Liberia wants former President Charles Taylor to be sent directly to Sierra Leone for trial for war crimes, rather than to Liberian territory, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf said on Monday. Nigeria, where Taylor has lived in exile since 2003, said on Saturday Liberian authorities were free to take custody of Taylor, but Johnson-Sirleaf's statement, made to church representatives, indicated Liberia did not want to do this. "Taylor was indicted by a Sierra Leone Court. Taylor should rather go to Sierra Leone than come to Liberia because he was not indicted by a Liberian court," the Liberian president said in response to questions.
Her comments added to growing confusion over which government or authority would take responsibility for Taylor's expected transfer to a U.N.-backed special court in Sierra Leone, where he is charged on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges relate to his alleged involvement in Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war. He is accused of having supported rebels notorious for their brutality in exchange for diamonds.
The whereabouts of Taylor, seen as the mastermind behind once intertwined civil wars in both Liberia and Sierra Leone, were unclear on Monday. Nigerian authorities and a spokesman for Taylor declined to say anything about the location of the former warlord.
Taylor's 2003 exile was part of a peace deal to end 14 years of war in Liberia which killed 250,000 people, spawned a generation of young gunmen and spread violence to nearby states. Johnson-Sirleaf's government has said it was not party to the 2003 deal but is willing to cooperate to bring Taylor's case to a conclusion for the good of Liberia. |