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Wednesday, 7 June, 2000, 14:42 GMT 15:42 UK
What should be done to Sierra Leone's Foday Sankoh?
![]() Heads of State at last weekend's ECOWAS summit in Abjuja, Nigeria, discussed the fate of Sierra Leone's rebel leader Foday Sankoh.
The Sierra Leone government wants to put him on trial in Freetown. What do you think should happen to him, and how do you think the peace process could now be moved forward? Tell us what you think. This Talking Point is now closed, here are a selection of your e-mails.
Kemoh, UK
Why waste time? He committed crimes against his countrymen, let that man be put to "rest". He has no space on this planet.
Foday Sankoh should not be an issue in Sierra Leone anymore. He has dealt himself out of the peace process. The only way to deal with him is for him to undergo another trial for the crimes he committed against the people after the signing of the Lome peace treaty. He should also lose his amnesty and face the penalty for his previous convictions. He should be made to watch Sierra Leone rise out of the ashes that he has created.
I am embarrassed to be a part of the international community that allowed this fool to perpetrate havoc upon the people of Sierra Leone. He should have a speedy trial and if found guilty, let there be no justification for his continued existence.
The US and UN should stop feeding despot leaders with cash and promises. They should stop playing with the lives of human beings.
Foday Sankoh has been put on trial once already, and has already been sentenced to death. This is ludicrous to put him on trial again, for similar offences. Just reinstate the old trial, and thereby forgo all the formalities and possible loopholes of a second trial. If Sierra Leone/UN opts to give him a second trial, and possibly give him the chance (albeit unlikely) to be acquitted...I fear the resolve and credibility of International Law would seriously be undermined.
Rodney Edmondson-Deigh, USA
Since the beginning of the Civil War, Foday Sankoh and his followers have shown nothing but contempt for the citizens of that country. Having lived in Sierra Leone from 1972 - 1994, mainly in remote parts as an RC missionary, I know the people and the suffering they have experienced. Sankoh has consistently proved himself untrustworthy.
I regret to say that against all my religious and human instincts, he has by his actions and leadership removed himself from the realm of human charity. Only trial and conviction with the death penalty will give Sierra Leone a chance of a future.
The world community and the West have always applied a double standard when it comes to the dark continent's demons such as Foday Sankoh. If oil, diamonds, minerals or any other precious natural wealth is found in African soil, the Western world won't hesitate to create a demon like Foday to represent its interest, even if it means killing and making a thousand African families suffer just to save and preserve one family in the West.
Foday Sankoh should be speedily tried in Sierra Leone. The trial should be monitored by international war crimes tribunal lawyers. If found guilty, he should face the full penalty of the law.
Aroun Rashid Deen, USA
A very bad precedent was set when Foday Sankoh and RUF members were given a blanket amnesty and a share of power for butchering thousands of innocent civilians in their blind so-called "peoples revolution".
SL and the rest of the world now has the opportunity to right these wrongs and see that justice is done. They have an obligation to the thousands of orphans, amputees and rape victims of this violent episode in our history to show them that the country does care about her citizens.
Peter Okoli, USA (Nigerian)
Foday Sankoh does not need any new trial. He was already a convicted murderer and death row inmate before the Lome peace accord. Since he did not live up to the accord he signed, President Kabbah ought to remove the amnesty he gave him for signing the accord. This man deserves nothing less than the death penalty.
Gordon Sawyerr, Sierra Leone
People like Foday Sankoh should be tried to the full extent of the law. Africa has a lot to worry about, famine, Aids, illiteracy. Thugs like Sankoh should not be allowed to continue disguising themselves as revolutionaries and wreaking havoc on a suffering populace. Put Foday Sankoh on trial and start setting good precedence for the generation of tomorrow.
The UN should have allowed the ordinary citizens of Sierra Leone to dispense justice against this thoroughly evil monster. This might sound quite cruel, but we must accept that only unique forms of punishment can ever be appropriate for certain crimes.
Foday Sankoh has not proved any sense in his proclaimed revolution. Instead he has dealt with ordinary people ruthlessly. Therefore, he needs to pay for his action against humanity.
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