Charles Taylor in The Hague

Why it is good that Liberia’s ex-Leader has been transferred to The Hague

On June 20, Charles Taylor was taken from Sierra Leone to a prison in the Netherlands where he will await the United Nations war crimes trial for the eleven charges against him. He stands accused of some of the most unspeakable acts of horror committed on the continent. Acts so violent and inhumane that they had earned him the reputation as the most feared man on the continent.

Charles Taylor has lived with an addiction to blood. His quest for power was driven by a bloodlust that has stained the West African earth. He traded arms to the rebels of Sierra Leone in return for blood diamonds. There is even one rumour that he had an employee killed for some transgression and then kept a bucket of his victim's blood in which he intended to bathe. But now, the best Taylor can do is cause blood to boil, especially in Sierra Leone and Liberia where an estimated 300,000 people died as a result of the conflict he masterminded.

Although some Sierra Leoneans had hoped for a firsthand account of Mr. Taylor's overdue rendezvous with justice, the government insisted that moving him to The Hague was in the best interests of regional security. Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's International Justice Program, however, believes that "now that Taylor is in The Hague, there is a real risk that his trial will feel distant and less meaningful to the people most affected by the crimes." Taylor's trial is no less significant because of its distance from Sierra Leone. Justice is not about proximity. Indeed, his transfer can be viewed as a powerful message to current and would-be dictators and warlords about the severity of these offenses.

The justice that these people deserve should not be at the cost of safety. Security is an issue because Taylor still has a loyal following in the region who may wish to rally around his prison to defend his acts. His very presence is enough to spark controversy because Taylor is known as much for his grandstanding as for his violent misadventures. Who knows what he is capable of saying during his trial to enrage his victims and inspire his advocates. One classic example of Taylor's deplorable misconduct is the choice for his 1997 presidential campaign slogan which was "He killed my ma, he killed my pa but I'll vote for him." Surely this must be viewed as tantamount to a written confession that can be submitted as evidence to demonstrate what he is capable of doing.

Anyone affected by Taylor's savagery wishing to follow the proceedings will be forced to relive graphic accounts of rape, torture, dismemberment, the forced conscription of child soldiers, in addition to many other indignities that Sierra Leoneans had to face. Add this renewed grief to the fact that Taylor still has his loyal following and blood is destined to boil. The removal of Charles Taylor from Freetown is, at the very least, symbolic - he is still able to manipulate minds and, therefore, remains a genuine threat. Most importantly, his transfer symbolizes that his presence is not desired in this region.

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