Civil Society Organizations of Liberia Launch a Three-Month Campaign Against Impunity in Liberia
Press Statement issued on May 27, 2004
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
May 31, 2004
May 27, 2004
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Fourth Estate:
At one hundred and fifty seven years today since the independence of
Liberia, one would draw the logical conclusion that Liberia is amongst
the world’s civilized nations bearing the touch light of democracy
propelled by the rule of law. But this is unfortunately to the contrary.
Since our nation’s birth, its history has mostly been characterized
by corruption, misrule, gross human rights violations, and all the vices
that underscore the meaning of bad governance and the criminalization
of the state. In the past few decades, these excessive misdeeds by previous
governments and their agents of dictatorship have entrenched the culture
of impunity.
We are releasing this press statement today at the very time when the
High Court in Nigeria is looking into the law suit filed by two victims
(with backing of the Nigerian Civil Society) of Mr. Charles Taylor’s
alleged atrocities in Sierra Leone in challenge to his (Taylor) asylum
status in Nigeria. Tomorrow, Friday 28 May 2004, we will also be presenting
a petition to our Legislature requesting them to adopt a resolution
explicitly mandating Chairman C. Gyude Bryant to request of his counterpart,
President Olusegun Obansanjo of Nigeria to surrender Mr. Taylor to the
Liberian government for onward transfer to Sierra Leone. Our action
tomorrow coincides with the decision of the Sierra Leonean Special Court
judges’ deciding Taylor’s challenge to his indictment based
on head-of-state immunities.
What is to be done? This is the critical question which answer possibly
lies in providing a lead way to finding a solution. The civil society
organizations of Liberia have decided to take the matter head-on. Today,
after several consultations and meetings amongst civil society groupings,
it becomes an overwhelming decision to begin a three-month campaign
against the culture of impunity. This process begins Friday, May 28,
with an indoor program at the YMCA at 2:30pm with the following objectives:
1. To denounce at all times, acts of committing crimes with impunity,
including human rights violations and seek means for any and all crime
perpetrators to face justice;
2. For the Liberian Civil Society to remain steadfast, focused and courageous
in taking ownership of the fight against impunity;
3. To encourage and remind state institutions, (eg. Police, Justice
System) to be responsive to criminality and bravado gansterism, through
provision of indiscriminate justice to victims;
4. And, to uphold the saying that, “All men are equal under the
law and must be treated as such.”
It will certainly sound absurd to speak of impunity without reference
to Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia.
Upon critical analysis of the Taylor scenario regarding charges against
him by the international community of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, and on the effects of his being carried to Sierra Leone or
not, the Liberia Civil Society sees enormous justification to push for
Taylor being taken to Sierra Leone than to do otherwise. In the first
instance, allowing Mr. Taylor to go to Sierra Leone is not an automatic
guilt, but an opportunity being provided him to exonerate himself of
charges leveled against him. For Taylor and his co-horts, they should
be happy to go to court, an opportunity they could not allow fellow
citizens like Sam Dokie, Noah Flomo, David Toe, Charles Brown, George
Yealleh, African Peace Keepers and countless victims of massacres and
mass murder to go through when they were sent to their early graves
without having a day in court.
One may ask the positive effect of taking Taylor to the war crimes court
in Sierra Leone. Surely enough, this will allay the fears of the multitudes
who were raped, tortured, harassed, and amputated. Relatives of those
who were killed can also be added to the list. More besides, this will
give hope to Liberians and others who think that Taylor is still capable
of fostering another war and thus his presence in the sub-region without
trial will impede the peace process in Liberia. Moreover, this will
be a great and significant step which will serve to reinforce the fight
against the culture of impunity and will help to lay the groundwork
for future efforts to bring perpetrators to justice for crimes committed
in Liberia.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, the Civil Society Organizations of
Liberia, as part of their three-month campaign against impunity, see
it highly befitting that Charles Taylor goes to the court in Sierra
Leone. This is why the society has initiated a process to lobby the
relevant state agencies whereby the Bryant government will pursue this
course which in our view manifests the ultimate aspiration of the Liberian
people in the fight against impunity. In our campaign we will remain
insistent and persistent in awakening the conscience of government to
the reality of justice. We are determined to persuade with our words.
We are also determined to persuade with our peaceful actions. We will
rally the support of the population and mobilize the power base of our
grass rooters to make our government to say “yes” to our
demands even when she wants to say “no”. While we are launching
the campaign in Liberia, friends and brothers are also launching the
campaign in America, Europe, Asia and parts of Africa. Thank you and
stay with us in our campaign.
Remember: “Non cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation
as is cooperation with good”.
Signed: ____________________________
J. Aloysius Toe
Chairman, Steering Committee
Liberian Civil Society Organizations Against the Culture of Impunity
