BBC World offers a thought provoking question: This World asks whether Charles Taylor's trial [before the International Criminal Court] will bring accountability to the continent of Africa or will it be seen as a new colonialism in what some Africans regard as "a white man's court"?
I don't think anyone would deny that Charles Taylor is vicious tyrant worthy of severe punishment.
However, while Taylor stands trial in The Hague, President Bush and former Prime Minister Blair are exempt from any international charges simply because they oppose any international judiciary branch that they do not control.
I don't believe any further background information is needed to discuss the question at hand:
Is Taylor's trial at the Hague is going to be the first of many, finally bringing accountability and good governance to the people of Africa?
Or, in choosing to punish Taylor ahead of the many Western leaders who flout international rules, have we already opened ourselves to accusations of politics over justice?
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