BY BINNEH S MINTEH: Lieutenant Rtd
Today marks another victory for international justice as former Cambodian brutal rulers are indicted by a UN-backed tribunal for crimes against humanity. It could be recalled that during the 1970's over a million people in Cambodia were brutally murdered and tortured by the notorious Khmer Rouge regime. This is another manifestation of the closure or the putting of a dead end to the culture of impunity and a lesson for those remaining tyrants and ruthless murderers around the world.
As the proliferation of International tribunals continue to take shape in global affairs, we would like to remind murderers in the tiny West African state (The Gambia) that the world will one day hold them fully accountable for the atrocities and the heinous crimes committed against peaceful Gambian citizens.
Whilst the civilized world waits for another special courts that will bring the former Chadian dictator Hussein Habre to justice in the sister republic of Senegal, the indictments of the notorious Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia is welcome news. It is a day of rejoice and a day of justice for victims and their families in Cambodia.
In the book titled (Julius Caeser), William Shakespeare said that "The evil that men do lives after them". With all the power and prestige that most of these dictators enjoyed during their respective tenures, they all ended up in disgrace or like living in hell fire. It is a manifestation that human life is such a precious gift from GOD that who ever abuses it would never live a happy ending, but rather reduce to a laughing stock before the voices of righteousness. Such an analogue could be drawn from the life’s of the following former dictators:
a) Former Liberian Dictator Master Sgt Samuel Doe ended in a disgrace when he was executed by rebel forces that recorded his execution and showed it to the whole world. It could be recalled that Samuel Doe came to power as a master sergeant after summarily executing President Tolbert and all his cabinet ministers. The late President maintained his grip on power with an iron fist by brutally continuing with torture and extra- judicial killings. A splinter group of the rebel forces led by the now born again christian Prince Johnson captured the late President stripped him naked and executed him after less than an hour trial.
b) Former President Charles Taylor who became the next elected President after Samuel Doe also ended in a disgrace only to be forced out of power by the civilized community of nations due to his human rights abuses in both Liberia and Sierra-Leone. It could be recalled that Charles Taylor also sponsored rebels of the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra-Leone who were responsible for gross amputations of innocent civilians. Mr. Taylor is currently under custody at The Hague whilst awaiting trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
c) Former Zairian dictator Mobuto who ruled the now Democratic Republic of Congo with an iron fist also ended in a disgrace after rebel forces chased him out of the capital Kinshasa. Mobuto who was regarded as the untouchable lion and the most feared man in Zaire for thirty years shamelessly died in exiled. His stolen millions of dollars were most recently transferred from a bank in Switzerland to the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
d) Former Chadian Dictator Hussein Habre who tortured and executed over 3,000 Chadian citizens was also sent into exile in Senegal. With an international outcry, the disgraced former dictator who was hoping to live with impunity is under house arrest and will face an international tribunal in the coming days and months.
e) Former one time Iraqi iron leader Saddam Hussein whose regime was known for some of the worst forms of human rights abuses was dragged from a rat pitch after an invasion by coalition forces. He was later on tried by an Iraqi special tribunal that sentenced him to death for crimes against humanity.
f) The former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic who was indicted by a special tribunal for the former Yugoslavia died in his Prison cells at The Hague during the trial process.
g) The former Chilean dictator General Pinochet who murdered over 3,000 of his own citizens during his two decade rule was disgraced in London in a widely publicized arrest warrant case that laid the foundation for prosecuting ruling and former heads of states. Whilst waiting to face trial in Chile, Pinochet died unhappily from a heart attack and news of his death was celebrated with fireworks display and champagne bottles across the Chilean Capital Santiago.
The notorious Khmer Rouge leaders never lived a happy ending as the past decades marked their unhappy life’s in isolation with an international naming, shaming and outcry in condemnations for their inhumane actions. One could therefore argue that the emerging universal legal consensus of putting a dead end to the culture of impunity has begun to be firmly rooted in the global civilized society. People from across all cultures (particularly the younger generation) must embrace such great international mechanisms that have already laid the foundation for a better and safer world that is free from tyrants and dictators. The United Nations and Transnationational civil society must therefore be commended for making these tribunals a success.
LONG LIVE JUSTICE...LONG LIVE TRANSNATIONAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND DOWN WITH ALL DICTATORS AND TYRANTS AROUND THE WORLD.