LEST WE FORGET WHENCE WE ‘VE COME
Having experienced years of turbulence and carnage, Liberians continue to carry memories of deep hurts, whiles nursing grudges and the predilection of even revenge for the huge losses and immensurable sufferings endured at the very hands of their compatriots. The road to peace in Liberia has been a torturous path. There has been a caravan of 13 peace accords, tracing many geographical stops from West Africa to the Swiss city of Geneva .
The thousands of brutalized and broken victims who endured politically and ethnically motivated atrocities at the hands of state security and rebel forces have had to hold their breath as each of these “peace” conferences ended with blanket amnesty, thus sacrificing justice on the alter of peace. Departing from the vulnerable trend of relapse, the Accra Peace Accord of 2003 negotiated peace while preserving the possibility of pursuing justice and accountability by adopting a number of transitional mechanisms, amongst them a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to address the legacy of abuses that occasioned our recent past through truth seeking and truth telling, and an Independent National Commission on Human Rights of Liberia-INCHR to guarantee the non-repetition of violations and abuses by promoting the fulfillment, respect for and protection of human rights.
Notwithstanding these, the INCHR's reconstitution continues to linger in a somewhat purposeful stupor as the Liberian government maintains a reluctant posture that amounts to a complete lack of political will. In disguise, the government purports primarily that the Act creating the Independent National Commission on Human Rights of Liberia-INCHR conflicts with Article 20 of the Liberian Constitution, which provides that: “Any one injured by an act of government or any person acting under its authority, whether in property contract torts or otherwise, shall have the right to bring suit for appropriate redress. All such suits brought against the government shall origin in a Claims Court ”.
I find this argument weak at best. First and foremost, by this claim, government acknowledges that it is the likely worst violator of human rights and hence anticipates that the commission's work would center on holding government liable for violations. But that is quite beside the point, as the commission's mandate does not rest with protecting the rights of citizens against official abuses alone, but against all other violators of human rights, who may as well be private citizens. That said, government's trepidation that the quasi judicial authority vested in the commission by the Act undermines the powers of the courts is purely unfounded and ironical because the Department of Interior (now Ministry of Internal Affairs) and the Ministry of Labor possess this very quasi judicial authority and the courts are not weakened by that. Rather, these have served to complement the courts' power and mandate to deliver justice. It would therefore suffice to say that the quasi judicial power vested in the INCHR will, in addition to the above, promote prompt access to justice for the thousands ordinary citizens whose rights are been trampled upon on a daily basis.
The likes of Angel Tokpa, who it appears was raped and subsequently strangled to death; Augustine Golortor who was found dead in a store in Gbarnga, Bong County, but whose autopsy report is been unduly withheld; Little Sweetie Tomah, who was raped allegedly by a Nigerian UNMIL officer around the City Hall; Gabriel Paye, who carries a bullet in his spine to date, as a result of shooting carried out by an UNMIL official, amongst others, would not have suffered or died in want of justice. The ever rising mob actions, corruption and reckless disregard of the rule of law heralded by a Legislature determined to outdo an imposing Executive in flaunting the laws continues to reinforce the need for the prompt reconstitution of a functioning INCHR - not a ceremonial commission that lacks international credibility and does not enjoy the confidence of the citizenry. Otherwise, with the daylight robbery that goes on in our courts, justice is apt to remain the exclusive preserve of the few rich and powerful.
At the ceremony marking the official commencement of the TRC's public hearings, the President urged the cooperation of all Liberians and committed to do same when called upon. However, her recent statement that she would write her role in the Liberian crisis in her memoir instead of making herself amendable to the TRC process stands in sharp contrast to her earlier commitment and has the propensity to derail the efforts of the TRC to establish the true account of what happened in the past, especially from 1979 to August 2003. In fact, some known perpetrators are already out-rightly refusing to cooperate with the TRC.
These plus other developments are invariably making a stronger case for the establishment of a war crimes court which, unlike the TRC that has been made to appear as a forum for only small perpetrators, is inclined to focus on those bearing the greatest responsibilities for the orchestration of the mayhems and orgy of destruction that characterized Liberia's conflict and era of bad governance.
To further shed light on the need for the establishment of the INCHR, I will hasten to say that it encapsulates the hope of many who have placed their trust in the TRC as a way of attaining victims' justice. Section 46 of the TRC's act has seized the commission with the responsibility of ensuring the implementation of all recommendations of the TRC. Because danger of unimaginable proportions is intrinsic in the loss of faith in a process such as this, there is a very high likelihood of people resorting to personal revenge if they realize that the TRC is just another trick to “put lipstick” on the numerous crimes that saw the degeneration of the Liberian people for years.
Charles Taylor's turnover marked a substantial departure from the tendency of impunity and set the stage for confronting injustice. This is all the reason why the President's statement, which tends to favor retirement money over the destiny of the state, should not be taken lightly because not only is it devoid of any remorse but also implies complete scorn for the TRC process.
One needs not say how vital the reconstitution of the INCHR and the amenability of the president to the TRC process are to fostering national healing and reconciliation, or forging a one and unified Liberia , where both victims and perpetrators can share a common vision and future.
The tendency of doing nothing about crucial issues such as those enumerated above with the conviction that it will induce amnesia is no longer an option. The stability of the Liberian state hinges heavily on the delivery of justice, which transitional mechanisms like the TRC and INCHR embody.
I therefore make this note of caution, lest we forget whence we've come. For if we do, we risk a reversion. Let's secure tomorrow by the choices we make today, remembering that posterity will judge us for our actions or inactions. Truth, they say, hurts; but it is silence that kills. It is high time to match words with deeds.