A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

Early on, Taylor viewed the ECOMOG intervention as a threat to his objectives and as an adversary. 214
In August 1990, prior to ECOMOG’s deployment, Taylor criticized the peacekeeping force, which
he considered an act of aggression. He proclaimed he would “fight to the last man,” stating, “I’ve
given orders to open fire on any strangers setting foot on our territory.” 215 NPFL-controlled radio
frequently broadcast anti-ECOMOG messages. 216 The NPFL intended to weaken the political resolve
of ECOMOG’s member states so that Nigerian and Ghanaian citizens would force their governments
to withdraw. 217
Although it was intended to be a neutral peacekeeping force,
ECOMOG soon assumed a more offensive role. 218 As early as
October of 1990, 219 violence erupted between ECOMOG and
the NPFL 220 as ECOMOG successfully pushed the NPFL out of
Monrovia. 221 Violence escalated between the two groups when the
NPFL launched “Operation Octopus” in 1992. 222
Another consequence of Taylor’s hostility toward ECOMOG was that foreign nationals became the
target of human rights abuses. 223 The NPFL targeted citizens of ECOWAS countries in retaliation
for ECOMOG’s role in the conflict. Specifically, the NPFL adopted a policy of targeting Nigerian,
Ghanaian, and other ECOWAS civilians in retribution for the deployment of ECOMOG. 224 Referring
to the ECOMOG force, Taylor reportedly stated that, “for every Liberian that’s killed I’m going to
make sure some other nationals get killed too.” 225 In a widely reported massacre of foreigners, the
NPFL killed two hundred ECOWAS nationals in 1990. 226
“States Parties condemn all propaganda and all
organizations which are based on ideas or theories
of superiority of one race or group of persons of
one colour or ethnic origin, or which attempt to
justify or promote racial hatred and discrimination
in any form, and undertake to adopt immediate
and positive measures designed to eradicate all
incitement to, or acts of, such discrimination…” Art.
4, International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination.
151
“Any propaganda for war shall
be prohibited by law.” Art.
20(1), International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights.
Nationals of Nigeria, the predominant
contributor to the ECOMOG peacekeeping
force, were particularly at risk. 227 In referring to
Nigerian citizens, Taylor was quoted as saying,
“They are not refugees. They are aggressors…
They are all going to bear the brunt of this.” 228
Rebels also targeted doctors and other civilian
aid workers from Nigeria and other ECOWAS
nations on a routine basis. 229 Statements also
described the targeting of Ghanaians. One
statement giver summarized:
There was a big Jeep with Charles Taylor’s soldiers, causing cars to stop. A
woman was with her husband and their children on the road. My daughter
and I were at the creek, brushing our teeth and washing. A soldier got
down from the Jeep, stopped the woman and her husband, and asked where
Chapter Seven