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Blood Court: Corrupt African Leaders

Reading about the war-crimes trial of former President of Liberia Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague has been both stomach-turning and eye-opening for me. My only reference point before educating myself about this UN-backed trial was the 2006 movie Blood Diamond, which takes place during the Sierra Leone civil war of the 1990s. Taylor, a warlord during his own country’s civil conflict, has been accused of supporting rebel groups which went into the neighboring Sierra Leone, using brutal methods (mass murder, rape, child-soldiers, amputation, and even cannibalism) in the pursuit of more power in western Africa and control over the country’s profitable diamond mines.

Taylor, the first African leader to be tried for war crimes in this manner, denies the charges. The case is incredibly important as a precedent for future trials, as it holds a former leader, in this case Taylor, accountable for the horrific actions of government-sponsored militias. Let’s hope that the prosecution, which has rested its case after months of witness testimony, is successful, after Taylor and the defense team gives what is sure to be weeks of their own arguments.

What’s embarrassing is that the United States actually backed Taylor with “aid and assistance” in the ‘90s. I for one hope that the support for corrupt African leaders (see Omar al-Bashir, charged this past March by the International Criminal Court with five counts of crimes against humanity) by developed countries interested in their natural resources will end.

Photo Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jesse B. Awalt/Released