Accra Peace talks? Is it also the same as the amnesty that Charles Taylor granted himself and his officials of government before he went into exile?
That is a different amnesty. But your readers must understand that there is a difference. Domestic amnesty is only dealing with domestic crimes. At the international level, it does not affect the international crimes of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But Charles Taylor can in fact be prosecuted for what he has done both in Liberia as well as in Sierra Leone.
Readers will begin to wonder why atrocities committed during war are being categorized especially since Human Rights cuts across all barriers. How can Liberians, Sierra Leoneans and West Africans understand the different applications of domestic and international laws to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Liberia, and Sierra Leone?
Certainly, again there are two types of laws, domestic and international laws. And certainly, human rights are very important but you must persecute them according to the statues which are created through treaties as well as by customary and international laws.
International law deals with crimes against mankind such as war crimes and crimes against humanity. Also the statues at the international level relates to serious violations of international humanitarian laws. It is for those that Charles Taylor and others are going to be prosecuted for.
So that means unless Liberians take the lead in calling for the prosecution of Charles Taylor for the violations he carried out in Liberia, the international community can not persecuted him for domestic violence?
No Musue, it will be the international community working with the people of Liberia to establish an international court. Domestically, it will be up to Liberian people themselves as to what they want to do relating to those who committed crimes against them to include Charles Taylor. But what I am talking about is establishing an international tribunal very similar to the special court for Sierra Leone to tried Charles Taylor for international crimes not domestic crimes.
Does it mean that Liberians have to decide to set up a court to prosecute Charles Taylor and his cohort for domestic violence committed against Liberian?
They could do it that way or another way is establishing an international tribunal. It could be done either way.
Liberians and the International community look at the Special Court for Sierra Leone as a model for International Justice on the continent. Are there any set backs in the prosecution of those who committed atrocities in West Africa at the Special Court for Sierra Leone?
We don’t really have any set back. We finally got Charles Taylor so the mandate for the Special Court has been completed. Those who bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes and the crimes against humanity are being prosecuted. The special court for Sierra Leone is showing the world that international criminal justice can be efficiently and effectively delivered in a politically acceptable timeframe in a fair way; showing that the rule of law is more powerful than the rule of the gun.
At this point, what is your vision for justice and peace in Liberia, given that most of Charles Taylor’s staunch supporters, who along with Taylor emptied the national coffers, looted and exploited the country, are living lavishly. Some of Taylor’s cronies are currently holding key positions both in government and the private sector?
No one is above the law. When time comes for justice to be done in Liberia, I am sure the appropriate the appropriate decisions will be made.
Commenting on the Liberia’s peace process, what would you say to Liberians and the international community?
I think we need to give all support to the new president of Liberia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. I think she believes in good governance, which is so very important for a democracy to move forward. Good governance is still lacking in that part of West Africa. I think that with proper support and encouragement, Liberia‘s future is very bright for a sustainable peace. Now that Charles Taylor is currently out of the equation and all of his supporters no longer have Charles Taylor, he is in custody; I think the chance for peace is far greater.
As you sit back at Syracuse University, what is your vision for West Africa?
West Africa has many any challenges and it is very important for the leaders of West Africa to understand that they must govern through good governance and that they cannot use their citizens for their own personal, political or criminal gains.
Corruption is West Africa’s biggest challenge and the people of West African must hold their elected leaders accountable so that they are being governed fairly. But now, West African leaders and in fact all African leaders are on notice, that if they abuse their citizens that they will be held accountable.
Now that you have spoken about the leaders of West African and their poor governance, what is your view on the prevailing situation in Nigeria? President Obasonjo is trying to run for third term and it appears he is gaining the support of colleagues in the region and on the continent – the African culture that encourages African leaders to support one another regardless the consequence a leader’s action may have on citizens. Many political analysts believe that this movement by Obasanjo may begin another leadership trend on the continent.
I think that African leaders practice of supporting one another without regard for the law and the implication of their decisions on the people will have to come to an end. I think that with Charles Taylor being brought down by the law, African people will realize that it is through the laws that their rights will be protected. Africans must also realized that the law should be followed and that the proper transition of government be developed overtime where Africa rulers give up power under their own constitution which is a very very important step forward.
Mr. Crane, is there any issue you will want to discuss; something you would want to elaborate on or talk about that I have not brought out during this interview?
I think that your questions have been very good and I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you.
Thank you for making available this time from your busy schedule for this interview, Mr. Crane. Liberians and West Africans and people on the continent are delighted to hear from you. Against all odds, you initiated the process for Justice and Order in West Africa.
Thank you Musue, the people of Liberia deserve justice because they suffered so terribly under Charles Taylor.
Thanks you very much for your time Mr. Crane and bye.
Thank you, it was good talking to you.
Copyright © Musue N. Haddad
