Voice of Liberia

Dec laration of Leadership Change/Concurrence with TRC Report:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

TITLE:         CONCURRENCE WITH THE TRC FINAL REPORT; THE PEOPLE’S DECLARATION FOR THE UNCONDITIONAL RESIGNATION OF MRS. ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF AND OTHERS…
                                   
BY:             THE PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2003, which birthed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, an entity legislated and legitimized as of 10 June 2005, empowered with a predominantly tripartite responsibility—encourage truth-telling, ascertain reparation for deserving war victims, and recommend prosecution for egregious crimes after a protracted decadence period;   

WHEREAS, for the last three-years, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission initiated a challenging task that culminated into multiple data-gathering processes; including national and international forums, resulting into “ Volume II: Consolidated Final Report” detailing categorized recommendations;

WHEREAS, the submitted recommendations (which MUST be implemented, consistent with TRC Act/Section 48) systematically categorized, amongst other things, war crimes perpetrators, war financiers, and violators of international humanitarian law covering armed conflict;

WHEREAS, in addition to scores of notorious military actors, Key officials of the government of the Republic of Liberia( including President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (Executive Branch), Cllr. Kabineh Ja’rneh (Judiciary Branch), Senator Prince Y. Johnson(House of Senate)) have either been barred from holding public office, or recommended for prosecution;   

WHEREAS, anchoring our hope for a brighter national future on the full and unconditional implementation of all the recommendations of the commission, though we have displeasures about certain aspects of the TRC initiative, however, convinced that such displeasures are outweighed by the greater merits of the “Final Report;

WHEREAS, harboring logical suspicions that key government officials whose names are reflected on “The list” may get entangled in a deep conflict of interest, thereby deliberately attempting to jeopardize the full implementation of said recommendation, especially so when the President of the Republic, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, is on record for verbally resisting a criminal court mechanism; a scenario that necessitates the need for an immediate resignation of all officials of government indicted by the commission in diverse categories;

WHEREAS, contrary to President Sirleaf’s voluntary statements at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, it has now been established by the commission that the NPFL’s father organization, the ACDL had two internal factions; the anti-Taylor wing led by Dr. Amos C. Sawyer, which campaigned against a pro-Taylor military engagement; and a pro-Taylor wing led by Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, that supported and laid down blue prints for the prosecution of the military campaign, a process that gave rise to indescribable atrocities;

WHEREAS, the sad revelation that Madam Sirleaf was a principal accomplice of Mr. Taylor, a fact contained in the TRC’s final report, inarguably establishes the extent to which Mrs. Sirleaf and others criminalized the Liberian state and subjected it to inhumane military rebelliousness leading to the decimating of more than 250,000 innocent people, thus robbing her of the moral high ground to continuously preside as head of state;


WHEREAS, it has now been established through the TRC final report that beginning 1989 and continuing through 2003 within the territory of the Republic of Liberia not less than five (5) different armed factions engaged in open warfare where combatants equipped with light as well as heavy weaponry arrayed themselves and exchanged fire in a contest for supremacy;   

WHEREAS, it has now been established through the TRC’s final report that at the early stages of the war the constituted government was overthrown, resulting in the total breakdown of law and order, placing the entire population at great peril without protection, security, or defense against the onslaught of the various armed factions;   

WHEREAS, it has now been established through the TRC’s final report that as a consequence of the war all institutions within the Republic collapsed and the various armed factions partitioned the country and governed their respective enclaves where combatants, acting on the command of their leaders, violated the conventions of war by engaging in rape, torture, mass executions, slavery, as well as the use of children in active combat;   

WHEREAS, it has now been established through the TRC’s final report that in order to prevent mass extermination of civilians, an international military force - Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) - was deployed in the Republic of Liberia against fierce resistance from the armed factions; 

WHEREAS, it has now been established through the TRC’s final report that the direct impact of the war on the Liberian economy in terms of lost revenue, productivity and goodwill, as well as destruction of the infrastructure, underemployment, accrued interests, etc. is estimated at billions of United States Dollars; 
   
WHEREAS, it has now been established that the human costs of the war, though incalculable, account for not less than 1 million people uprooted and displaced; a staggering 350,000 – 575,000 psychological and/or physical injuries, as well as a minimum of 200,000 killed; 

WHEREAS, it has now been established through public confession of accomplices as well as the preponderance of evidence referenced by the TRC Final report, that all warlords, including Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Mr. Charles Taylor were the principal planners, financiers, and decision-makers of the brutal 14-year war;

WHEREAS, considering details emerging from the TRC’s final report, individuals bearing the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed in Liberia have now been legitimately identified; some recommended for prosecution, and yet, others barred from holding public office  for a thirty-year period. This binding decision being a direct verdict questioning the moral credentials of the involved, especially officials of government, creates the need for a mass resignation of all such officials.

WHEREAS, while we disagree with certain conclusions of the TRC’s final report, we remain largely supportive of its recommendations and believe it is the best framework for healing the wounds and moving the country in a better direction. Hence, as moral guarantors, we shall immediately, and in a vigorous and unrelenting manner, campaign for the impartial and full implementation of the commission’s work;

WHEREAS, whilst we support the granting of amnesty to deserving perpetrators committing lesser crimes, our disapproval of amnesty granted certain perpetrators remains unchanged; and we will uncompromisingly  campaign for such personalities to be indicted in the coming criminal tribunal, especially considering Article 26g of the TRC Act, which makes forgiveness impossible if the crime committed falls in the heinous index;
THEREFORE, by the power vested, as stipulated in Article (1) of the CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA;
- [“All power is inherent in the people. All free governments are instituted by their authority and for their benefit and they have the right to alter and reform the same when their safety and happiness so require. In order to ensure democratic government which responds to the wishes of the governed, the people shall have the right at such period, and in such manner as provided for under this Constitution, to cause their public servants to leave office and to fill vacancies by regular elections and appointments.”] –
WE THE PEOPLE HEREBY CONCUR WITH THE FINAL REPORT OF THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION SET OUT IN VOLUME II, WHICH, AMONGST OTHER THINGS IDENTIFIED MR. CHARLES TAYLOR, MRS. ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF, MR PRINCE JOHNSON, MR. KABINEH JA’RNEH, MR. HARRY GREAVES, MR. ALHAJI KROMAH, MR. GEORGE BOLEY, MR.SEKOU CONNEH, ETC AS WAR CRIMINALS BEARING THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE NIGHTMARE CREATED IN LIBERIA. AS SUCH, FOR THE ONES THAT ARE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, INCLUDING PRESIDENT SIRLEAF, WE HEREBY CALL FOR THEIR IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION SINCE THEY HAVE LOST THE PUBLIC TRUST TO EFFECTIVELY FUNCTION IN VARIOUS POLITICAL CAPACITIES. IN THIS LIGHT, WE ESPECIALLY INSIST THAT PRESIDENT SIRLEAF TAKES THE LEAD AS LEADER TO AVOID UNSPECIFIED POLITICAL AND LEGAL ACTIONS UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.  WE BELIEVE MRS. SIRLEAF’S UNCONDITIONAL RESIGNATION IS SINE QUA NON TO THE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION EFFORTS, DEEMED NECESSARY AS SHE, BEING A WAR CRIMINAL, LACKS THE WILL

TO IMPLEMENT THE TRC REPORT.
With this CONCURRENCE, THE PEOPLE OF LIBERIA, by virtue of our CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY, hereby authorize the Legislative and Judicial Branches of Government to proceed expeditiously without fail in conferring upon the vice president, Hon. Joseph N. Boakai, the title of Acting President until the holding of free and fair democratic elections.

As Acting President, Hon. Joseph N. Boakai shall present a petition from the People of Liberia to the United Nations requesting the creation of a war crimes court, and ensure that all the recommendations of the TRC are carried-out in a timely and sequential manner. 

In honoring the will of the Liberian people, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf shall cooperate fully with the Legislative and Judicial Branches of Government to ensure a smooth, peaceful transfer of power. Overwhelming evidence of her direct involvement in the rapes, torture, maiming, as well as the executions, enslavement, and murders of tens of thousands of defenseless Liberians makes it impossible for President Sirleaf to heal this nation and restore normalcy. 

As it relates to Mr. Charles Taylor (Mrs. Sirleaf’s accomplice), regardless of the outcome of his trial at The Hague; he along with others bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity shall face prosecution at the war crimes court for Liberia which the United Nations shall authorize.   


PREPARED THIS FIFTH DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD TWO THOUSAND AND NINE.

_________________
Mulbah K. Morlu, Jr
National Chairman


Document II, Press Release Calling for Sirleaf's unconditional Resignation:

5th July  2009                                                         


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   


ENDORSING THE TRC FINAL REPORT, AND DEMANDING THE             UNCONDITIONAL RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT SIRLEAF AND OTHER             GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS LISTED AS ACTIVE WAR ACTORS…


For the past several years now, we took upon ourselves the national challenge of seeking accountability for the widespread and systematic commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violation of international humanitarian law as evidently perpetrated in Liberia for over a two-decade period(1979-2003).

During this period of relentless civil society activism, our strategies, methods and goals have been greeted with cynicism and criticisms in some cycles, whilst in others- predominantly constituting wearied war victims- the macrocosm of our population, our efforts have been hailed and strongly supported.

Nevertheless, irrespective of the differences, the grassroots Movement- Forum for the Establishment of a war Crimes Court in Liberia- is committed to the full-cycle transformation of Liberia into a viable and vibrant democratic society where justice, liberty, equality, the rule of law, and the pursuit of happiness for all within our borders will remain sine qua non to our progressive development.

Realizing this essence of inalienable national objectives, especially in light of the moral, national and international imperative to address impunity through a satisfactory mechanism to prosecute perpetrators, The Movement draws its strengths from youths, men and women representing a cross-section of the population, mainly the grassroots.

Now being sufficiently mobilized for the cause, our progressive shadow sprawls footprints of a vigorous campaign for all perpetrators, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, status, sex or creed, to face justice in a special court as have now been recommended by The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia in its final report titled: Volume II: Consolidated Final Report. We welcome, and endorse this report as the best mechanism for reconciliation, peace, and justice in Liberia.

Along the way, we published dossiers indicting major war actors, ranging from the atrocities committed by former President Charles G. Taylor and his nihilistic gangs, to LURD’s leader, Sekou Damante Konneh and his indiscriminate mortar-launching rebels.

Whilst, through research and other sources, we credibly identified major military criminals, we were likewise privileged to identify key political actors who, along with their military accomplices, must be made to account in a Special Court as greatest responsibility bearers in the murder, destruction and economic abuse of our nation-state.

Sadly, in 2007/8, we found Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, wanting for prosecution as one of those bearing the greatest responsibility for heinous crimes committed by the NPFL in Liberia. This revelation led us to begin calling for the resignation of President Sirleaf so as to allow the creation of a Special Court, a requirement made difficult by her continuous presidential occupation.

Though followers of the President thrashed our pronouncement as “Stupidity and foolishness”, as they did our endless calls for the formation of a Special Court, the confessions of President Sirleaf before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on 13th February 2009 clearly justified the ardent need for her resignation since the creation of a war crimes court relies on her signatures. During that period, we dug-out her surreptitious and misleading testimonies at the TRC, which is presented inter-alia: President Sirleaf: “…it was Mr. Thomas Worwoiyu who convinced [me] and other members of the Association of Constitutional Democracy in Liberia (ACDL) to provide support for the NPFL… We crossed the river to that place from Abidjan ... When we crossed it was not even a mile to where the operations were...I met Taylor with some young, red-eyed boys, and lot of Lebanese people… I apologize for being fooled by Taylor and for what kinds of support
that I might have given him. I do apologize for the support we gave him, for any part we played in that. I’m sorry…” After these admissions, the President also disclosed her US$10,000.00 contribution to the NPFL through The ACDL.

In furtherance, though the extent to which President Sirleaf influenced the NPFL-led war may be far deeper than what she revealed, during her secret appearance, in the midst of previous denials of her involvement with the NPFL, we thought her self-incriminating role established sufficient grounds for the Liberian people to uncompromisingly lead a campaign for her resignation. Besides her confessions of guilt, we chose to take this position based on documented evidence that Mrs. Sirleaf as well as former president Charles Taylor and others have broken the law. They are suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity - offenses so contemptible there is no statutory limitation or safe haven within the civilized world.

Now that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has submitted its ‘Final Report’, which evidently uncovers Mrs. Sirleaf as playing a central role in the planning, financing and directing of a war so brutal, so violent and so devastating that experts have labeled it one of the worst in modern History, we are justified in our earlier calls for the resignation of Mrs. Sirleaf, and will mobilize in us all of what democracy can permit to ensure she surrenders power in a few months.  Ordering the “Mansion to be leveled”, NPFL forces to attack the then overcrowded City of Monrovia (during operation Octopus) shows the extent to which Mrs. Sirleaf was willing to go in her political ambition, painful details that cannot be forgotten.

In furtherance, the TRC’s recommendations banning Mrs. Sirleaf and others for a thirty-year period from holding public office, whilst others are set to be prosecuted in a war crimes court, is a welcomed move that clearly distinguished the indicted ones as bearing the greatest responsibility for the nightmare visited on our generation. The TRC report detailed that those in this prosecution and public-office banned category were not committed to its full disclosure mission, meaning that all of them, including Mrs. Sirleaf lied under oath (perjury), an impeachable offense that even creates a more urgent need for a mass resignation.

In that direction, the peace-loving people of Liberia, with an insatiable quest for justice, have once again, in a tune of finality, reiterated their calls for the unconditional resignation of Mrs. Sirleaf and all government officials listed by the TRC for prosecution, or public-office ban. In the interim, we wish to make it abundantly clear that we cannot tolerate delays to the people’s displeasure expressed herein and in the document attached, nor can we accept NO for an answer. We are forever convinced that the TRC’s decision against war financiers, planners and executioners is the final nail driven deep into the lid of the evil that permeated our society for a prolonged period, and the evil must give way for a fresh opportunity for a people to lead a noble destiny.

We therefore call on the President to act in a timely manner in order to maintain the People’s respect and save the state from unnecessary political exercises. This issue is simple: Either Mrs. Sirleaf, Mr. Taylor, and other factional leaders bear supreme responsibility for atrocities committed in this country, or they don’t; and the TRC’s conclusions provide the answers.

Besides, acknowledging the fact that Mrs. Sirleaf is incapable of preventing this country from again returning to violence, the call for her resignation is a commitment to transform Liberia into a nation of laws, sending a resounding message that absolutely there is no one above the law. And, it is also an effort to end the culture of impunity, as well as an expression of our collective disgust with the status quo; change must begin at the top. 

The presence of United Nations’ troops has afforded us the opportunity to solidify the peace as well as find solutions to the ills plaguing this nation. Knowing full well these troops will not remain indefinitely, it is imperative we lay the foundation for rule of law; because it offers the best remedy for corruption, rape, land dispute, armed robbery as well as other pressing issues. And there is no better way to stabilize the country than to utilize the legal process to hold accountable those responsible for atrocities perpetrated against the Liberian people during the war.

To our Liberian brothers and sisters, just as we explained to President Barack Obama when we wrote, evil has gripped this nation, and it must be soundly defeated. You have heard the stories, including that of former president Moses Blah who testified that killing and eating human beings was a common practice amongst those that waged the war. They also drank the blood of their victims. And without provocation, they smashed the heads of innocent babies; ripped open the stomach of pregnant women; and set families ablaze in their homes. Not seeking punishment for these acts of cruelty will not only be criminal on our part, but sinful as well.   Against this backdrop, we warn the President that her failure to do the honorable thing in a few days will pave way for unstoppable public demonstrations that will not abate until she leaves power. 

A wise man once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  We hereby muster our people to remain alert.

In the coming days we will ask you to stand with those who believe Liberians deserve better...those who believe rule of law must take hold before UN troops depart...those who believe in personal accountability…as well as those who believe there can be no peace without justice. This is why we endorsed the TRC Final report, and believe it is the best mechanism for moving Liberia away from war. Though we have our own misgivings about several things within the submitted recommendations, however, the collective merits of the commission’s findings by far outweigh our misgivings. For example, we totally disagree with the commission’s granting of amnesty to active combatants who committed heinous crimes. Under article 26g of the TRC Act, there can be no amnesty for heinous crimes, and no force under heaven has the power to grant same, thereby meaning that we will use every ounce of our blood to ensure that those benefiting from ill-fated amnesties be
prosecuted. On the other hand, Some expected names were also left out of the recommendations submitted despite evidence to the contrary; and we will equally gather further evidence against such ones for indictment proceedings when the court mechanism gets established. Notwithstanding, the fact that these shortcomings can be cited, in no way rubbish the holistic qualities of the commission’s works, which remain intact. 
 
I say to you - my brothers and sisters –let’s rise and remain STANDING for JUSTICE! 

Thank you for attending this press conference.


Signed: _____________________
                   Mulbah K. Morlu, Jr.
                    National Chairman