Charles Taylor © OneWorld.net

By Jeffrey Allen, OneWorld U.S.

Nigeria announced Saturday that Liberia is now "free to take" Charles Taylor into custody. Pressure has been mounting in recent weeks to bring Liberia's former warlord-turned-president to justice.

A 2003 peace agreement, which ended 14 years of brutal violence in the country, also included a provision guaranteeing Taylor safe harbor in Nigeria, where he has been living in relative luxury ever since--although he has not been free to leave the country. Another provision of that agreement was that Taylor would not involve himself in Liberian political affairs in any way after his departure from the country.

The UN's Special Court for Sierra Leone (fact sheet) indicted Taylor three years ago on 17 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from his involvement in that counrty's civil war while simultaneously waging his own campaign of aggression in Liberia.

Despite the safe exile provisions of Liberia's 2003 peace agreement, human rights advocates have argued that Taylor's attempts to meddle in Liberian politics since his exile should open the doors for his extradition. While Nigeria has until now been unwilling to send Taylor to Sierra Leone to face the charges brought by the UN Court there, officials have indicated they might be willing to hand Taylor over to a freely elected Liberian government.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf © United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Network

Liberia has recently undergone an important and impressive period of political transition, culminating in the December election of Africa's first freely elected female head of state. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained economist, has since made a big splash on the international scene and pledged to make the fight against corruption a top priority. During a March visit to the United States, where she was extremely well-received, Johnson Sirleaf told a UN audience that she hoped the Taylor saga would come to an end shortly, setting the stage for Nigeria's announcement Saturday.

There is some confusion over what will happen next. Liberian officials now have permission to take Taylor back to Liberia, but Johnson Sirleaf doesn't seem to want him in the country, saying "Mr. Taylor was not indicted by a Liberian court and therefore he is not needed by a Liberian court." She wants him sent directly to Sierra Leone to face charges there, but Nigeria has in the past been reluctant to cooperate with a "third party."

The Special Court for Sierra Leone has become extremely concerned about the possibility of Taylor "using his wealth and associates to slip away, with grave consequences to the stability of the region." As a result, the Court's prosecutor sent an urgent communication to Nigeria's president over the weekend, asking him to "take all necessary steps" to ensure that Taylor is unable to abscond before he is brought into custody.

The indictment against Taylor alleges that while he was organizing and carrying out armed attacks within Liberia he also provided neighboring Sierra Leone's rebels with financial help, military training, personnel, arms, and ammunition, among other forms of support.

Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels were notorious for hacking off the hands and legs of civilians during their 10-year war, which began in 1991.

Taylor met "and made common cause" with RUF leader Foday Sankoh, who died of natural causes while awaiting trial, when the two were in Libya in the late 1980s receiving military training from the government of Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi, according to Taylor's indictment.

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David Hena, the elected leader of his village's community development committee, in front of a local construction project © Mercy Corps

For more on Liberia's ongoing transition from civil war to elected democracy, and particularly the recent election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, her recent visit to the U.S., and her vision to move the country from choas to development, see OneWorld's full coverage on Liberia. Bookmark or RSS the page to stay updated on the current situation in the country.

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