[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 14766-14767]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    THE INDICTMENT OF CHARLES TAYLOR

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I see that the senior Senator from New 
Hampshire, Mr. Gregg, is on the floor. Knowing of his longstanding 
interest in Sierra Leone, I wonder if he wants to speak briefly about 
the indictment last week of Charles Taylor by the Special Court for 
Sierra Leone.
  Mr. GREGG. I thank the Senator from Vermont. He is correct about my 
longstanding interest in Sierra Leone. With respect to the Special 
Court, I am well aware of the events of the past week, where the 
Prosecutor of the Court, David Crane, unsealed an indictment for 
Charles Taylor, while Mr. Taylor was in Ghana.
  Unfortunately, the international community did not act in time and 
Mr. Taylor was able to escape to Liberia. In doing so, the world missed 
a great opportunity to bring to justice one of the world's most 
notorious war criminals and advance the cause of international justice.
  Mr. LEAHY. I agree with the Senator from New Hampshire. I spoke about 
this subject last week. Since then, it has come to my attention that 
some officials in the State Department and other governments are upset 
at Mr. Crane for the timing of this indictment, as they saw it as 
disruptive to the peace talks in West Africa.
  While I can appreciate those concerns, I agree with one of Mr. 
Crane's statements on this issue, which I will read:

     [T]he timing of this announcement was carefully considered in 
     light of the important peace process begun this week. To 
     ensure the legitimacy of these negotiations, it is imperative 
     that the attendees know they are dealing with an indicted war 
     criminal. These negotiations can still move forward, but they 
     must do so without the involvement of this indictee. The 
     evidence upon which this indictment was approved raises 
     serious questions about Taylor's suitability to be a 
     guarantor of any deal, let alone a peace agreement.

  I was wondering if Senator Gregg had any thoughts on this issue.
  Mr. GREGG. I agree with Mr. Crane's statement about the indictment of 
Charles Taylor. As much as anyone, I want to bring peace and prosperity 
to West Africa. But, Mr. Crane has a mandate to bring to justice those 
most responsible for the atrocities committed in Sierra Leone, and the 
trail led to Charles Taylor. Not indicting Mr. Taylor would have been 
outrageous. Justice would not have been served.
  I also want to read from a Washington Post editorial, dated June 5, 
2003, that summarizes the issue. It said, and I am quoting:

       After years of afflicting his own country with the worst 
     kind of brutality and aiding and abetting a cruel civil war 
     in neighboring Sierra Leone, Mr. Taylor is now being pressed 
     on his own soil by rebel movements bent on driving him from 
     power. That he was out of the country this week was no 
     accident. The purpose of his trip to Ghana, organized by the 
     Economic Community of West Africa and a United Nations 
     contact group that includes the United States, was to join 
     peace talks with Liberian opposition groups.

[[Page 14767]]

     Military and political weaknesses, not strength, drove him 
     from his haven in Liberia to the Ghana peace parley. Fear of 
     international justice is what has sent him scurrying back 
     home. . . . The idea of Mr. Taylor working out an eleventh-
     hour agreement that restores peace and stability to Liberia 
     strikes many human rights observers as ludicrous given both 
     his record of broken pledges and his overwhelming 
     contribution to that country's misery. Faced with tightening 
     international opposition, he now says he will consider 
     stepping aside if that will bring peace. He's now even making 
     noises about supporting a transitional government of national 
     unity while remaining on the sidelines. Mr. Taylor, as usual, 
     has it all wrong. He is in no position to guarantee any deal, 
     let alone a peace agreement, as Mr. Crane said yesterday. 
     Indicted as a war criminal, Charles Taylor today is nothing 
     more than a wanted man.

  In short, I agree with the Post's editorial and commend Mr. Crane for 
taking decisive action to indict Charles Taylor.
  Mr. LEAHY. I share Senator Gregg's sentiments. I would also point out 
that Mr. Crane's office unsealed the indictment in a responsible way. 
According to information I received, the Special Court's chief of 
security was instructed to inform all organizations with personnel in 
Liberia, including the U.S. Embassy, Freetown, that ``within 24 hours 
the Special Court was going to take an action that could possibly 
destabilize Monrovia.'' These actions were undertaken to ensure that 
all government and humanitarian personnel had notice to withdraw or 
stay home.
  This effectively ``unsealed'' the indictment to governments and 
humanitarian organizations without tipping Mr. Taylor off. In addition, 
3 hours before the press conference and public announcement, and 
minutes after the Court had confirmation that Ghanaian authorities were 
served with the arrest warrant for Mr. Taylor, private letters were 
hand-delivered to all representatives of a number of key governments in 
Freetown.
  Mr. GREGG. Does the Senator share my view that the United States and 
other members of the international community should continue to 
strongly support the Special Court and vigorously pursue Mr. Taylor and 
other indicted war criminals?
  Mr. LEAHY. Yes. In fact, I am going to work with Senator McConnell, 
with the goal of providing $2 million in the fiscal year 2004 foreign 
operations bill for additional support to the Court.
  Mr. GREGG. I support the efforts of the Senator from Vermont and 
thank him for discussing this issue with me.
  Mr. LEAHY. I thank the Senator from New Hampshire. In closing, I 
would just add that there have been recent reports of a possible 
``deal'' with Mr. Taylor under which he would go into exile in exchange 
for immunity from the Court. While I want to see an end to the fighting 
in West Africa, which has claimed many innocent lives, an immunity deal 
with Mr. Taylor would be a grave mistake. It will undermine peace and 
reconciliation efforts in the region. It will let a major war criminal 
escape justice. It would be unacceptable.

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