Letter to Sec. Powell on Charles Taylor
Letter sent to US Secretary of State Colin Powell concerning Liberian dictator Charles Taylor
23 February 2001
Dear Secretary Powell,
I am writing to you concerning the United States' policy toward the west African state of Liberia. As you know all the countries in that sub-region, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, are in varying degrees of instability. And this is due in no small part to the machinations of Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, a warlord who achieved power after an 8-year civil war.
Taylor is actively supporting the barbarous Sierra Leone rebels, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), who have gained international infamy for their policy of amputating the hands of their unarmed women and child victims. He does this in order to have access to the vast, enrichening diamond fields in the RUF-controlled regions of Sierra Leone. As a result, in the last few years Liberia has exported many times more diamonds annually than has been assessed their ability to produce domestically.
Additionally, President Taylor is now supporting another rebel group who is launching bloody incursions into southern Guinea. Having served in Guinea in the Peace Corps, I know that, while the Guineans may not be enamored with their present regime, they in near unamimity reject violent means to overthrow their governement. Guineans want it done the right way, the democratic way, and do not want to end up in war-torn ruins like their southern neighbors Sierra Leone and Liberia.
This instability is primarily due to President Taylor. This has been recognized by diverse organizations such as Global Witness, Human Rights Watch and the United Nations. This is without even addressing the thugish activities he is inflicting on his own population. Taylor destroyed his own country for power and riches, has done the same to one neighboring country and is eyeing another. He must be stopped.
The State Department under your predecessor had initiated a policy of isolating President Taylor, calling on the UN to limit the regime's ability to profit from their destabilizing acts. Furthermore, they issued directives barring high-ranking Liberian officals from entering the US (Taylor himself is barred due to an outstanding arrest warrant from his escape from a Massachussetts' jail some years ago).
It is very important, Secretary Powell, that your State Department and the Bush administration continue to increase the pressure on the Taylor regime. He is anti-democratic and no friend to the United States. His machinations threaten to further destabilize a region already destabilized by him. I would strongly encourage you to use all reasonable means, both within American jurisdiction and via the UN, to isolate this man before he can do any more damage.
Most respectfully yours,
Brian Farenell
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