POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Threat to Disrupt UN War Crimes Proceedings

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Apr 8 2003 (IPS) - "I don’t wish the court is moved away from Sierra Leone, but if for security reasons we are pushed to that, then we will," comments Robin Vincent, registrar of the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Vincent was reacting to claims by relatives of an influential inductee, Sam Hinga Norman, former commander of the pro-government "Kamajor" militia fighters and government Minister, that Norman is being held in sub-human condition.

Norman’s daughter, Juliet, was this week quoted by local newspapers as alleging that her father is being maltreated. "He is denied the opportunity of exercising, his prison cell, which is more like a cave lacks light and ventilation, and his health has considerably deteriorated," claimed Juliet.

Following Juliet’s allegations, after her weekend visit to her father’s detention place on the southern island of Bonthe, temperatures are boiling over in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Norman’s supporters, drawn mainly from the militia forces he controlled during the 1991-2000 civil war are threatening to disrupt the court proceedings.

A group calling itself the Sierra Leone Alliance Movement (SLAM) has threatened that unless Norman is treated properly, they will take an unspecified action.

The Special Court, which was jointly established by the Sierra Leonean government and the UN Security Council in 1996, is mandated to "try individuals believed to bear the greatest responsibility for war crimes."

But the Tribunal began working only this year. So far, it has roped in seven high-profile war crimes suspects including ex-junta leader Johnny Paul Koroma who is on the run, Foday Sankoh and Issa Sesay the leader and deputy of the former Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel movement, and Norman who, until his arrest last month, was Minister of Internal Affairs in the ruling government.

The court’s Prosecutor, American-born David Crane told IPS recently that the indictments would go beyond the borders of Sierra Leone. "I will indict anyone believed to bear the greatest responsibility for horrific crimes committed in this country," Crane said "This case is far beyond Sierra Leone and I am prepared to follow the evidence wherever it leads."

Currently, the Special Court sits on the island of Bonthe in Southern Sierra Leone, an isolated place largely inaccessible to the majority of the people. This has generated intense concerns among Norman’s supporters as well as the general population. Even the operation of the court in this country has come under serious scrutiny.

"What’s all this thing about a Special Court? I think the Special Court could just well be a new flashpoint and we may once again be plunged into war and chaos if they insist on prosecuting people after we have concluded the war," says Mary Josiah, a housewife in the Sierra Leonean second city of Bo.

Another person, who simply gives his name as Mannah, says: "I was a militia fighter and any moves to humiliate and jail our leader (Norman) would be fiercely resisted."

The Special Court, which has a budget of some 58 million U.S. Dollars, is expected to function for about three years. The Court’s judges are drawn from Europe, North America and Africa, but appear to be largely run by Americans. This itself has stirred a new debate. The Americans have refused to sign up to the statutes of the international criminal court and are lobbying for exemption of their nationals from standing trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Last week, Global Witness, a rights monitoring group, said the real threat to the court is from neighbouring Liberia whose President Charles Taylor is thought to be a potential inductee.

Virtually all indictments so far served make reference to Taylor and his links to the former RUF rebels insofar as gunrunning and "blood diamonds" are concerned.

Taylor is believed to have pitched tents with the fugitive ex-rebel commander Sam Bockarie, alias Mosquito, who has already been indicted. The disappearance also of former junta leader Koroma raises some fears among Sierra Leone’s war-weary population..

All these developments have heightened fears across the country that the court may after all become a new flashpoint for renewed hostilities. Many are hoping it does not happen.

Peter Demby, a schoolteacher in Freetown, says: "I hope this Special Court does not plunge us into another round of fighting. We are tired of war and destruction."