By Christopher Gehrke
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, South America

KAMPALA, Uganda – Joseph Kony, the head of the Lord’s Liberation Army (LRA), will not sign a peace deal before the International Criminal Court (ICC) quashes international arrest warrants issued against him and other LRA commanders.

The ICC issued warrants for Kony, Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen in July 2005 for 33 counts – war crimes, crimes against humanity, abduction, sexual enslavement, mutilation, and using children as fighters – according to New Vision.

The LRA members have to sign the peace agreement before the ICC will do something about the warrant, says the Ugandan government.  President Yoweri Museveni said last week that the government can save Kony and the other accused.

“We can save him because we are the ones who sought assistance from the ICC,” he said to journalists in London.

“Because he was not under our jurisdiction, we sought assistance from the ICC.  If he signs the peace agreement and returns to our jurisdiction, it becomes our responsibility, not any other party’s, including the ICC.”

Museveni explained that the Ugandan government sought the ICC’s help because Kony fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The ICC intervenes in cases of impunity or where governments cannot punish those involved in crimes against humanity.  Uganda would use its domestic justice system in place of the ICC if Kony and the others sign the peace agreement and return to Uganda.

Kony has recently moved more than three quarters of his forces from the DR Congo to the Central African Republic.  This change of bases raises doubts as to whether he will be available to sign a peace deal before the March 28 deadline, reports AllAfrica.com.

“Kony has moved most, if not all, his troops out of Garamba,” said Walter Ochora, an acquaintance of Kony who keeps an eye on the LRA.  “He only left a teenage commander in Ri-Kwang-Ba named Lt. Okello.  This is worrying [as] it seems LRA is not for peace.”

For more information, please see:

allAfrica.com – Uganda:  ICC Softens on Kony’s Case – 16 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Uganda:  We Can Save Kony – President Museveni – 11 March 2008

New Vision Online – LRA case to determine fate of ICC – 16 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Uganda:  Kony Crosses Into Central Africa Republic – 16 March 2008

By Christopher Gehrke
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, South America

KAMPALA, Uganda – Joseph Kony, the head of theLord’s Liberation Army (LRA), will not sign a peace deal before the International Criminal Court (ICC) quashes international arrest warrants issued against him and other LRA commanders.

The ICC issued warrants for Kony, Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen in July 2005 for 33 counts – war crimes, crimes against humanity, abduction, sexual enslavement, mutilation, and using children as fighters – according to New Vision.

The LRA members have to sign the peace agreement before the ICC will do something about the warrant, says the Ugandan government.  President Yoweri Museveni said last week that the government can save Kony and the other accused.

“We can save him because we are the ones who sought assistance from the ICC,” he said to journalists in London.

“Because he was not under our jurisdiction, we sought assistance from the ICC.  If he signs the peace agreement and returns to our jurisdiction, it becomes our responsibility, not any other party’s, including the ICC.”

Museveni explained that the Ugandan government sought the ICC’s help because Kony fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The ICC intervenes in cases of impunity or where governments cannot punish those involved in crimes against humanity.  Uganda would use its domestic justice system in place of the ICC if Kony and the others sign the peace agreement and return to Uganda.

Kony has recently moved more than three quarters of his forces from the DR Congo to the Central African Republic.  This change of bases raises doubts as to whether he will be available to sign a peace deal before the March 28 deadline, reports AllAfrica.com.

“Kony has moved most, if not all, his troops out of Garamba,” said Walter Ochora, an acquaintance of Kony who keeps an eye on the LRA.  “He only left a teenage commander in Ri-Kwang-Ba named Lt. Okello.  This is worrying [as] it seems LRA is not for peace.”

For more information, please see:

allAfrica.com – Uganda:  ICC Softens on Kony’s Case – 16 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Uganda:  We Can Save Kony – President Museveni – 11 March 2008

New Vision Online – LRA case to determine fate of ICC – 16 March 2008

allAfrica.com – Uganda:  Kony Crosses Into Central Africa Republic – 16 March 2008

By Ted Townsend
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor continued into its eighth week with grisly tales of cannibalism and further descriptions of terror tactics by Taylor’s ‘death squad’ commander. Joseph Marzah, also known as “Zigzag,” testified in open session that Taylor ordered his fighters in Liberia to eat the flesh of their enemies in order to “set an example for the people to be afraid.” The majority of the victims of cannibalism were members of the Krahn tribe of former Liberian president Samuel Doe, whom Taylor ousted from power in 1989. In addition, Marzah testified that Taylor ordered the forces to eat African and UN peacekeepers, specifically recalling that Taylor said the white UN peacekeepers could be “used as pork to eat.” According to Marzah, none of these atrocities were perpetrated without a direct order from Taylor.

On cross examination, the defense asked Marzah how the militia would prepare these human beings for eating. Marzah vividly described splitting, cleaning, decapitating and cooking the corpse with salt and pepper. He added, “we slit your throat, butcher you… throw away the head, take the flesh and put it in a pot… Charles Taylor knows that.” Marzah added that “when someone wants to kill you and your family, you kill and eat them for revenge.”

Marzah was with Taylor’s National Patriotic Front for Liberia (NFPL) from the beginning until the end and had risen to become Taylor’s Chief of Operations. He was also commander of the Death Squad, which specialized in executions. He agreed to testify in open session only after promises of protection were made for him and his family.

In addition to the cannibalism, Marzah testified to executions of women, children and babies. He described how he had killed so many men women and children that he had lost count, and that he had slit open the stomachs of pregnant women on multiple occasions. Marzah also vividly described the murder of babies, saying “it’s not hard, you hit them against a wall, throw them in a pit or in a river, and they are dead. And then you give the report to Charles Taylor.” He added that Taylor ordered him to kill any baby he saw, offering financial incentives to those who succeeded in executing the infants under a program called “No Baby on Target.”

Marzah and NPLF forces were told by Taylor on numerous occasions to show no mercy to civilians, believing most were collaborating with the enemy. Marzah described militia checkpoints, meant to terrify the population, where human heads were mounted on sticks, and intenstines were used to barricade roads. The militia was also encouraged to “play with human blood” so that enemy forces would fear them.

Marzah also testified that he regularly smuggled weapons and diamonds for Taylor.

On cross-examination, defense counsel Courtenay Griffiths worked to discredit Marzah’s testimony, attempting to find inconsistencies in what Marzah told prosecution investigators and attorneys in the past and what he was telling the court at the trial. Griffiths also accused Marzah of testifying because he didn’t want to be prosecuted himself, and that he was exaggerating his importance in Taylor’s organization, stating that Marzah was never senior enough in command to receive direct orders from Taylor. The Defense also focused on the fact that Taylor could not be expected to control all his commanders at one time, and that Sierra Leone and Liberia were “chaotic places over which Taylor did not have effective control.”

Taylor is accused of orchestrating atrocities during the civil war in Sierra Leone, including murder, rape, and forced conscription of children into his army. He has pled not guilty to all charges. The 59 year old is the first former African head of state to appear before an international war crimes tribunal.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Taylor ‘made rebels eat enemies’ – 13 March 2008

allAfrica.com – NPFL Insider ‘Zigzag’ Marzah alleges Taylor Ordered Atrocities in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and Traded Arms for Diamonds With the RUF – 13 March 2008

allAfrica.com – ‘Zigzag’ Marzah says Taylor Ordered Cannibalism; Defense Works to Discredit His Testimony – 14 March 2008

The Trial of Charles Taylor, http://charlestaylortrial.org – last accessed 14 March 2008

CNN.com – Top aide testifies Taylor ordered soldiers to eat victims – 13 March 2008

AFP – Former Liberian fighter describes rebel atrocities – 13 March 2008

The Associated Press – Terror Tactics Described at Taylor Trial – 13 March 2008

VOA news – Militia Commander Testifies at War Crimes Trial of Liberia’s Taylor – 12 March 2008

By Ted Townsend
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor continued into its eighth week with grisly tales of cannibalism and further descriptions of terror tactics by Taylor’s ‘death squad’ commander. Joseph Marzah, also known as “Zigzag,” testified in open session that Taylor ordered his fighters in Liberia to eat the flesh of their enemies in order to “set an example for the people to be afraid.” The majority of the victims of cannibalism were members of the Krahn tribe of former Liberian president Samuel Doe, whom Taylor ousted from power in 1989. In addition, Marzah testified that Taylor ordered the forces to eat African and UN peacekeepers, specifically recalling that Taylor said the white UN peacekeepers could be “used as pork to eat.” According to Marzah, none of these atrocities were perpetrated without a direct order from Taylor.

On cross examination, the defense asked Marzah how the militia would prepare these human beings for eating. Marzah vividly described splitting, cleaning, decapitating and cooking the corpse with salt and pepper. He added, “we slit your throat, butcher you… throw away the head, take the flesh and put it in a pot… Charles Taylor knows that.” Marzah added that “when someone wants to kill you and your family, you kill and eat them for revenge.”

Marzah was with Taylor’s National Patriotic Front for Liberia (NFPL) from the beginning until the end and had risen to become Taylor’s Chief of Operations. He was also commander of the Death Squad, which specialized in executions. He agreed to testify in open session only after promises of protection were made for him and his family.

In addition to the cannibalism, Marzah testified to executions of women, children and babies. He described how he had killed so many men women and children that he had lost count, and that he had slit open the stomachs of pregnant women on multiple occasions. Marzah also vividly described the murder of babies, saying “it’s not hard, you hit them against a wall, throw them in a pit or in a river, and they are dead. And then you give the report to Charles Taylor.” He added that Taylor ordered him to kill any baby he saw, offering financial incentives to those who succeeded in executing the infants under a program called “No Baby on Target.”

Marzah and NPLF forces were told by Taylor on numerous occasions to show no mercy to civilians, believing most were collaborating with the enemy. Marzah described militia checkpoints, meant to terrify the population, where human heads were mounted on sticks, and intenstines were used to barricade roads. The militia was also encouraged to “play with human blood” so that enemy forces would fear them.

Marzah also testified that he regularly smuggled weapons and diamonds for Taylor.

On cross-examination, defense counsel Courtenay Griffiths worked to discredit Marzah’s testimony, attempting to find inconsistencies in what Marzah told prosecution investigators and attorneys in the past and what he was telling the court at the trial. Griffiths also accused Marzah of testifying because he didn’t want to be prosecuted himself, and that he was exaggerating his importance in Taylor’s organization, stating that Marzah was never senior enough in command to receive direct orders from Taylor. The Defense also focused on the fact that Taylor could not be expected to control all his commanders at one time, and that Sierra Leone and Liberia were “chaotic places over which Taylor did not have effective control.”

Taylor is accused of orchestrating atrocities during the civil war in Sierra Leone, including murder, rape, and forced conscription of children into his army. He has pled not guilty to all charges. The 59 year old is the first former African head of state to appear before an international war crimes tribunal.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Taylor ‘made rebels eat enemies’ – 13 March 2008

allAfrica.com – NPFL Insider ‘Zigzag’ Marzah alleges Taylor Ordered Atrocities in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and Traded Arms for Diamonds With the RUF – 13 March 2008

allAfrica.com – ‘Zigzag’ Marzah says Taylor Ordered Cannibalism; Defense Works to Discredit His Testimony – 14 March 2008

The Trial of Charles Taylor, http://charlestaylortrial.org – last accessed 14 March 2008

CNN.com – Top aide testifies Taylor ordered soldiers to eat victims – 13 March 2008

AFP – Former Liberian fighter describes rebel atrocities – 13 March 2008

The Associated Press – Terror Tactics Described at Taylor Trial – 13 March 2008

VOA news – Militia Commander Testifies at War Crimes Trial of Liberia’s Taylor – 12 March 2008

By Ted Townsend
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NAIROBI – An average of twenty thousand Somali’s are fleeing Mogadishu every month, according to Guillermo Bettocchi, the head of the U.N. refugee agency for Somalia. Bettocchi continued “the situation is intractable . . . (and) seems to be deteriorating. We don’t see any improvement.”  The recent wave of refugees means that up to one million of Somalia’s nine million total residents are now living as refugee’s.

This mass exodus gives Somalia’s the worlds largest group of internally displaced people, with over two hundred thousand clustered in difficult conditions between Mogadishu and another town to the west. Consequences for refugees have become dire, with many of the refugees surviving on less than a meal a day and spending almost their entire income on drinking water. In discussing the consequences, Bettocchi cited an example of an Ethiopian woman who gave birth while unconscious on a boat. Before she regained consciousness, smugglers threw her baby overboard.

The conflict that has wracked Somalia for the last seventeen years took a new turn in early 2007, when the Ethiopian-backed government was attacked by an Islamist-led insurgency.  The most recent wave of refugees fled what are described as “Iraq-style” attacks on the capital.

The recent exodus continues, despite the African Union Mission to Somalia’s (AMISOM) deployment of peacekeepers to the area. Assessments of the now one-year old peacekeeping force are mixed, with detractors citing a thinly stretched force that lacks funds and equipment to effectively provide a security presence. Out of a pledged troop strength of eight thousand from multiple African nations, only two Ugandan battalions and one hundred and ninety-two Burundian soldiers are on the ground in Mogadishu. Many of these troops do not have adequate resources.

However, officials from Uganda, provider of the most troops, cite improved security where troops are deployed, as well as improved medical services and water provisions as evidence of success of the mission. “What used to be hell on Earth if not hell after all,” said Captain Paddy Ankunda, a Ugandan army spokesman.” Even those who try and find success in the first year of AMISOM’s deployment, admit that the force could be much more effective if each country who has pledged troops would deploy those troops.

AMISOM’s mandate is to protect Somalia’s transitional federal institutions to enable them to carry out their functions of government. Citizens of Mogadishu claim to have seen no change since the deployment, saying that violence has continued, and there is no effect on the lives of the ordinary people.

The semblance of a functioning government in Somalia, non-existent for the last seventeen years, got a boost this week, when United National Special Representative Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah announced that the transitional government was ready to hold talks with the opposition. Ould-Abdallah will assume a leadership role, joining the two parties in discussions on peace and stability.  In discussing his role, Ould-Abdallah said “I have no doubt that all Somalis and their concerned friends, governments and organizations will support this move and that everyone would refrain from any action that might hinder these important steps.”

For more information, please see:

allAfrica.com – UN Envoy Lauds Government’s Willingness to Talk With Opposition – 12 March 2008

Reuters – Somalia War Creates 20,000 refugees a month – 13 March 2008

allAfrica.com – One Year Later, AU Force in Mogadishu Soldiers On – 12 March 2008

Relief Web – UN Special Representative for Somalia calls for support for reconciliation – 12 March 2008