'TRC Report Should Not Be Quashed'

ceasefireliberia

15 years ago

Categories: PoliticsWorld

‘TRC Report Should Not Be Quashed’

By Leroy M. Sonpon, III

The Country Director for Action Aid Liberia, Ernest Gaie, is warning the Government of Liberia, as well as its international partners, of the re-occurrence of another war, if the recommendations of the final unedited reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) are quashed.

Mr. Gaie, in a poignant tone, stressed that the TRC recommendations are indispensable to the path of national healing, and if overturned, will destroy the hope of the many victims and survivors of the civil war.

Serving as keynote speaker at the 19^th edition of the ‘Dialogue for Democracy’ public discussion series, organized by Liberia Democracy Watch over the weekend, Mr. Gaie called for a National Policy Framework to guide the TRC recommendations and interventions .

“I call on the President and members of the national legislature to be magnanimous and fulfill the public trust and confidence in realizing their hope for justice by taking appropriate actions on the outcome and recommendations of the TRC,” Mr. Gaie stated.

The Action Aid boss, speaking under the theme of the forum, ‘Liberia at the Crossroads: Confronting impunity, managing national peace and security within the framework of the TRC reports,’ believes that in order to achieve genuine peace and have national security there needs to be an end to impunity in Liberia.

Commissioner Gerald Coleman, in an unequivocal tone, appealed to Liberians to stand up against those who committed and perpetuated violence and those holding public offices who want to throw away the TRC recommendations in the name of letting "bygones be bygone."

“We did the best under the time and resources we were given and we are hoping that with your support, that the almost five years at the TRC does not go in vain by simply allowing people who have now taken power, because of their fear or concern of persecution, to let the recommendations go into the garbage.

“We must stand up and push forward to see a future Liberia to be reconciled with his past,” Amb. Coleman opined.

Father Robert Tipkor of the Catholic Church termed the major cause of the war as greed and emphasized that the only way Liberia will enjoy total peace is if greed is uprooted.

“One of the two commandments, which is very important, states that we should pay attention to our brothers and sisters and if we don’t do that we will also experience conflict," Tipkor said.

Original article was published on www.ceasefireliberia.com

Urey Resigns from Contesting Elected Posts in Liberia »

« Senegalese President Extends Hand of Friendship to Liberia

ceasefireliberia: During the 14-year civil war that tore apart Liberia, families were separated as they fled the brutality of warring rebel groups. When the fighting ended in 2003, Liberians began to pick up the pieces of their lives and their country. Some returned to their communities in Liberia. Others remained scattered across the Diaspora. Many ended up living in Park Hill, Staten Island â€” home to one of the largest Liberian populations outside of the country. Ceasefire Liberia is a multimedia project, which aims to document the Liberian experience on both sides of the ocean. It includes a book, documentary film work, and now a blog. The goal of the blog is to connect the Liberian community in Liberia with the rest of the Diaspora in order to create a dialogue between those who fled during the war and those who remained. To read more about the origins of this project please visit the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, which funded Scars and Stripes, a project about Liberian youth after the war. Ruthie Ackerman is a reporter based in New York City. Over the last several years, she has lived and worked around the world, including Africa, Argentina and Russia. Her most recent work was in Liberia reporting on Liberian youth. She is in the process of writing a book on Liberian refugees living in Park Hill, Staten Island. Her work has been featured in many outlets, including The Nation, World Policy Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, Salon, Forbes, The New York Times, and many more.