Commentary
By Dr. Hassan B. Sisay, Portsmouth, Ohio.
Charles Taylor and Charles McArthur Emmanuel Taylor, are father and son. Both were involved in some capacity and at various times in the civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia. They were both prosecuted for their actions and found guilty. The younger Taylor (photo) has a long list of aliases including “Charles Taylor Jr., Charles McArthur Emmanuel , “Chuckie Taylor,” and “Charles Taylor II.” He was charged in a U.S court in Florida with committing numerous acts of torture, murder, conspiracy to commit torture, and horrific violations of human rights against Sierra Leoneans and Liberians during the bloody civil wars in both countries.
Born in Boston Massachusetts in 1977, Emmanuel’s mother divorced Charles Taylor, and married a Mr. Roy Belfast. The couple changed Emmanuel’s name to Roy Belfast Jr. Emmanuel first visited Liberia in 1992, and then returned for a second visit in 1997 following the election of his father as President. Thereafter, President Taylor designated his 20 year old son to head a newly created Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU), which because of its diabolical atrocities and heinous crimes against civilians was nicknamed by Liberians the “Demon Forces.” The dreaded ATU became the primary instrument for unleashing indescribable brutality and murder on Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees. Emmanuel exercised authoritative control over the group. He was known as the “Chief,” and seemed to have publicly confirmed his grip over the ATU, by acquiring a vehicle license plate that read “Demon.”
When the Liberian town of Voinjama was attacked by rival armed forces on April 21, 1999, the ensuing chaos led to some Sierra Leoneans and Liberians seeking refuge in Monrovia, under the protection of the United Nations. While in transit, they were stopped by ATU forces at the St. Paul River Bridge Check point , and subjected to unspeakable torture that included beatings, imprisonment, and threats of mutilating their bodies and burying the pieces in the sand. Sierra Leone victims included Sulaiman Jusu, Momo Turay, Albert Williams, Foday Conteh and Abdul Cole. It should be noted that at the time of their brutalization, they had no legal representation, neither were they charged with any crimes. In the indictment “United States v. Belfast II,” it is alleged that some of the above victims were stripped naked, while others were executed by Emmanuel and their “severed heads displayed atop posts at the check point.”
Also treated in a cruel and savage manner by ATU forces was a Liberian farmer and furniture-maker named Rufus Kpadeh. Like the Sierra Leonean refugees, he too was attempting to escape the violence at Voinjama by travelling to Monrovia city. On his way, he was stopped and searched by ATU forces at the St. Paul River Bridge Checkpoint. In his bag, they found an identification card from the Unity Party, whose members were known opponents of Charles Taylor’s administration. According to the indictment, Emmanuel armed with a pistol, instructed an ATU official to “cut the underside of Kpadeh’s genitals with a knife” and also had him placed in a “pit with other prisoners, all of whom were forced to urinate in the stagnant water.” At another time, Kpadeh was “forced to sodomize another prisoner and also to be sodomized… while Emmanuel watched and laughed.”
Another victim of ATU forces was University of Monrovia student Varmyan Dulleh, who belonged to the Mandingo ethnic group (accused of being) opposed to the Charles Taylor presidency. At the direction of Emmanuel, Benjamin Yeaten head of Liberia’s Special Security Service, savagely brutalized Dulleh and “ordered soldiers to put a dirty rag in his mouth, and burned him with a heated clothes iron on his arm, back, stomach, and foot.” Further, Emmanuel is said to have “shocked Dulleh’s neck, back, and genitals with a cattle prod,” causing severe pain and suffering to his body. Based on all of the above documented acts of torture and atrocities cited in the indictment, Emmanuel was found guilty in Florida and sentenced to 97 years in prison. He appealed his case to the 11th Circuit on many grounds including the fact that the enumerated acts of atrocities were committed outside the United States. The judges rejected his appeal and affirmed his conviction and sentence in full.
His father “Daddy Taylor” was recently “ found guilty of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for arming Sierra Leone rebels in exchange for “blood diamonds, and awaiting sentence on May 30.” Taylor was a key supporter of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), responsible for inflicting massive terror, sexual abuse and dismemberment of limbs on the hapless civilian population. Thousands of Sierra Leoneans lost their lives, and property as a result of RUF attacks on cities and villages.
David Crane, former Chief Prosecutor for the UN Special court for Sierra Leone (2002-2005) described the carnage as follows: “what took place in Sierra Leone marks the limits of our language to communicate, and falls outside the realm of expression…[it’s] “a tale of horror, beyond the gothic into the realm of Dante’s inferno.” The killings, hacking of limbs, wanton destruction of property by the RUF remains a mind-boggling occurrence.
One wonders why Charles Taylor and his son supported such a vicious group? Why were they involved in the commission of so many heinous crimes against their compatriots and neighbors in Sierra Leone? Was this just a case of power going into their heads, and a false notion that they were larger than life? Was it driven by a need to maintain their self-created image of grandiosity and dominance over fellow human beings? There are no easy answers to the above questions. Personally, I believe that the “father and son” duo possessed massive out of control egos, and were corrupted by power, and lost the ability to empathize with the sufferings of others. Even more disturbing, the duo do not seem to manifest any genuine guilt about their enormous desecration of human lives and property? Both appeared to be viciously insensitive and unfeeling about the plight of common folks. Like his son, former president Charles Taylor recently claimed that prosecution witnesses were paid and also implied that his actions were culturally permissible. Really? Perhaps, it will take a psychoanalyst with expertise in the “Psychology of wickedness” to adequately decipher the emotional enigma of the “TWO TAYLORS.”
Meanwhile, in their recent verdict, prosecutors at the Hague convicted “Daddy Taylor” of 11 counts of war crimes including “murder, rape and conscripting child soldiers during Sierra Leone’s civil war,” and recommended a sentence of 80 years. The verdict has received universal praise worldwide as an important message to end impunity in public life. Former Prosecutor David Crane proclaimed “ this is a bell that has been rung and clearly rings throughout the world. If you are a head of state and you are killing your own people, you could be next.” To U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Taylor’s guilty judgment is “ a significant milestone for international criminal justice. “ U.N deputy Spokesman Eduardo del Buey, added that the verdict “sends a signal to all leaders that they are and will be held accountable for their actions.”
Equally important, is the message the “Taylor verdicts” sends to aspiring politicians in both Sierra Leone and Liberia who also hold United States citizenship or resident immigrant status. The defense in Emmanuel’s trial claimed that because he is an American citizen, and his crimes were committed outside of the United States, he cannot be held liable or prosecuted by U.S. authorities. The prosecution countered by using provisions of the “Extraterritorial Torture Statute” which is based on universal jurisdiction, and “makes it a crime by U.S. citizens to commit torture abroad.” Among other things, the law states “whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life.” Besides, the Torture Statute is applicable regardless of whether or not the “alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender.”
Further, “because Emmanuel had witnessed various acts of torture, had ordered others to commit torture, and had engaged in torturous acts that were part of a campaign to quell opposition to his father’s presidency,” he was assessed a higher level of aggravation by the court. In other words, “UNCLE SAM” is legally well equipped to closely monitor the actions of U.S citizens and permanent residents abroad. To dual citizens in Africa involved in politics, and those who are about to participate in the November elections in Sierra Leone, please carefully watch your political moves and monitor the actions of your supporters. What you do, see and ignore, or allow others to do on your behalf, may come back to haunt you.
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