Charles Taylor arrested

former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor had disappeared from south-eastern Nigeria where he has lived in exile since he was forced out in 2003. His bid for freedom lasted only one day. According to reports police said Taylor was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday in northern Nigeria near the border with Cameroon. His capture came as another dictator, the president of Equatorial Guinea, headed to Zimbabwe to meet Robert Mugabe. One analyst said, “Birds of a feather, their time will come.”

As we reported Tuesday the Taylor saga is important to Zimbabweans who hope the oppressive Mugabe regime will someday face trial for its human rights abuses which have been well documented. The trip to Zimbabwe by Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema has kept discussion about dictators alive. A ZANU-PF official is reported to have told state radio, "The president of Equatorial Guinea is coming to thank the government and people of Zimbabwe for assisting and averting what could have been a catastrophe in his country and also to explore ways of increasing bilateral economic relations between the two countries." The sudden flurry of activity and news about these dictators have invited comments from listeners and political activists.