Try Charles Taylor in Sierra Leone

In yesterday's New York Times John Leigh, former ambassador to Sierra Leone from 1996 to 2002 calls for Charles taylor's war crimes trial to be kept in Sierra leone, and not farmed out to the Hague. There are reasons to move the case -- the Hague is better equippped to deal with such a trial; The criminal proceedings could provoke unsavory elements (Taylor loyalists in particular) to act up in violent ways, destabilizing a country still reeling from catastrophes. Nonetheless, as Leigh argues:

Such a transfer would defeat a principal purpose behind the establishment of the special court in Sierra Leone — namely, to teach Africans, firsthand and in their own countries, the fundamentals of justice and to drive home the democratic principle that no one is above the law. The special court has the potential to help raise West Africa's standards for accountability, transparency, fairness and the humane treatment of defendants.

Taylor's crimes in Sierra Leone add up to but a small fraction of his transgressions. Within his own country he was dictator and tyrant, one in a long string. It is unlikely that he will ever be called to account for his crimes against humanity. But a trial in Sierra Leone, if handled properly, could provide a model for future proceedings that we can only hope will happen across the continent in the years to come. The emergence of stable, liberal institutions such as courts are vital to African progress. And sending a message to Africa's Big Men that they can and will be forced to face accusers in Africa might provide yet another spur toward good, responsible governance on a continent that has so often lacked even a modicum of accountability on the part of heads of state and their hangers-on.