Rebels to face victims
2004-07-05 13:20
Freetown - Rebels who waged one of the most savage wars in recent history were due to go on trial on Monday at a UN-backed war crimes court where they were being confronted by many of the victims of their 10-year spree of murder, mutilation and looting.
More than 200 prosecution witnesses were waiting to testify against the three former leaders of the Revolutionary United Front (Ruf), Issa Sesay, Morris Kallon and Augustine Gbao, who have been indicted on 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
They were accused of bearing the "greatest responsibility" for the war the Ruf started in the west African country in 1991 and which raged until 2001, with the rebels hacking off the limbs, ears and noses of thousands of civilians as they looted the country.
Former colonial power Britain backed by UN peacekeepers finally brought an end to the carnage and re-established order.
The founder of the rebel force, Foday Sankoh, and his ruthless lieutenant Sam "Mosquito" Bockarie died before they could be brought to justice.
Although it could last six months and might be delayed by appeals, observers say the trial is the best chance Sierra Leone has of finding peace and, possibly, reconciliation.
"If they find justice here, if they send these men to jail for a lifetime of thinking about how they have destroyed this country, it may be enough to wake us from this nightmare," said Jabaty Mambu, a 20-year-old aspiring lawyer.
The rebels chopped off his right arm in January 1999 during an attack on Freetown.
"It is impossible to reconcile with someone who has brutalised you," Mambu commented.
Former Pentagon attorney David Crane leads the prosecution team at the court, which, with a limited budget and three-year mandate is trying those who bear the "greatest responsibility" for the war in Sierra Leone.
The prosecution is levying two charges never before heard at a war crimes tribunal: recruitment of child soldiers and the forced marriage of thousands of women and girls to rebel commanders.
Unlike the war crimes courts for ex-Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the trial is taking place in the country where the crimes were committed. And unlike the other tribunals, it is not under UN mandate.