Global Policy Forum

By Osman Benk Sankoh

President Taylor has for the first time pointed accusing fingers on Sierra Leone for his recent indictment and the warrant of arrest issued for him by the Special Court Prosecutor, David Crane.

He described the court Friday in Monrovia as, 'a local court' that is bent on embarrassing a sitting African head of state. And Taylor has now resorted to issuing threats against Sierra Leone as he did during the pre-war years. "This indictment is not Special Court versus Charles Taylor." For him, " It is Sierra Leone versus Liberia." He continued: " This will bring confusion between the two countries for years and years to come." Presidential Spokesman, Kanji Daramy, reacting to this claim over the weekend, told Concord Times that, " the Special Court is independent of this country. It came about as a result of an agreement between Sierra Leone and the United Nations." He added: " If Taylor did say so, then he is misunderstanding the nature of the court".

Daramy however said that the body 'chemistry' between Taylor and president Kabbah before and after the indictment is good.

It would be recalled that in reaction to Taylor's indictment after he had escaped from the Ghanaian capital where his indictment was announced, a senior minister in Taylor's government said, " This indictment amounts to a declaration of war," implicitly referring to Sierra Leone and Liberia.

A Concord Times previous edition stated Taylor's plans to use the Liberian Anti- Terrorist Unit (ATU) Special Forces to attack Sierra Leone again.

Prior to the outbreak of the war in Sierra Leone 1991, the Liberian president and now Special Court indictee, threatened that "Sierra Leone would taste the bitterness of war".

This came to pass and for that, Crane has now indicted him as one of those that, " bear the greatest responsibility" for the decade long civil war in Sierra Leone.

The beleaguered president has also stated that he was not going to step down as president until his indictment was dropped.

Sources close to the Special Court have however ruled out the possibility of this happening.

" Taylor must be dragged before the court so that he pays for his support to the rebels who have brought untold suffering to our country and for chopping off my hand," a 16-year-old female amputee whose hand was chopped off by rebels in Kono told Concord Times over the weekend.

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