Global Policy Forum

By Silvia Aloisi

The U.S. prosecutor for Sierra Leone's special war crimes court vowed to hunt down any foreigners who played a major role in fuelling one of Africa's most brutal conflicts, be it with money or guns. The comments added to speculation that Liberia's President Charles Taylor, under United Nations sanctions for backing Sierra Leone's rebels with arms in return for diamonds, would be among those indicted by the U.N.-backed court.

David Crane, a 52-year old former Pentagon lawyer and the court's chief prosecutor, said on Monday he was still working to find those bearing the greatest responsibility in the conflict, be they inside or outside Sierra Leone. "As long as it falls within the mandate of the court...I can go anywhere, reach out and get them," Crane told Reuters. "This case is far bigger than Sierra Leone. There is clear evidence of regional and international involvement -- in terms of funding, political backing and military support."

The court was set up to try those responsible for the worst atrocities in a decade-long war that shocked the world with its violence against civilians, including the deliberate amputation of limbs, mass rape and forced recruitment of child soldiers. The court has already indicted seven people, including notorious rebel leader Foday Sankoh and the West African country's interior minister, for crimes against humanity. Crane said he hoped trials would begin in the summer.

War in the former British colony was declared over in January last year after U.N. peacekeepers disarmed more than 47,000 rebel or pro-government militia fighters. An estimated 50,000 people were killed in the conflict, although Crane said he believed the death toll was closer to 100,000. Crane could not comment on individual criminal cases or future indictments, but said leaders of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) acted "in concert with Taylor at all relevant times" -- as stated in the indictments against them. "JOINT CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE" Crane said Sierra Leone's gems, some of the world's purest, fuelled the creation of what he called a "joint criminal enterprise" bringing together rebels, members of a former military junta and international accomplices.

Their aim was to gain power and take control of diamond mining areas. "The whole conflict was about diamonds. How did the rebels keep the war going for such a long time? They traded guns for diamonds. Without diamonds, they wouldn't have had the guns and there wouldn't have been a decade-long war," he said. The court is expected to try some 20 ringleaders, although Crane did not give a precise figure. "We haven't closed the book on anyone. We are looking at everything and everyone," he said. He added last week's indictment of Interior Minister Sam Hinga Norman, a close ally of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, and six other people had shown that "we mean business". "The fact that victims can see someone humbled before the law, that is justice," Crane said. The court will only try people Crane referred to as the "kakatua" -- big fish in the local Creole language -- and probe crimes committed after 30 November 1996, meaning thousands of fighters on both sides will probably never face justice.

A truth and reconciliation commission, styled on the body that helped South Africans come to terms with the apartheid era, aims to at least partially fill that gap by bringing together victims and persecutors to tell their stories. But, unlike the special court, it will have no power to punish. Crane said second- or third-tier players found responsible for particularly gruesome acts would be turned over to Sierra Leone's authorities, but insisted on the need to rehabilitate former fighters -- many of whom were children forced to kill. "We have a lost generation in this country. I don't condone their crimes, but we have to reintegrate them into society. If we keep hounding them, all we will do is get them right back into the bush," he said.

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