POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: War Tribunal to Start Operation SoonPOLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: War Tribunal to Start Operation Soon

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Dec 19 2002 (IPS) - The UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone appears to be all set to try individuals believed to bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed during the country’s decade-long civil war.

‘’I will follow the evidence wherever it leads me and I am looking at this case locally, regionally and internationally,” David Crane, the prosecutor for the court, told IPS in Freetown this week.

Crane, an American national, would not say how many persons will be indicted but sources indicate it would be more than 25. They will be mainly the military and political commanders of the then warring factions.

Earlier this month, eight judges, drawn from Europe, North America and Africa were sworn-in to sit on the bench.

Five of the judges were appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and three by the Sierra Leone government.

‘’These are judges of proven integrity,” says Robin Vincent, the registrar of the Court. ‘'(The Special Court) is not here to witch-hunt any individual or political group but rather to put an end to impunity and punish the evil doers.”

Officials of the Special Court insist those to be indicted could come from the various rebel groups as well as the government side. But even before indictments have been served to suspects, the leadership of the former rebel group, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has started crying foul.

‘’The Lome (Togo) peace accord of 1999 which ushered in peace gave blanket amnesty to all former combatants,” rants Eldred Collins, the RUF Public Relations Officer. ‘’I don’t think the Special Court will help our fragile peace. We (RUF) are now thinking about national reconciliation and not war or a situation that will plunge us back to chaos.”

The interim Chairperson of the RUF, ex-General Issa Sesay said in newspaper interviews that the inclusion of three Sierra Leonean judges on the Special Court panel may render the proceedings unfair.

‘’If the Court is to be neutral then no Sierra Leonean judge should be included because they may have their prejudices,” Sesay added.

Even ordinary Sierra Leoneans are apprehensive. Some view the court as the new flash point, a source of future trouble in the impoverished nation.

‘’What is all this talk of a Special Court or whatever? I am just about picking up the pieces of my broken life. Ain’t these people merely trying to invite the bestiality of the former rebel killers,” remarks housewife Marie Sesay in eastern Freetown who lost two sons during the war and her home gutted down by arsonists.

Another, 29-year old Abu Kamara, whose left arm was chopped off by rebels, says ‘’the government asked us to forgive the rebels and we have done just that. I hope they (rebels) don’t come back and finish us off.”

And so the debate continues on the Special Court.

Charles Hughes of the Forum for Democratic Initiatives (FORDI), a non-governmental organisation (ngo), told IPS on Wednesday: ‘’Special Courts are weapons in the hands of victors. Our war ended through a negotiated settlement, so I don’t see why they are spending such huge amounts on prosecuting a handful of individuals”.

The court is expected to operate for three years with a budget of 45 million U.S. dollars. It is a blend of Sierra Leonean and international law and covers the period 1996 to 2001.

At the moment, though, the Prosecutor is traversing the length and breadth of the country collecting evidence so as to prepare indictments. The permanent structures for the court as well as detention facilities are also under construction.

According to a source within the Court, the trials of inductees may start in June 2003.

But whether, as President Tejan Kabbah says, the court will stop impunity and strengthen the rule of law, is yet to be tested. That time will come when indictments are served and arrests made.

From 1991 to 2001, the West African nation was wrecked by coups and civil unrest. Whole populations were displaced from towns and villages, which were in turn destroyed by brutal war. More than 70,000 people are thought to have died during the course of the war. It was only in 1999 that a UN peacekeeping mission with 7,500 troops helped to bring peace to the country and elections held in May this year.