Amnesty International Flies in, Drops Off Report, Leaves
Launching a new report, Truth, justice and reparation for Liberia's victims, the organization urged Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf to immediately put in place a plan to ensure that perpetrators of past human rights abuses are brought to justice so that the cycle of violence that plagued Liberia for years can finally come to an end.
"Although the Truth and Reconciliation Commission currently in place is an important first step, much more can and should be done by the government to address past human rights abuses," said Kolawole Olaniyan, Amnesty International's Africa Programme Director, speaking in Monrovia.
I think it would be insane for the government to suddenly announce that all evildoers will now be brought to justice. Amnesty International says it themselves: there are tens of thousands of "victims" of wartime atrocities. Doesn't that mean that there are thousands of perpetrators? With a budget of just $65 million and $3b in debt, severe brain drain and some of the worst human development indicators on Earth, how can the government hope to fund, staff, and manage a huge new justice endeavor?
AI report.
posted by Josh Nice at Thursday, February 15, 2007
1 Comments:
Perhaps, Amnesty International can mobilize an army to effect the arrests and help the country with some judges and build courts to prosecute and punish the nearly 75,000 war criminals. Or perhaps they may suggest beginning with chief combatants which will undoubtedly lead to resistance from the ex-rebels. So I will be interested in knowing who will be doing the policing when the arrests are taking place. They are trying to build an ivory tower in the sky. The suggestion is probably good but it is impracticable given the situation in Liberia and the severe budgetary constraints of the new government.
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