By Thomas Kai Toteh ~ April 14 2006
"...Charles Taylor fled Liberia with approximately US$1m to the United States. The United States of America failed to send him back to face charges of embezzlement after Liberian government’s plea. Instead, he was sent to the Plymouth County House of Correction in Boston. He allegedly broke jail and escaped the US mysteriously..." |
It wouldn’t be a smart thing for someone not to figure out why those countries so technologically advanced are refusing to host Charles Taylor. These countries are afraid, point blank. In the first place those countries that are being pressed on to host Taylor after his trial, aware that this man once broke jail and subsequently disappeared from the US. They wonder why the country that he fled from not can take him back.
He was finally arrested and turned over to the UN-backed Special War Crime Tribunal in Sierra Leone. His arrest and subsequent turn over was preceded by successive mysteries, chaos, conspiracies, and deception. Still, the war crimes suspect behind bars seems to be the world’s most worrisome prisoner. The world’s most powerful and influential nations, United States and Britain are the most worried about where to send Charles Taylor after his verdict.
On the issue of changing Taylor’s trial venue, for security reasons, The Netherlands has agreed to host it; on condition that assurances needed that he will be transferred out of the country once a verdict is reached. Earlier Austria and Sweden both turned down requests to take him.
Right now Britain’s UN Ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry is suggesting that the council approve the transfer and later UN will figure out where to send him was he to be found guilty.
According to Associated Press recent report the United States and Britain said that finding a country where to send Charles Taylor after a verdict is proven difficult.
Leaders of West Africa, the UN-backed War Crime Court, and world leaders, including Britain and the US are not comfortable with the trial and detention of Charles Taylor in Sierra Leone for fear of instability in the region. On the other hand, victims of Charles Taylor’s atrocities want him tried in Sierra Leone.
But the questions many people are today asking are: why the whole world is afraid of Charles Taylor? Why nations of great prison walls don’t want to take him in custody? The answers to these questions may be varied and for various reasons. Charles Taylor has proven over the years he is a force to reckon with.
Charles Taylor fled Liberia with approximately US$1m to the United States. The United States of America failed to send him back to face charges of embezzlement after Liberian government’s plea. Instead, he was sent to the Plymouth County House of Correction in Boston. He allegedly broke jail and escaped the US mysteriously.
The United States government did not issue his re-arrest until he jumped in the bush in Liberia to stage his armed struggle. He was actually both Liberian and American fugitive, but still ruled Liberia and Sierra Leone with impunity for 14 years.
Charles Taylor ruled Liberia for 14 years amid cries, blood, and tears. The UN-backed War Crime Tribunal was not able to arrest him despite his arrest warrant. But ironically as LURD and MODEL rebels besieged him in an attempt to capture him, the world, including the US where he should have been wanted as a fugitive, facilitated his ceremonial departure to Nigeria.
Charles Taylor again proved to the world he can not be taken for granted when the day before his turn over to the Liberian government, got on the run, and headed to the Nigerian border with Cameroon. His plan was to travel all the way to Chad where there presently are serious rebel’s activities. Charles Taylor although concerned people are still figuring out how he left his exile home, would have made it again had it not been for the outburst of massive outcry from almost every sector of the world.
It wouldn’t be a smart thing for someone not to figure out why those countries so technologically advanced are refusing to host Charles Taylor. These countries are afraid, point blank. In the first place those countries being prevailed on to host Taylor after his trial are aware that this man once broke jail and subsequently disappeared from the US. They would wonder why the country that he fled from not takes him back. |