This post is a brief follow up to my previous travelog about Belgium, Friday Dysfunctional Roundup, Belgium Waffles: 6 Dysfunctional things about Belgium.
Sierra Leone is blessed with diamonds, but cursed with being run by a bunch of sociopathic thugs. Everyone seemed to be trying to out-thug the other in getting basically the population to be slaves to the diamond mine, so that the ruling class (one of several, each committing more heinous atrocities than the previous) could be enriched. This included exchanging “blood diamonds” for weapons and child soldiers. (Here’s the BBC backgrounder on the story).
As reported by the BBC, ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor has taken the stand for the first time at his war crimes trial in The Hague, dismissing the charges as “lies”. He denies 11 counts at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, including terrorism, murder, rape and torture.
These blood diamonds were likely passed through Belgium, the diamond capital of the world. Just following up on why I’m suspicious about any country that blows off US court authorized request for evidence.
As an aside, of course the guy is going to deny it all. Just like Milošević. Just like all the genocidal maniacs called to account for their behavior.
Sierra Leone had the misfortune of being filled up with diamonds, and being small enough for the African equivalent of the Sopranos to take over. Now it’s ravaged, and at least some of the bad guys are on trial. It reminds me of an old Twilight Zone episode, “A kind of a stopwatch” — where the guy has a stopwatch that stops time, so he robs a bank. But, then he drops the stop watch, and it breaks — with everyone frozen in time. So even though he has all the money in the world, he is all alone. So you could ask the philosophical question, can you be a sociopath by yourself?
the bbc isnt always right