Bringing the Devil back to Hell

BBC has reported that Charles Taylor, former Liberian president and human rights violator, is in the process of being handed over from Nigeria, where he was in exile.

Why so important? Taylor is accused of fueling years of war in Sierra Leone turning the nation in a literal hell-on-earth. He armed and backed rebels in the neighboring nation in exchange for diamonds. As a result, more than 10,000 people died and many witnessed some of the worst atrocities in Western African history including the very nation he governed. Refugees spilled across borders of Liberia and Guinea only to meet even more hardship.

In a CNN report:

Taylor's forces included children, often dressed in costumes and blond wigs. Often under the influence of drugs, they were noted for their brutality.

David Crane a former Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, signed the indictment for Charles Taylor and wrote for Jurist :

The unsealing of his indictment was a carefully laid plan to humble Africa’s most powerful warlord before the law and to bring world attention to this African leader who destroyed two West African nations, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and was individually criminally liable for the murder, rape, maiming, and mutilation of over a million human beings.

Charles Taylor was still around since 1990 when the war in Sierra Leone was just peaking, FOR ALMOST 16 YEARS!... It is unbelievable that the focus of attention is shifted towards dictators like Saddam Hussein while Taylor is committing even some of the worst atrocities possible. But for some reason or the other, international time (meaning the United States) and money is not spent on helping bring Taylor to justice even as he destabilized almost all of Western Africa. As of this posting, NY Times or CNN have not reported this meanwhile Saddam's obsession with Doritos gets all the attention.