War Don Don

"War Don Don" means, as you have probably worked out, "War is Over" in Krio. It is the title of a documentary film made by Rebecca Richmond Cohen about justice, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the particular story of Issa Sesay. Cohen actually interned on the defence team of the AFRC's Alex Tamba Brima before making the film but found herself drawn to Sesay and his story. She says, "I was fascinated by the range of roles that one man could assume amidst the intensity of such a brutal conflict. I became convinced that the story of his trial needed to reach a larger audience."

Below is a trailer for the film...

I am reminded of travelling between Lungi and Freetown on the ferry and watching some of Charles Taylor's trial played on the television in the lounge area upstairs. I was fascinated by the defence lawyer's forceful, even angry, claims of injustice. Taylor was the misunderstood victim of an international conspiracy. Though Taylor did have an established relationship with Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leaders he was not in any way responsible for the horror which befell Sierra Leone. No, no, no - he was trying to play the role of peacemaker. He was trying to talk these men back from a brink they had long since pushed beyond. I was again struck by the difficulty of getting at truth through trial and the deals we make with the devil in the name of peace. (You can watch much of the proceedings at the Special Court's website here.)

Sierra Leone suffered through the amputation of maybe 20,000 people, the often brutal death of 120,000 people and the displacement of at the very least 2 million and all those numbers have been put on the heads of twelve men.

Twelve.

20,000 + 120,000 + 2,000,000= 12

I hesitate to insert a clip illustrating these figures from the war in Sierra Leone as those available on-line can be stomach churningly horrible. Instead you will see below a second trailer for a movie about child soldiers in the Liberian war, which saw some of the same kinds of atrocities which took place in Sierra Leone, Johnny Mad Dog. The film stars former child solders and perhaps as a result has a sense of the authentic about it, particularly in the depiction of an atmosphere of brutal chaos.

So, how do you choose your 12 villains? What a contentious decision to have to make. In Sierra Leone they indicted leaders from all sides of the conflict EXCEPT the national armed forces. They DID indict members of the Civil Defence Forces (More commonly called the Kamajors). This was quite controversial because Hinga Norman seemed to quite clearly have the support of the government as he sought to direct this rabble of fighters who in many places protected people from the rebels. However, they were involved in many atrocities themselves because, as one of the lawyers for the prosecution put it, their leadership had chosen "to win the war at all costs".

But what do you do if you do not choose 12 villains? Given the vast numbers of people 'guilty' of participating in horror, and with maybe 10,000 of them being children, what is the best way forward? In Sierra Leone they coupled the Special Court up with a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. For the Sierra Leoneans I have spoken to the TRC is seen in a positive light but a major criticism is that although the Act of Government which formed the Commission stated that its recommendations would be enshrined in law that has not been the case. Another problem people talk about is one not unfamiliar for those from Northern Ireland - they are left with a situation where many with blood on their hands have been free to continue in their government offices and/or campaign for such positions in the future. Last but not least is the issue of money. Such a huge amount of money has been spent on the Court and the Commission people wonder whether that would not have been better used to provide more physical rehabilitation for the nation - schools and hospitals and infrastructure.

Rebecca Richmond Cohen writes that, "In 2010 the Special Court for Sierra Leone prepares to be the first major war crimes tribunal to conclude its cases since the Trials at Nuremberg more than sixty years ago. This landmark moment in international criminal justice is a timely call for introspection, dialogue, and critical analysis. I hope WAR DON DON offers an insider's view about the complex moral, political, and legal questions that issue from rebuilding lawless and war torn nations - and will inspire thoughtful debate about the future of international criminal justice." That some of the most major players in the war, Foday Sankoh, Sam Bokarie, Johnny Paul Koroma and Sam Hinga Norman all avoided the imperfect justice of sentencing due to death or evasion of capture is a major problem when discussing the success of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. It also perhaps puts added pressure on the institutions’ trial of Taylor, allegedly one of the remaining major string pullers. One of my best friends in Sierra Leone simply says, "We will never know what really happened in this country during the war. We will never know." He's probably right. But how much do people NEED to know and how much punishment MUST be meted out to sufficiently satisfy people's yearning for truth and justice and so make sufficient levels of peace possible?

Special Court of Sierra Leone

Let's have a look at what the Special Court has been able to do with the twelve it actually indicted. There have been four trials: One for the RUF (the 'rebels'), one for the AFRC (the group of soldiers who overthrew the government and later effectively joined forces with the RUF), one for the CDF and one for Charles Taylor. Outlined below are the results of each of these trials.

Revolutionary United Front (RUF)

Foday Saybana Sankoh, Sam Bockarie, Issa Hassan Sesay, Morris Kallon, Augustine Gbao.

What were they charged with?

Eighteen counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

What does that mean?

They were accused of unlawful killings, causing physical violence and mental suffering, extermination, looting and burning, terrorizing the civilian population, enacting collective punishments, mutilations, rape, forced ‘marriages’, attacking UN peacekeepers and using child soldiers

What were they found guilty of?

Foday Saybana Sankoh, the leader of the RUF, died in custody before his trial could begin.

Sam Bockarie, the former Battlefield Commander of the RUF, was killed in Liberia two months after his indictment.

Issa Hassan Sesay was found guilty on 16 counts. He was not found guilty of killing or kidnapping UN personnel.

Morris Kallon was also found guilty on 16 counts. He was not found guilty of killing or kidnapping UN personnel.

Augustine Gbao was found guilty on 12 count. He was not found guilty of killing or kidnapping UN personnel, of enacting collective punishments or of enlisting child soldiers.

What sentences were they given?

Issa Hassan Sesay was sentenced to 52 years in prison.

Morris Kallon was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Augustine Gbao was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Armed Forces Revolutionary Council

Johnny Paul Koroma, Alex Tamba Brima AKA Gullit, Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara, Santigie Borbor Kanu AKA Five-Five.

What were they charged with?

Fourteen counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

What does that mean?

They were accused of acts of terrorism, collective punishments, murder, extermination, rape, sexual slavery, outrages against human dignity, mutilation, looting, enslavement and the enlistment of child soldiers.

What were the found guilty of?

Johnny Paul Koroma, the former leader of the AFRC, has never been caught. Some believe him to be dead, others that he is alive and well and living overseas.

Alex Tamba Brima, Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu were each found guilty on 11 counts. They were not found guilty of sexual slavery.

What sentences were they given?

Alex Tamba Brima was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Ibrahim Bazzy Kamara was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Santigie Borbor Kanu was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

Civil Defence Force (CDF)

Sam Hinga Norman, Moinana Fofana, Allieu Kondewa.

What were they charged with?

Eight counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

What does that mean?

They were accused of unlawful killings, causing physical violence and mental suffering, looting and burning, terrorizing the civilian population, imposing collective punishments and using child soldiers.

What were they found guilty of?

Sam Hinga Norman, the head of the CDF, died before the end of his trial.

Moinana Fofana and Allieu Kondewa, after appeal, were found guilty on 5 counts. They were not found guilty terrorizing the civilian population, imposing collective punishments or using child soldiers.

What sentences were they given?

Moinana Fofana was given 15 years in prison.

Allieu Kondewa was given 20 years in prison.

Charles Taylor

What was he charged with?

Eleven counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

What does that mean?

He stands accused of unlawful killings, causing physical violence, looting, terrorizing the civilian population, imposing collective punishments, rape and other forms of sexual violence, abductions, forced labour and the enlistment of child soldiers.

What was he found guilty of?

Taylor’s trial continues.

Find out more about War Don Don by clicking here.