|
A
Response to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf:
Presidential aspirant or war criminal?
I
have not made up my mind completely
about which candidate I would vote
for were I not in the predicament
of being in the US and not being able
to afford two trips, back to back,
to Liberia to register and then vote.
However,
I deplore people who write op-ed in
the guise of true and unbiased news
reporting. Ms. Johns, it is obvious
that you are biased against Ms. Sirleaf's
candidacy. It appears that you feel
that she, like Charles Taylor is a
war criminal. Let us not forget that
when Charles Taylor started the war
, through its progression, and up
to his final victory, most Liberians
were happy to see someone come in
with an iron fist and put an end to
the bloodshed. Further, the atrocious
things that Charles Taylor did towards
the middle and end of his regime was
not, I am certain, supported by Mrs.
Sirleaf. Mrs. Sirleaf, like most wise
men/women, made a turnaround to Charles
Taylor once she realized that much
of what he was doing was not beneficial
to the revitalization of Liberia.
Having
known Mrs. Sirleaf while growing up
and through many years of my adult
work life, I can vouch that she is
a fair and well meaning individual.
I may not like some of her personal
tactics but then does anyone of us
like everything about one individual?
I would think not.
Would
you classify the new Pope, Pope Benedict
XVI as a Nazi today because he was
conscripted into one of Adolph Hitler's
youth group? The world body of cardinals
did not and elected him Pope. Mrs.
Sirleaf's situation is not the same
but there are some similarities. We
can recognize mistakes of the past
and when it becomes obvious that the
road we are travelling is fraught
with obstacles and leading to hell,
it is the wise man that chooses another
path.
Let
us refrain from destroying the integrity
of the few good remaining Liberian
leaders as a means to promoting our
own writing / journalistic ends. When
writing articles like this one about
Mrs. Sirleaf, make sure that you and
others state emphatically that they
are "personal opinions/opinion
editorials (op/ed)". That disclaimer
will do a lot in furthering your credibility
and career.
Julius
L. Weeks
|
Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf: Presidential aspirant or
war criminal?
By
Bendu
Koryon
 I
read with interest, Madame Johnson-Sirleaf's
"sincere" apology to the Liberian
people. I continue to ponder upon the sincerity
of the apology. Should we Liberians show
profound gratitude for an apology, which
I deem at best lackadaisical? If sincere
in her apology, should that apology not
have been said in Liberia, to the people
who most suffered during our civil conflict?
Why did she have to come to the United States
in order to find the courage to address
an issue on which she had denied culpability
so many times? Could she not look into the
faces of the still suffering masses and
utter these words? Does Madame think that
the vote of the masses is so unimportant
that they do not warrant an apology on their
own soil? I sincerely hope that Madame understands
that the lack of education is not the same
as ignorance. The Liberian people are not
stupid!!! They deserve an apology from Madame
on their own soil. In her act of purging,
Madame Johnson-Sirleaf also admitted aiding
Mr. Charles Taylor in the early stages of
the war. I found this statement to be the
most profound statement made by Madame Johnson-Sirleaf.
In
her admittance of aid to Mr. Taylor, indicted
war criminal, Madame Johnson-Sirleaf has
implicated herself as a coconspirator. Let's
look at hypothetical Liberia in March 2006.
Madame Johnson-Sirleaf is president (please
know that this is just a make believe scenario).
President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria is
now ready to turn Charles Taylor over to
the new democratically elected government
in Liberia to face trial. Now I ask you,
will Madame carry out the mandate to prosecute
Mr. Taylor, having previously admitted being
his coconspirator? I think not!!! I now
bring you back to present day May 2005.
I would like to take an in depth look at
the definition of war crimes and war criminals.
Article
147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention defines
war crimes as: Willful killing, torture
or inhuman treatment, including… willfully
causing great suffering or serious injury
to body or health, unlawful deportation
or transfer or unlawful confinement of a
protected person, compelling a protected
person to serve in the forces of a hostile
power….
The
statutes of The Hague tribunal (the international
court of justice) say the court has the
right to try suspects alleged to have violated
the laws or customs of war. Examples of
such violations are given as:
- Wanton
destruction of cities, towns or villages,
or devastation not justified by military
necessity
- Attack,
or bombardment, by whatever means, of
undefended towns, villages, dwellings,
or buildings
- Seizure
of, destruction or willful damage done
to institutions dedicated to religion,
charity and education, the arts and sciences,
historic monuments and works of art and
science
- Plunder
of public or private property.
The
tribunal defines crime against humanity
as crimes committed in armed conflict but
directed against a civilian population.
Examples of these are given as:
- Murder
- Extermination
- Enslavement
- Deportation
- Imprisonment
- Torture
- Rape
- Persecutions
on political, racial and religious grounds
War
Crimes are basically divided into two broad
categories. The first are called crimes
against peace. Crimes against peace include
the planning, preparation, or initiation
of a war of aggression. The second category
is called crimes against humanity; this
would include crimes against civilians and
soldiers.
Please check off on this list anything you
think may have happened in Liberia in the
past two decades. Was there anything left
off the list? I did not think so! If Mr.
Taylor were to be charged with any of these
crimes and brought to trial, it would seem
to me that the trial should involve all
of his coconspirators also. The special
court in Sierra Leone was given the power
to prosecute persons who have committed
and 'bear the greatest responsibility' for
war crimes, crimes against humanity, and
other serious violations of international
humanitarian law. If Mr. Taylor is to be
brought to justice under this court, then
the "other" persons must include
all of those misguided members of the then
Association for Constitutional Democracy,
Madame Johnson-Sirleaf included.
This
is important because at the heart of the
concept of war crimes, is the idea that
an individual can be held responsible for
the actions of a country or a nation's soldiers.
Madame Johnson-Sirleaf has admitted that
she was one of the persons who put money
into the hands of Mr. Taylor to buy guns
that (in her own words) indiscriminately
killed thousands of innocent Liberians.
If this is true, then how can an admitted
coconspirator of war crimes embolden herself
to run for the highest office in the land?
Is she above the law? Does she think that
the Liberian people are too ignorant to
understand the intricacies of international
law? I say again that the Liberian people
are not stupid; we know all those who are
responsible for the destruction of our beloved
country. We will bring all these people
to justice, presidential aspirants not withstanding.
We will prove to the world that justice
is not just a word, that it is real.
As
a Liberian, I cannot close my eyes, cover
my ears or remain silent. I must speak for
the tens of thousands of Liberians who lost
their lives in our civil conflict, a conflict
for which Madame Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf bears
responsibility. I must ask the question:
Has Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf committed war crimes
in regards to aiding Mr. Taylor with money
to buy guns which were used to conduct a
war on our people? The answer is a resounding
YES!!! We must bring Mr. Taylor, Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf
and all of their cronies to justice. We
must reveal their criminal conduct to all
of Africa and the world. We must repudiate
this criminal conduct and let the world
know that Liberia and Africa will no longer
accept it. To do this, we must enforce findings
of the International Criminal Court by bringing
war criminals to justice, wherever they
are and whomever they are, presidential
aspirants notwithstanding. Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf
has expressed regret at the indiscriminate
killings of Liberians and other foreign
nationals by Mr. Taylor's forces and has
expressed the hope that Liberians can begin
an era of national healing and genuine reconciliation.
I say that this era will not soon be upon
us until Madame Johnson-Sirleaf takes full
responsibility for her part in the "indiscriminate
killings" as she calls it.
Madame
has spoken of her clear agenda to see Liberia
renewed. She has said that our country can
start again and together we can do it. I
say to Madame Johnson-Sirleaf that we can
indeed start again, but, not with her. We
do not need a war criminal at the helm of
a new Liberia. Our agenda (the Liberian
people) is clear: prosecute all war criminals
and conspirators, regardless of who they
are. We'd like to see Liberia start again
with those responsible for the slaughter
of our people brought to justice. Would
this not include the presidential aspirant
Madame Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf?
The
writer who is a Member of the Concerned
Group of Liberian Commentators Worldwide
(CGLCW), lives partly in Liberia and the
UK and can be reached through Mardea Johns
at mardeajohns@hotmail.com
|
Launch Winston A. Tubman
Video in External Player