April 12, 1980-April
12, 2005: 25 Years of Challenges for Democracy,
National Reconciliation, Unity, Peace and
Stability
By James Thomas-Queh
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
April 1, 2005
Then what remains would be the second most important raisons d’être” of this same April 12, 1980 Revolution – that is, the process of a genuine national reconciliation, unity and lasting peace and stability. To this end, and while we strive and await the establishment of a National Truth Commission and the appearance of Mr. Taylor before the International War Crime Tribunal of Sierra Leone – two recent articles took our attention. The first, entitled: Memorial Set for April 12th Coup” (see AllAfrica.com – March 15, 2005), read that the families of 13 government officials executed on April 22, 1980 have planned a simultaneous requiem mass both in the United States and Liberia to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their deaths. And the article continues:
“Families got together to memorialise the 25th anniversary because our fathers have not been properly laid to rest. It is a format we hope will foster reconciliation and create a platform for us to move ahead…[Emphasis added]
“It is the least we could do for them. If you don’t close a chapter you won’t be able to move ahead…[Emphasis added]
“It is about unity. Our fathers were not given a Christian burial, or were they buried according to their faith. We hope that by finally laying them to rest, our country will be able to mend the fences and build a stronger Liberia…”[Emphasis added]
Indeed, these are very strong words of sincerity, honesty and patriotism; we do see in them a genuine will and a burning desire for self-healing and national reconciliation and unity. Because while the April 12, 1980 military coup d’état could have passed hardly unnoticed as just another of Africa’s 100th coups (with yet another “corrupt” president and few bodyguards assassinated), the summary execution of those 13 government officials was a fatal error on the part of the military junta. And as Dr. Allen rightly said: “While the executioners and a relatively small group of supporters cheered, the vast majority of Liberians were visibly saddened and traumatized” (“Apologies Require Historical Context: A Rebuttal to Mr. Mohamedu F. Jones and Dr. Amos M.D. Sirleaf”). In our view, it was this execution that was one of the most determinant factors in the trend of events leading to our national tragedy since then. And now that 25 long years have passed, and their families and friends are getting together to memorialise these men and close the chapter in order to forge national unity – is the most welcome news for Liberia.
Shouldn’t we emulate them, all Liberians, 25 years later, get together and memorialise the tens of thousands that have died since, and let’s close this very painful chapter in our history?
The second article: “The Unlawful and Wrongful Killing of 13 Liberians” by Mohamedu F. Jones, was an exhaustive legal exercise that made an interesting reading. Here below is the conclusion of Mr. Jones, which, for the longest that we have been trying to draft this paper, has already been contested with rebuttals, arguments and counter-arguments. We are obliged to also quote it in order to pinpoint our observation, from a different perspective.
“Tens of thousands of Liberians have been murdered
since then, and of course their deaths are no less
unlawful and wrongful then those 13 men. What marks
the murders of these 13 men is that they were killed
by an official act of the government, supposedly acting
under the colour of law and in accordance with due
process and in the name of the people of Liberia;
they had proclaimed that they were acting in our name.
These 13 murders were actually the first public act
of the new military government following the coup.
Because their killings were official acts, but nonetheless
carried out in violation of Liberian and international
law, Chairman Gyude Bryant, acting in his capacity
as Head of State of the Republic of Liberia should
officially declare their so-called “execution”
unlawful and formally extend the nation’s apologies
to them and their families in this 25th Year of their
murder.”
If, and indeed, we were seeking a genuine closure
of this very painful chapter of our history, as strongly
manifested in the words of the families of the 13
government officials executed on April 22, 1980, then
I beg to differ from Mr. Jones on three counts. First,
from a pure legal point of view (and don’t get
me wrong, I’m no expert), the military junta
itself was an illegal body (despite the fact that
it had launched a popular revolution; but then again
revolutions –as popular as they may be -are
also illegal events); thus the murders it committed,
precisely from its inception and as a means simply
of establishing its powers (and when in fact, it was
not even recognized as yet by any state), cannot be
construed today as committed “in the name”
of the Liberian people. And we must recall also that
every mad man who has taken up arms since then, has
done so in “our name”, only for history
later to tell us otherwise. Second, from both moral
and legal stand point of view, a government that should
be empowered to clear or pardon in “our name”
on such an important issue relevant to our process
of national reconciliation – must be a government
elected by the people and for the people; and not
the Bryant administration – a mere interim arrangement
with a clear and precise mandate.
And to do so would mean that we have given Mr. Bryant the de-facto powers to also pardon Mr. Taylor and all others within his own government who have blood on their hands. And lastly, among those “tens of thousands of Liberians murdered” were also my Dad, two sisters and one brother, two uncles, one aunt and a score of other relatives. Thus reading the article at first sight, I felt some stint of bias -that out of the lot of tens of thousands murdered, only 13 were singled out for presidential pardon on purely legal grounds (because at least they were privileged to a pseudo-legal process as opposed to the majority unfortunate ones who were not paraded and ridiculed before a kangaroo military tribunal). But after having read Mr. Jones’ later explanation in “The Logic of Necessary Mutual Exclusivity”, I deduce the appeal to pardon only these 13 government officials was meant to be a symbolic gesture understood to also be in representation of those other grave less tens of thousands of our compatriots. If this was the intent, then it is reassuring that we have perceived our entire national tragedy as the embodiment of a whole; and thus cannot be treated in a piece-meal manner. In other words, genuine national reconciliation, unity, lasting peace and stability will not be achieved unless we see the sequence of events in our national tragedy as inseparable; they must be examined and treated in their totality, - that is, being objective to accept that the tens of thousands of our compatriots who have been sacrificed since the April 14, 1979 rice riot and up to date (including presidents Tolbert, Doe and the 13 government officials) – have lost their lives for the achievement of Love of Liberty, Freedom and Justice For All. And in that sense, we must be forever determined, hereto forth, to make democracy our unified and common cultural value.
That said, our impression from this discussion is that after these 25 long years – a quarter of a century into our national tragedy - we have finally reached the limits of our soul-searching; we are all eager, one way or other, to close this painful chapter of our history. But how? In pursuit of the patriotic example of the families of the 13 government officials executed on April 22, 1980, here are our ideas, which we have persistently repeated elsewhere:
