Copyright 2012: singeronthesand
...they clothe themselves with violence.
Psalm 73:6
Today, an international war crimes tribunal will deliver its verdict in the trial of Charles Taylor, former warlord and president of Liberia. The photo of the seemingly benign dapper gentleman at the defense table might be beguilingly sympathetic if it were not for the horrendous crimes of which he is accused - "11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other violations of international humanitarian laws." [CNN]
Taylor is charged with arming rebels and fueling a civil war that led to extensive rape, mutilation, and death in Liberia and neighboring Sierra Leone. Witnesses testified to the cutting off of arms of non-combatant civilians, and the disembowelment of pregnant women and children. Teenagers were forced into combat doped with violence-inducing drugs and urged to rape, murder and pillage at will. Witnesses against Mr. Taylor have included "amputees, rape victims, slaves, former child soldiers", [CNN] and many others. The trial began in 2007 and, in 2012, is finally drawing to its close.
Mr. Taylor himself may never have cut off an arm or disemboweled a female. He personally may or may not be relatively clean from the stain of blood taken with his own hands. As the old saying goes, however, when you are dictator and director of the whole shebang, "...the buck stops here." Any man (or woman) who has the power to stop such atrocities and turns a blind eye to their existence is guilty as charged. The excuse that he could not stop what was happening is just exactly that - a hollow, empty excuse.
Violence is a key political tool in the emergence and maintenance of power. Conversely, benevolence can be equally powerful in motivating people to come together for the good of all. An outstretched hand or an iron fist? Which would you choose?
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