Possible Extradition Awaits Baba Jobe 'If S/Leone War Crimes Tribunal Makes Request' The Independent (Banjul) NEWS January 5, 2004 Posted to the web January 5, 2004 Banjul Baba Jobe may be surrendered by The Gambia government to the War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone to face possible charges of complicity in prosecuting the atrocious conflict in that country provided the latter makes a request to that effect, highly placed sources intimated to The Independent. In a fresh and winding twist to the embattled politician's string of recent troubles, an international dimension to the saga has surfaced as a senior government official, indicated last week that a request by the war crimes tribunal to have Honourable Jobe extradited to answer to possible charges of gun-running and diamond smuggling would not be turned down by the APRC government to which he is still reportedly a sworn loyalist. "The regime is in a position to honour any indictment request in respect of Baba Jobe from the war crimes tribunal" our source further maintained, although no official declaration by the government has been made to that effect. The Attorney General and the Department of Foreign Affairs could not be accessed to shed more light on this development, which if true could mark a complete turning point in the Gambia government's policy towards Honourable Jobe travel ban since 2001. With his possible extradition Honourable Jobe would face trial in Sierra Leone alongside Charles Taylor and his co-conspirators who are the focus of an indictment by the Special Tribunal. According to a United Nations panel of experts report on the activities of the Liberian government under Charles Taylor, the proceeds from an illegal gun and diamonds trade were used to sponsor the now defunct Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and in some instances directly helped in prosecuting the war against the Sierra Leone government. Honourable Jobe is still under a UN travel ban sanctioned on him under Resolution 1343 (2001) for his alleged activities, along with other individuals among them Ibrahim Ba an RUF commander whose nationality cannot be verified. A list of the names of those affected by the travel ban included Baba Jobe who was described as an arms trafficker and director the Gambia Millennium Airline. Also included in the list was one Musa Ceesay, the chief of Presidential Protocol in Taylor's government. Baba Jobe was still in the revised UN list (which we will publish in our next edition) following incessant complaints on behalf of individuals affected by the ban. Speaking under conditions of anonymity, the official said, although the government was not officially aware of the intention of the War Crimes Tribunal of Sierra Leone as far as Baba Jobe was concerned the government "was in a position to readily oblige". The Sierra Leone War Crimes Tribunal is a special court established by agreement between the United Nations and the government of Sierra Leone on the authority of Security Council Resolution No 2000 of August 14 2000. Its mandate is to prosecute those persons who bear the greatest responsibility for the commission of crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. It also covers crimes under Sierra Leonean law committed since November 30, 1996 in Sierra Leone. Baba Jobe's ban swiftly followed allegations that some Gambians were involved in the "unholy" trade in "blood diamonds" from Sierra Leone. Proceeds from this trade were used to buy weapons to prosecute wars in the West African sub-region particularly in Sierra Leone. The then Gambian Foreign Minister Dr. ML. Sedat Job acting on instructions from the government had denied any Gambian involvement, accusing the United Nations Security Council of committing an error, which he described as prejudicial to Baba Jobe and The Gambia. He referred to the decision to include Baba Jobe in the travel ban list as the result of a request from the French, British and United States governments to that effect. Several months later, Blaise Jagne, the then Gambian representative to the UN accused the world body of pursuing a hidden agenda against his country. If suggestions about the government's reported readiness to hand over Honourable Jobe were true, it would represent a major albeit confusing shift of position by the APRC government which until November 22, 2003 was involved in a secret round of talks with representatives of the UN in a bid to have the ban unconditionally overturned. According to international diplomatic sources, the last round of talks between Gambian representatives of the embattled politicians and UN diplomats ended without the desired result. UN diplomats at the talks were quoted as putting bluntly to the Gambian delegation that "this was not a sanction against the Gambia government but against a lone individual" who was entitled to send his own legal representation to make the case for him instead of relying on the government to do so. Thus the Gambian delegation reportedly left without pulling off any positive result from their mission. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2003 The Independent. All rights reserved. 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