Searching for the truth Issues 21 - Documentation Center of Cambodia
Searching for the truth Issues 21 - Documentation Center of Cambodia
Searching for the truth Issues 21 - Documentation Center of Cambodia
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<strong>Searching</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>truth</strong> ⎯ Public Debate<br />
Kabbah, in July, 1999. Not only was Foday Sankoh,<br />
leader <strong>of</strong> a rebel group called <strong>the</strong> Revolutionary<br />
United Front (RUF), released from captivity, he was<br />
also granted a vague amnesty and named Sierra<br />
Leone’s vice president and commissioner <strong>of</strong> diamond<br />
resources. RUF victim Victoria Kajue was baffled by<br />
<strong>the</strong> West’s decision to reward her children’s killers. “I<br />
saw <strong>the</strong>m execute all <strong>of</strong> my children and a 2-year-old<br />
grandson. And I have nowhere to lay a complaint. I<br />
have no justice.” Within months <strong>of</strong> signing <strong>the</strong> pact,<br />
<strong>the</strong> RUF resumed killing and mutilating civilians, and<br />
even kidnapped hundreds <strong>of</strong> UN soldiers.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> end, <strong>the</strong> 11,000 UN troops needed <strong>the</strong><br />
rein<strong>for</strong>cement <strong>of</strong> British commandos and Sou<strong>the</strong>rn<br />
African mercenaries to chase <strong>the</strong> RUF back into <strong>the</strong><br />
jungle. Adding insult to injury, <strong>the</strong> Indian head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
UN military <strong>for</strong>ce resigned along with <strong>the</strong> Indian<br />
component <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> peacekeeping <strong>for</strong>ce. He charged his<br />
colleague, a Nigerian, with aiding and abetting <strong>the</strong><br />
RUF.<br />
When Sankoh was captured by civilians last<br />
year, <strong>the</strong> UN promised Sierra Leone a war crimes<br />
tribunal. Today, discussions have stalled. Would<br />
perfect international trials in Sierra Leone somehow<br />
make up <strong>for</strong> previous failures? What are <strong>the</strong> limits <strong>of</strong><br />
Their names, nationalities, and years <strong>of</strong> service are:<br />
(1) Trygve Lie <strong>of</strong> Norway, 1946 to 1953<br />
(2) Dag Hammarskjöld <strong>of</strong> Sweden, 1953 to 1961<br />
(3) U Thant <strong>of</strong> Burma, 1961 to 1971<br />
(4) Kurt Waldheim <strong>of</strong> Austria, 1972 to 1981<br />
(5) Javier Pérez de Cuéllar <strong>of</strong> Peru, 1982 to 1991<br />
(6) Boutros Boutros-Ghali <strong>of</strong> Egypt, 1992 to December 1996<br />
(7) K<strong>of</strong>i Annan <strong>of</strong> Ghana, 1997 to present.<br />
<strong>Documentation</strong> <strong>Center</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Cambodia</strong> (DC-Cam)<br />
Number <strong>21</strong>, September 2001<br />
post-tragedy justice?<br />
The UN has spent hundreds <strong>of</strong> millions <strong>of</strong><br />
dollars to try nine men in Tanzania, and close to<br />
100,000 remain in prison in Rwanda. Has <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
punishment resurrected <strong>the</strong> 800,000 hacked to death<br />
in 1994 or ended a civil war that now engulfs <strong>the</strong><br />
Congo? Trials can never make up <strong>for</strong> shameful<br />
inaction in <strong>the</strong> face <strong>of</strong> preventable genocide. During<br />
<strong>the</strong> 1990s, war crimes, human rights and post-tragedy<br />
justice became industries, complete with self-appointed<br />
stars, power brokers and patrons. Most aggressively<br />
advance <strong>the</strong> idea that a Nuremberg-derived system <strong>of</strong><br />
international criminal law will soon take root. But, by<br />
<strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> bloodiest century in human history, <strong>the</strong><br />
so-called “international community” has grown<br />
increasingly indifferent to and accepting <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> horrors<br />
suffered by its most powerless and politically<br />
insignificant members. Has anything changed o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
than <strong>the</strong> lies that we tell ourselves? If Slobodan<br />
Milosevic’s extradition and trial marks <strong>the</strong> dawning <strong>of</strong><br />
a new era <strong>of</strong> international law, explain it to Sierra<br />
Leone’s Victoria Kajue. “The world seeks justice in<br />
Kosovo,” Kajue says. “Are we on a different planet?<br />
Are my children worth less than <strong>the</strong> children in<br />
Kosovo.”<br />
SEVEN MEN SERVED AS<br />
SECRETARY-GENERAL<br />
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Magenta<br />
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