Liberia: Massacre, Summary Execution, and Other Gruesome Acts From 1990-2003

Liberia: Massacre, Summary Execution, and Other Gruesome Acts From 1990-2003

COURTESY OF THE FORUM FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A WAR CRIMES COURT IN LIBERIA

Re-published by:
Bernard Gbayee Goah, President
Operation We Care for Liberia
Email: goahbg@gmail.com

DATE	EVENT	PLACE	ALLEGED MASTERMIND	ORGANIZATION	HISTORY
Feb/1990	Massacre	Arson Yarsonnoh, Nimba County	Capt. James Chelly, Hon. Donzo, Commissioner resident in Ganta	Armed Forces of Liberia(AFL)	A group of AFL soldiers led by Capt. James Chelly, Hon. Donzo, Commissioner residing in Ganta, Massacred 71 persons in Yarsonnoh and burned 52 houses in that town.
Feb/1990	Massacre	Ganta, Nimba Co	Edwin Voker, Commissioner of Sacleapea Mah, Vakaba Bility and Mr. Biabia	Armed Forces of Liberia(AFL)	Armed Forces of Liberia(AFL)A group of AFL soldiers headed by Edwin Voker, Commissioner of Sacleapea Mah, Vakaba Bility and Mr. Biabia entered Karnwee, Nimba County and arrested 18 young men under the guise of being NPFL facilitators. The victims were taken to Ganta and murdered.
March/1990	Murder	Nimba County	Paul Vaye, George Mansuo, and one Tarkpor	National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL)	In March 1990 Paul Vaye, George Mansuo, Tarkpor Gweh and men assigned with them arrested Moses Duopue, Stephen Daniels and some of their family members and murder them in Tiaplay, Nimba County. They allegedly acted on the orders of the then Maj. Charles Taylor.
June/1990	Massacre	Monrovia, BTC	Moses Thomas, Moses Wright, James Chelly, George Dweh and Tailey	Armed Forces of Liberia(AFL)	In June 1990, Moses Thomas, Moses Wright, James Chelly, George Dweh and Tailey, in consultation with President Doe, massacred 27 Gio and Mano families that were members of the AFL and residing at the BTC barracks. They were buried on the beach behind the BTC.
July 29,1990	Massacre,	Monrovia Lutheran Church	Edward Slangar, George Dweh, Moses Thomas, commander of the SATU & Gen. Tailey	Armed Forces of Liberia(AFL)	on July 29,1990, Edward Slangar, George Dweh, Moses Thomas, commander of the SATU, Gen. Tailey & members of the AFL allegedly massacred over 500 persons at the Lutheran Church in Sinkor under the guise that they were Gios and Manos in that Church who were in support of NPFL advances on Monrovia and the overthrow of the Samuel Doe regime.
July/1990	Massacre	Bakedu, Lofa County	G. Anthony Mehn and  Joe Doe	National Patriotic Front of Liberia(NPFL)	In July 1990 ,G. Anthony Mehn, Joe Doe and their bodyguards murdered about 32 persons of the Mandingo ethnic group inBakedu Lofa County. The murderers were fighters of NPFL.
1990	Murder	Monrovia	George Dweh	Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL)	In 1990, George Dweh eliminated the Johnny Nah family in Monrovia.
August 2, 1990	Massacre	Monrovia, JFK	George Dweh	Armed Forces of Liberia	On August 2nd,1990, George Dweh led a group of AFL soldiers to the JFK hospital and massacred 250 persons, most of who were Gios and Manos ethnic groups. majority of them were seeking refuge at the hospital compound while others were arrested at the gate that was placed on the boulevard at the hospital entrance.
1990	Murdered	Wanlema, Lofa County	Gen. Jack the rebel	National Patriotic Front of Liberia	In 1990, Gen, Jack the rebel went to the remote town of Wanlema, Lofa County and murdered Chief Mamadee Kamara and family members.
Sept 10, 1990	Murder & Massacre	Monrovia	General Prince Y. Johnson	Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia	On September 10, 1990, the  INPFL, captured, totured and  butchered  ex-President Samuel K. Doe and massacred several others for alleged corruption .
1990	Murder	Caldwell	General Prince Y. Johnson	Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia	In 1990, the INPFL killed one of Liberia’s musical celebrities, Tecumsay Roberts for allegedly practicing homosexuality.
1990	Massacre	Freeport, Monrovia	General Prince Y. Johnson	Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia	1n 1990, the INPFL massacred more than 100 innocent civilians who had gone to seek food at the Freeport of Monrovia. He accused them of looting food.
1990	Massacre	Bong Mines	General Prince Y. Johnson	Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia	In 1990, the INPFL killed 200 innocent persons on grounds of their alleged support for NPFL. This massacre was carried out at the orders of Gen. Prince Johnson
1990	Conscription and illegal recruitment of child soldiers	Caldwell base	General Prince Y. Johnson	Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia	In 1990, the INPFL under the brutal command of General Prince Johnson recruited and used child soldiers to wage reign of terror on innocent people, contrary to the Geneva Convention.
1990	Looting of banks and properties	Monrovia	General Prince Y. Johnson	Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia	In 1990, general Prince Johnson masterminded and ordered the looting of various banks in Monrovia. Stores at water side, ware houses at Freeport, were also affected.
May, 1991	Massacre	Zorzor, Lofa County	Mangouhb  Menior	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	In May 1991, Mangouhb Menior of the NPFL murdered 16 persons of the Mandingo and Gbandi ethnic groups in Zorzor. The victims were accused of being enemies of the revolution launched by Charles Taylor. Menlor was temporarily detained by Isaac Musa and later released on parole.
1991	Massacre	Kakata, Margibi County	An NPFL fighter code named “Mike Tyson”	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	In 1991, on Bong Mines Highway an NPFL fighter code named “Mike Tyson” placed 73 person in a house and burned them to death in a place called “compound” on the Kakata – Bong Mines Highway. The victims were arrested as suspected ULIMO fighters.
October 20, 1991	Murder	Zorgowee Town, Nimba County	Paul Vaye, Henry Kerdiah, George Mansuo and George Karsuo National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	On October 20, 1991: Paul Vaye, Henry Kerdiah, George Mansuo and George Karsuo arrested Jackson F. Doe in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, on the orders of Charles Taylor and murdered him in the Nimba Town of Zorgowee.
October, 1992	Murder	Gardnersville, Montserrado County	Christopher Varmo and Edward Wowah	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	In October 1992 during the infamous “Operation Octopus” launched by NPFL, five American Catholic Nuns were murdered. Christopher Varmo and Edward Wowah carried out this operation.
October,1992	Summary Execution	Horton’s Farm, Kakata, Margibi County	Martina Johnson	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	In October 1992: Martina Johnson, NPFL artillery commander ordered the execution of 23 person arrested in Bong Mines as suspected fighters of ULIMO.
December 26, 1992	Massacre	Margibi county	Joseph  Zackor, alias “Gen. Zack”, Nixon Gayor, Francis Duanna and men assigned with them	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	On December 26, 1992: Joseph Zackor, alias “Gen. Zack”, Nixon Gayor, Francis Duanna and men assigned with them massacred 35 persons at the Firestone Plantations, division No. 31 while escaping the ULIMO incursion in Kakata.
January 2, 1993	Massacre	Voinjama, Lofa County	Cllr. Lavella  Supuwood	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	On January 2, 1993,  Cllr. J Lavelli Supuwoo, ordered and witnessed the execution of 18 persons in Voinjama. The blood of the victims was drained in a white bucket for unknown reasons.
June 6/7, 1993	Massacre	Carter camp, Margibi County	AFL(Black beret) under the command structure of Brownell J Samukai	Armed Forces of Liberia(AFL)	On June 6/7, 1993 as established by the  Wako commission, the AFL/Black beret under the command structure of Brownell J Samukai  slaughtered close to 600 men, women and children in cold blood from 0100hrs to 0300hrs. . The victims are said to be buried on the outskirts of the camp.
May 11, 1993	Summary execution	Gbarnga, Bong County	Saar Gbollie	National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL)	On May 11, 1993: Saar Gbollie executed 17 persons in the Gbarnga MP cell while serving as deputy MP commander for the Executive Mansion Presidential Guard Force (EMPPGF). The victims were arrested in Lofa on suspicion of being ULIMO fighters.
August, 1993	Massacre	Ganta, Nimba County	Matthew Cheplay	National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL)	In August 1993: Matthew Cheplay, commander of “Wild Geese” and his men killed 21 persons in Ganta while in route to Sinoe and wanted to loot fuel from a trader. This incident claimed the lives of William Gensee, the wife, and three children of Samuel Luogon.
August 19,1993	Massacre	LAC, Grand Bassa county	Coo-Coo Dennis	National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL)	On August 19,1993: Gen. Coo coo Dennis killed 26 persons in LAC when they were accused of being supporters of LPC.
1993	Massacre	Greenville, Sinoe County	George Boley	Liberia peace Council(LPC)	In 1993 more than 100 human skeletons were discovered at theFrancis J. Grant Hospital in Greenville, Sinoe County. According to Mr. David Swen, the acting hospital administrator at the time, the skeletons were of people taken captive and slaughtered by LPC  upon the orders of George Boley in 1993.
1993	Murder	Vahum, Lofa County	Charles Taylor and Thomas Worwiyu	National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL)	In 1993, Six Senegalese ECOMOG soldiers were murdered by Oliver Varnie, Timothy Mulbah and Joe Doe in Vahun on orders of Charles Taylor and his then defense Minister J. Thomas Wuworyu following ECOMOG’s deployment in his controlled areas. Their bodies were dumped in a valley in Vahun and NPFL authorities refused to turn the bodies over to. It was based on persistent international pressure that the bodies of the six Senegalese were turned over to the ECOMOG High Command. Their bodies were flown to Senegal for proper burial.
January 15, 1994	Massacre	Neeswen Town, Rivercess County	NPFLNational Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL )	NPFLNational Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL )	On January 15, 1994 ,the NPFL fighters killed 32 persons after they were accused of being supporters of the LPC. The fighters were said to have entered the town at about 3:00am and began slaughtering occupants of houses marked by the LPC.
February, 1994	Massacre	Kpakolokuya Town, Bong County	Siafa Normah	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL )	In 1994, Siafa Normah ordered the execution of 15 men in Kpakolokuya Town, Bong County during his term as army chief of staff of the NPFL. Abel Normah and Wogbagii implemented the order.
May, 1994	Massacre	Gbarnga, Bong County	Cassius Jacobs	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL )	In May 1994, Andrew Koah, Alosius Sackie, Gaye Getteh, Saturday Tuah, J.J. Doeh, and Marcus Seebo tied 19 men in a Tarpolin and hung them over a pile of fire until they died. The culprits acted on the orders f Cassius Jacobs.
1994	Summary Execution	Zorzor, Lofa County	General Apolo J. Swen	ULIMO	General Apolo J. Swen, front line commander for ULIMO, murdered 69 POWs of NPFL in Lofa. More than 100 civilians were also murdered two days after.
June 19, 1994	Massacre	Moulton Corner, Brewersville, Montserrado County	Alhaji G.V Kromah	ULIMO-K	On June 19, 1994 Nine persons, including an entire family, upon the orders of Alhaji G.V Kromah, were slaughtered in the areas that was controlled by Mandingo fighters of ULIMO-K who recaptured the area from  Krahn fighters.
September, 1994	Massacre	Kpoloppai, Bong County	George Boley	LPC	In September 1994, LPC massacred about 300 persons “allegedly” when they fled the fighting in Gbarnga between ULIMO – K and NPFL.
September, 1994	Massacre	Phebe, Bong County	George Boley	LPC	In September 1994 as reported by residents of the area: LPC allegedly massacred over 100 persons who were hospitalized and or seeking shelter at the Phebe Hospital after fleeing fighting between ULIMO –K and NPFL.
October/1994	Massacre	Duoh, Nimba County	Coo-Coo Dennis	National Patriotic Front of Liberia( NPFL)	In October 1994, Chinese Japper, a then commander under Coo coo Dennis, murdered 86 persons in while retreating from Bassa with about 1700 fighters escaping from LPC.
October,1994	Murder	Beilah, Bong county	Saturday Tuah	National Patriotic Front of Liberia( NPFL)	In October 1994, On the orders of Saturday Tuah of the NPFL, Junior Vaye dumped the wife and children of James Glasco in the St. John River in Beilah during the fall of Gbarnga to ULIMO.
November 1994	Massacre	Sendin Crossing Point in Nimba County	Dominic Sayeh and Bleh Vah	National Patriotic Front of Liberia ( NPFL)	In November 1994: A group of NPFL soldiers led by Dominic Sayeh and Bleh Vah killed 176 persons at the Sendin Crossing Point in Nimba County. The victims were of the Bassa ethnic group.
November 11,1994	Massacre	Ganta Nimba County	General Liberty	National Patriotic Front of Liberia( NPFL)	Massacre in Ganta Nimba County on November 11, 1994: General Liberty killed 21 unarmed boys in Ganta during the fall of Gbarnga. He accused them of being disguised ULIMO fighters.
December 15,1994	Massacre	Duport Road, Montserrado CountyPaul	Paul Vaye, Sam Lartee	National Patriotic Front of Liberia( NPFL)	On December 19, 1994, About 48 persons (civilians were massacred by Paul Vaye, Sam Lartee and other soldiers of NPFL, while they were asleep at their home. Cow Field, Duport Road in the Paynesville area. The bodies were buried in a mass grave in the Palm Grove Cemetery on Center Street.
January, 1995	Murder	Grand Kru County	Liberia Peace Council LPC	Liberia Peace Council LPC	In January 1995 as reported by Isaiah Momboe Sackor, Ni LURD commander alias K-1 ffu Borta Community Development Association/ The Inquirer Newspaper, January 3, 1995 Vol. 4 # 241: The Liberian Peace Council fighters killed 18 citizens
Sept. 27, 1995	Massacre	Tappita, Nimba County	Gen. Jack the Rebel	National Patriotic Front of Liberia( NPFL)	On September 27, 1995 reported by JPC: Gen. Jack the Rebel acting upon the orders of Charles G. Taylor killed 105 persons in Tappita. These people were killed because they refused to give up their only sawmill in their town.
March, 1996	Massacre	Bokomu District, Fassama Town, Lofa County	Maj. A.C. Dorley	ULIMO	In March 1996 as reported by an escapee/Monrovia Daily News Vol. 3 # 61: Several person lost their lives in six villages and towns by fighters of ULIMO. The commanders Maj. A.C. Dorley held separate meetings in the area at which time he accused the villages of being informants for the Lofa Defense Force (LDF) and retreating remnants of NPFL.
April 18, 1996	Massacre	Zuanna Town/Bloun Town, Roycesville,Bomi County	ULIMO	ULIMO	On April 18, 1996 as reported by several residents including the block leader/The News Newspaper, December 11, 1996 Vol. # 47: Twelve persons were killed when a group of fighters of ULIMO stormed the area and burned down the displaced camp and Karmo Town.
August, 1996	Massacre	BTC, Monrovia	AFL	AFL	Mass Grave found at Barclay Training Center (BTC) Beach, Central Monrovia, Montserrado County in August 1996 as reported by Chief Pathologist, Dr. Isaac Moss/ The National Chronicle, August 29-30, 1996 Vol. 1 #31: A team of medical doctors and health practitioners involved in the exhuming and reburying of dead bodies revealed that over 500 bodies were exhumed at the BTC beach and reburied at the Center Street Cemetery. Some of the people died from bullets or blunt objects while some were beheaded.
August, 1996	Massacre	Matadi Estate, Airfield	Unknown	Unknown	In August 1996 as reported by Chief Pathologist, Dr. Isaac Moss/ The National Chronicle, August 29-30, 1996 Vol. 1 #31: Mass grave were discovered in these areas by a team of medical doctors.
March 28, 1996	Massacre	Sinje, Grand Cape Mount County	ULIMO	ULIMO	On March 28, 1996, according to a UN press release issued by the Special Representative of the Secretary General Amb. Anthony B. Nyakyi, about 17 civilians were killed and many were injured while about 1000 civilians escaped the bloodbath. But other reports put the number at 25 to 48.
Sept., 1996	Murder	Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County	Unknown	Unknown	More Killing in Robertsport, Grand Cape Mount County in September 1996 as reported by fleeing residents/The Inquirer Newspaper October 4, 1996 Vol. 5 # 75: Unidentified fighters reportedly killed
1996	Brutal killings	Robertsport, Grand Capemount County	ULIMO	ULIMO	Nine prominent citizens of Robertsport were executed by men of ULIMO on claims that their victims gave money to another armed group to attack their positions.
October,1996	Gruesome Killings	Seyon Town Bushrod Island	Unknown	Unknown	In October 1996 as reported by residents of Seyon Town/The News Newspaper October 18, 1996 Vol. 7 # 24: Three ex-combatants who had lured the market women from the Freeport of Monrovia where they had gone to buy rice and bulgur wheat slaughtered the two women; Doris Dekeh and Louis (surname not known). The three after they had killed the women, sprinkled kerosene on their remains, covered them with tires and set them ablaze. LD $2500 was taken from them.
December 11, 1996	Massacre	Zuanna Town Bloun, Royesville, Bomi County	ULIMO-JULIMO-J	ULIMO-JULIMO-J	In Zuanna Town Bloun, Royesville, Bomi County on December 7, 1996 as reported by the News Newspaper December 11, 1996 Vol. 7 # 47: Eight persons were killed. ULIMO-J is accused of committing the act.
November 28, 1997	Murder	Gbarnga, Bong County	Benjamin Yeaten	NPFL	On November 28, 1997 an opposition politician and former Deputy Speaker of the TLA, Samuel Saye Doke, his wife Janet, his sister Serena and nephew Emmanuel Voker were arrested at a security checkpoint in Gbarnga while in route to Sanniquellie, Nimba County to attend a welding. It was alleged that the SSS Director, Benjamin Yeaten ordered their arrest. Following their arrest, Mr. Dokie was brought to Monrovia for investigation and subsequently take back to Gbarnga. Three days later, the burnt bodies of the Dokies, the government said it never ordered the arrest of Mr. Dokie. The SSS Director, Benjamin Yeaten, however, admitted ordering Mr. Dokie’s arrest, but not his murder. Yeaten was temporarily relived of his post to assist in the investigation. The court for lack of evidence acquitted two security personnel Richard Saydee and Kennday Fineboy, who had been named as prime suspects. Their bodies are said to be buried around a place called Barbecue Corner on the Gbarnga-Kokoy Road
December 16,1997	Murder	Free port, Monrovia	State security Government of Liberia	State security Government of Liberia	On December 16,1997 as reported by eyewitnesses: Daniel Nyankan, a businessman was found dead around the Freeport of Monrovia with bruises all over his body. His death sparked off controversy, with the police authorities accusing ECOMOG soldiers of killing Nyankan. Family sources, however, quoted eyewitnesses as saying that state security forces killed Nyankan after he had been severely flogged.
April,1998	Massacre	Zorzor, Lofa County	NPFL	NPFL	In April 1998 as reported by Zorzor citizen youth leader George/ The Heritage, April 28-30, 1998 Vol. 2 #53: NPFL fighters killed several people including pregnant women. The youth leader (George) claimed that the victims’ hands and legs were tied before they were buried alive in shallow, thin graves of about three to four feet deep.
June 28, 1998	Murder	Paynesville, Montserrado County	David Daniel	SSS personnel Government of Liberia	On June 28, 1998: Nowai Flomo, a market woman, disappeared from her residence in Kpelle Town, Paynesville. She was allegedly abducted from her house at about 11:00am by nine officers of the SSS, led by one David Daniel, who had gone to visit Ms. Gormie Jartu, a housemate of Ms. Flomo. The SSS officers allegedly murdered her after an exchange of words over the manner in which the security personnel drove in the yard. Her corpse has not been found. The police later released all those arrested in connection with the disappearance for what the police termed “lack of evidence”.
Sept. 18,1996	Massacre	Camp Johnson Road, Monrovia	Security forces Government of Liberia	Security forces Government of Liberia	On September 18, 1998 as reported by resident in the Camp Johnson Road Area: State Security forces attacked Gen. Roosevelt Johnson, a former warring faction leader, on Camp Johnson Road. The government within 24 hours gave three different reasons for the invasion, which eyewitness accounts say, claimed the lives of over 100 persons. The government put the casualty figures at 53. The government first said that its security forces went to evict illegal occupants in private houses when they came under attack. Then, State Security Officials alleged that they were on patrol in the Camp Johnson Road area when they came under attack from supporters of Gen. Johnson.
September 19, 1998	Massacre	Camp Johnson Road, Monrovia	Col. Junior Fania, Leo Jebo, Saa Gbollie, Joe Tuah, General Eric Sway, and Arthur saah	Government of Liberia	On September 18th, President Taylor ordered the eviction of Mr. Roosevelt Johnson from his residence. Several persons of the Krahn ethnic tribe ran into the Episcopal Church. SSU allegedly executed about 1500 persons, mostly young men at dawn of September 19, 1998. Col. Junior Fania, Leo Jebo, Saa Gbollie, Joe
August 11, 1999	Massacre	Nikagabozu, Lofa County	LURD/NPFL	LURD/NPFL	About 100 persons were massacred  in Nikagabozu. This was believed to be a reprisal of a recent massacre of elders and Chiefs of Lawalazo by dissident forces (LURD) when they entered Liberia on August 11, 1999. The students blamed the massacre squarely at the feet of Defense Minister, Daniel Chea as a result of an interview he granted the BBC Journalist Robin White.
October 10,1999	Massacre	Swen, Bomi County	Siafa Norman	NPFL	On October 10, 1999: Siafa Norman massacred about 20 civilians who were accused of being LURD supporters in Swen Mechan District, Bomi County.
January 2000	Massacre	Zorzor District, Lofa County	Security forces Government of Liberia	Security forces Government of Liberia	In January 2000 as reported by UL students from Quardu-Gboni Mandingo Chiefdom/New Democrat Newspaper, February 4-7, 2000 Vol. 6 #145: Armed militiamen massacred 18 persons of the Mandingo ethnic group in Lofa County. Government announced an investigation into the extra-judicial killings, but nothing was heard beyond the announcement.
January,2000	Massacre	Gbarnga, Bong County	Melvin Sobani	Government of Liberia	In January 2000: Melvin Sobani ordered the execution of 26 unarmed civilians in Gbar, Bomi County. They were accused of being supporters of LURD
May, 2001	Summary Execution	Voinjama, Lofa County	Joe Gbala	LURD	In May 2000: Mr. Joe Gbala ordered the execution of 42 captives in Voinjama. They were considered GOL soldiers who had surrendered in a battle between John Town and Zorzor. Others were brought from Foyah
March,2001	Summary Execution	Kornia, Lofa County	Momo Jebah	ATU	In March 2001, Momo Jibba ordered the execution of 14 persons in Kornia, Lofa County when GOL recaptured the town from LURD. He also planned and executed the death of François Massaquoi, the then Youth and Sports Minister.
June 9, 2002	Massacre	Bopolu, Gbarpolu County	Sekou Damante Conneh	LURD	On June 9, 2002, Ofourie Jay alias “Iron Jacket” upon orders of Sekou Damante Conteh , massacred 110 young men and women in Bopolu, Gbarpolu county. They were accused of being sympathizers of GOL
July 20, 2002	Massacre	Tubmanburg, Bomi County	Benjamin Yeaten	Government of Liberia	In Marhair River Bridge, on July 20, 2002 as reported by two of the survivors, about 175 persons were massacred allegedly on the orders of Gen. Benjamin Yeaten. They claimed that the people were sympathizers of LURD.
Sept. 18, 2002	Summary Execution	Congo Town Monrovia	Charles Taylor, Jr	ATU	On September 18, 2002: Isaac Gono of the ATU, Chief Driver of Charles Taylor, Jr. “Chucky”, was beaten to death on the morning of September 18, 2002 for allegedly hitting a dog with Chucky’s car.
October 21, 2002	Incursion into Ivory Coast	Incursion into Ivory Coast	Charles G. Taylor	Charles G. Taylor	On October 21, 2002: Charles Taylor mandated Benjamin Yeaten Joe Tuah, Liaison officer, Edward T. Zamay, Training Officer, Walloe, death squad commander, Osebo Demain, logistics officer, and Matthew Karn, artillery commander to cross into Ivory Coast to assist Felix Doe, leader of the Western Rebel, as mercenaries
February 28, 2003	Massacre	Toe’s Town, Grand Gedeh County	General Gbor Vaye	Government of Liberia	On February 28, 2003 as reported by JPC Monitor/The Inquirer Newspaper, March 17, 2003 Vol. 13 #39/ The News Newspaper, March 17, 2003 Vol. 14 #222: General Gbor Vaye of the GOL slaughtered three employees of the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) namely: Kara Lund, a Norwegian, Arty. Emmanuel Sharply, a Liberian and Country Director, and driver Muse Keita, another Liberian were massacred while in route to Maryland County to pay their employees. The perpetrators were never brought to justice
June 4, 2003	Murder	Paynesville, Montserrado County	Gen. Benjamin Yeaten	Government of Liberia	On June 4, 2003 as reported by the deceased wives and relatives: The Deputy Ministers for National Security and Public Works, John Yormie and Isaac Vaye were arrested on the night of June 4, 2003 by a group of armed men under the command of one “Bababa” of the SSS which it was alleged he was acting on the orders of Gen. Benjamin Yeaten. They were allegedly brought to Monrovia, interrogated and later driven back on the Gbarnga-Ganta highway (CNC Logging Company area) and later killed. Their bodies were allegedly dropped on the train track by a container in the Ganta area. Their wives are demanding their bodies to give them a befitting burial
May 26, 2003	Massacre	Gbarn, Nimba County	Adolphus Sampson	Government of Liberia	On May 26, 2003: Adolphus Sampson, special bodyguard to Gen. Benjamin Yeaten murdered a family of five at the railroad bridge near Gbarn, Nimba County upon seeing then with $75,000 Liberia Dollars, and two pieces of diamonds
May 2003	Summary Execution	Lofa Bridge	Sekou Kromah	LURD	In May 2003,General Sekou  Kromah and his men murdered 24 persons on Lofa Bridge. The victims were arrested in the Tubmanburg area and charged with reconnaissance. On the same day,  the perpetrator forced a boy to killed his father and suck up his brains.
June-July 2003	Summary execution	Monrovia	Lomax, artillery crew commander of Wild Geese and Marcus High Grade Government of Liberia	Government of Liberia	In June-July 2003: Lomax, artillery crew commander of Wild Geese, Marcus High Grade, bodyguard to Yeaten and Nyan murdered 42 persons on the Johnson Street Bridge for looting. The victims were accused but never tried.
June 9, 2003	Summary Execution	Stockton Creek bridge, Monrovia	Charles Taylor, Jr.	ATU	On June 9, 2003, Charles Taylor, Jr. “Chucky” murdered 18 persons at the Stockton Creek Bridge. Gen. Roland Duo men arrested these people as POW of LURD.
July, 2003	Massacre	Combat Camp	Gen. Yeaten	Government of Liberia	In July 2003: Marcus High Grade and Gola-Red acting on instruction of Gen. Yeaten transported 78 wounded soldiers from Monrovia to Combat Camp, under pretense of going to pay them and killed them. The victims were demanding to be paid by Charles Taylor.
July, 2003	Summary Execution	Klay, Bomi County	Cllr.J  Laveli Supuwood	LURD	In July 2003, General Abbas of LURD ,said to be acting upon the orders of Cllr. Laveli Supowood,vice chairman/operation, LURD, murdered 26 persons in Klay. The victims were arrested on Bushrod Island as POW of GOL. Most of their bodies were chop to pieces.
September 8-20, 2003	Massacre	Tubman Farm, Bong County	Gen. Benjamin Yeaten	Government of Liberia	On September 8-20, 2003: Zeezah Mazah, special bodyguard to Benjamin Yeaten fed Mr. Charles Taylor’s lions with 26 living persons on his farm in Maleki, Bong County. This was a prescribed punishment for those who committed crimes.
October 11-26, 2003	Summary Execution	Po-River, Bomi County	General Wasue Donzo	LURD	On October 11-26, 2003: General Wasue Donzo of the LURD ordered the execution of over 26 persons on the Po-River Bridge, Tubmanburg Highway and dumped some of their bodies in the Po-River.
2003	Massacre	Buchanan, Grand Bassa County	Thomas Nimley	MODEL	In 2003, upon the instructions of  the high command of MODEL, over 1 60 persons were placed in a house custody, and the house set on fire on suspicion of being fighters of Government of Liberia
October, 2003	Massacre	Greenville, Sinoe	Alphonso Zeon	MODEL	In July, 2003, fighters of MODEL under the command of one General Alphonso Zeon arrested 86 civilians, tied them up in a tarpaulin , lighted fire under them and roasted them to death. Most of the victims were men whose women were seized and raped.
November, 2004	Massacre	River gee County	General zero	MODEL	In November, 2003, 20 persons were arrested , accused of being Charles Taylor sympathizers, and skinned to death with their hearts extracted and eaten by child soldiers of MODEL
2003	Massacre	River Gee County	H. Don Morias	Government of Liberia	In 2003, more than 500 innocent persons were slaughtered upon orders of H Dan Morias and others in Glawlo, River Gee County.
2003	Massacre	Liberia/Ivorian border	Thomas  Nimley	MODEL	300 persons who refused to join the MODEL fighting group were executed. Some of them were amputated and left to die while others were beheaded. Most of these acts were carried out by child soldiers on orders from  Boi-blajue-Boi of MODEL
2003	Summary Execution	Clara Town, Bushrod Island	LURD Commander alias K-1	LURD	In, July, LURD commander alias K-1 ordered the killing of over 25 civilians for allegedly looting.

Speak Out! Do Something!!! Liberia needs you!!!!
Since cessation of hostilities in 2003 Liberians have not taken definitive measures to prevent a repeat of another civil madness. The absence of war in Liberia currently, which is only due primarily to the presence of UN Troops on the ground, does not equate to peace. To believe other-wise is a complete illusion.

Unlike Sierra Leone, Rwanda and other countries where in the post-conflict period maximum attention has been given to tackling the root causes of the violence in order to ensure deterrence; Liberia, on the other hand, has done just the opposite. Those who orchestrated the mayhem are now ruling the country and dictating the pace of reconciliation. This is no way to restore peace following a brutal war where more than 250,000 civilians were murdered and almost the entire population uprooted.

Also, while these very mayhem orchestrators are a tiny minority having more than enough to live comfortably, the vast majority of the population has nothing to live for; it is impossible for there to be sustainable peace.  The vast majority of Liberians live on less than one dollar a day; undoubtedly, there is a need for change in the way Liberia is governed.  As we can all see today, Liberia’s just ended elections has produced a grieve cause for concern. Liberia is about to turn yet again into a one-party state, knowing full well this produces dictatorship, dictatorship causes rebellion; rebellion leads to war; and war means bloodshed!!! Evil has overtaken Liberia and is again prepared to destroy everything in sight.

We want you to think about what is about to happen in that part of the world.

Join Operation We Care for Liberia today and become an agent of positive change. Stand for justice in Liberia! Let those who caused the deaths of over 250,000 innocent people not be allowed to walk freely. Speak out because this is the right thing to do!!!

Bernard Gbayee Goah
President, Operation We Care for Liberia  
Email: goahbg@gmail.com    

Speak Out! Do Something!!! Liberia Needs you!!!!

Since cessation of hostilities in 2003 Liberians have not taken definitive measures to prevent a repeat of another civil madness. The absence of war in Liberia currently, which is only due primarily to the presence of UN Troops on the ground, does not equate to peace. To believe other-wise is a complete illusion.

Unlike Sierra Leone, Rwanda and other countries where in the post-conflict period maximum attention has been given to tackling the root causes of the violence in order to ensure deterrence; Liberia, on the other hand, has done just the opposite. Those who orchestrated the mayhem are now ruling the country and dictating the pace of reconciliation. This is no way to restore peace following a brutal war where more than 250,000 civilians were murdered and almost the entire population uprooted.

Also, while these very mayhem orchestrators are a tiny minority having more than enough to live comfortably, the vast majority of the population has nothing to live for; it is impossible for there to be sustainable peace.  The vast majority of Liberians live on less than one dollar a day; undoubtedly, there is a need for change in the way Liberia is governed.  As we can all see today, Liberia’s just ended elections has produced a grieve cause for concern. Liberia is about to turn yet again into a one-party state, knowing full well this produces dictatorship, dictatorship causes rebellion; rebellion leads to war; and war means bloodshed!!! Evil has overtaken Liberia and is again prepared to destroy everything in sight.

We want you to think about what is about to happen in that part of the world.

Join Operation We Care for Liberia today and become an agent of positive change. Stand for justice in Liberia! Let those who caused the deaths of over 250,000 innocent people not be allowed to walk freely. Speak out because this is the right thing to do!!!

Bernard Gbayee Goah

President, Operation We Care for Liberia   Email: goahbg@gmail..com  

Liberia: What Happened in Liberia?

Michael Keating

– Analysis

Not many people care about what goes on in Liberia but those that do were probably shocked this week by the images of UN Peacekeepers trying to wrestle guns away from the Liberian National Police who were intent on shooting into a crowd that was rallying in opposition to Tuesday’s Presidential election.

The UN has confirmed two deaths and several wounded and serious questions have to be raised whether the police were acting on their own initiative or whether they had been ordered to use maximum force to intimidate the forces of the opposition. Several international human rights organizations have already announced plans to investigate.

The other shocking fact is that the called-for boycott seems to have worked as voters for the opposition stayed away from the polls giving the incumbent Ellen Sirelaf a clear victory, but not a convincing one. Just weeks after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, her world-wide supporters are undoubtedly shocked that what was supposed to be a shoe-in election for her second term has turned into a fiasco with not only Monday’s shootings and Tuesday’s boycott to blot her mandate but also the incompetent behavior of the National Election Commission in the months leading up to Tuesday’s polling. On top of that the Administration is also under fire for shutting down opposition media houses and prosecuting a number of station managers and journalists.

So what’s wrong in Liberia? A good place to start is with the Police. They are underfunded, undertrained and over anxious to use their authority. The UN forces have had to rein them in on several occasions because of their predilection for ultra-violence and the people of Monrovia are certainly sick of the harassment and corruption which occur at their hands on a daily basis. Prior to this election, the Sirleaf administration was apparently tempted to bring in troops from other West African nations to deal with election-related violence -probably with the suspicion that Liberia’s own police could not be trusted to keep the lid on themselves or the protesters. Last Monday’s events proved those suspicions correct.

Another place to look is with the entire political culture in Liberia. Like in many impoverished countries with low literacy rates politicians campaign by handing out money from the back of their SUVs. This is retail pork, nothing to be shocked at, but it does make the need for campaigning about issues almost irrelevant. There have been very few concrete statements from any of the opposition candidates about what they would do differently from what Sirleaf is doing but they seem to suggest they could do it better. As for President Sirleaf, her campaign theme seems to have been premised on the notion that she is a wily ‘monkey’ and that her opponents are clueless ‘baboons’. You don’t have to be a primatologist to figure out the implied meaning of this metaphor but it hardly suggest a bold vision for the future.

The third element in Liberia’s current problems is the unresolved issues coming from the Truth and Reconciliation process. After the issuance of the 2009 report that called for the banning of Sirleaf and several others from holding political office the recommendations were largely swept under the rug. It has been suggested that one of the reasons that the former warlord turned presidential candidate Prince Johnson threw his endorsement towards Sirleaf was precisely because of her disregard for the TRC’s recommendations, one of the most bold calling for the prosecution of Johnson as a war criminal. To add to the disgrace of the TRC process, its Commissioner, the lawyer Jerome Verdier, has been sending out internet messages to his supporters saying that his life and that of his family have been threatened and that his house in Monrovia was torched by his political enemies.

So where does Liberia go from here? There are no constitutional reasons why President Sirleaf cannot claim victory and keep on governing. But as we have seen throughout the continent once the opposition gets to a critical mass they start to demand extra-constitutional power sharing agreements that start to look like spoils-sharing rather than genuine desires to represent the citizenry.
Many in Liberia feel that the actions of William Tubman, Sirleaf’s main opponent in Tuesday’s run-off is trying to delegitimize the election so that the international community will step in and call for an interim government that will give power to all the main factions, many of which are still ethnically and regionally biased. To many citizens in Liberia, Sirleaf’s administration is starting to look like the same old Americo-Liberian elite that plundered the country for over a century prior to their violent overthrow in 1980 – the first event in Liberia’s devastating civil war.

In the short term the Sirleaf administration needs to deal with the fallout from the botched election, it needs to find jobs for the thousands of volatile young people who are marching against her and she needs to take a serious look at Liberia’s constitution which is not at all suited for the country it wants to be.

Michael Keating is a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Massachusetts Boston with a special interest in the Mano River countries of West Africa.

Happy Thanksgiving from Inside Liberia !!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving from
Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah!!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, please send me your thoughts on what you think the President of Liberia as well as opposition leader Winston Tubman of CDC “MUST” do at this time in order for reconciliation, justice, and peace to prevail in Liberia.Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah.

The deadline for article submission is Nov. 17 2011. Please direct all articles to: goahbg@gmail.com or bgoah76@yahoo.com

All articles will be published for free on

Enjoy your Turkey Day Celebration!

Thank you.

Bernard Gbayee Goah
Inside Liberia

Liberia: Operation We Care for Liberia calls on President Obama to step in!

Operation We Care for Liberia
calls on President Obama to step in!

By Bernard Gbayee Goah
President, Operation We Care for Liberia 

Operation We Care for Liberia calls on the Obama administration to discuss the state of human rights in Liberia with the Liberian government, and in particular, to urge the Liberian government to establish a superior court capable of investigating crimes against humanity in that country.

The Liberian government must create an Independent board of inquiry to probe into the killings of innocent Liberians on the eve of Liberia’s elections day.

We have heard that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has named fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee, to lead a new peace and reconciliation initiative to include the investigation of what took place on the eve of Liberia’s elections day.  While we believe madam Gbowee may have contributed to women’s rights advocacy in Liberia, her recent involvement with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf creates conflict of interest. Madam Leymah Gbowee publically supported Sirleaf during the campaign period, and voted for Sirleaf when her fellow Liberians including innocent women and men were either wounded or killed by state police loyal to Sirleaf on the eve of Liberia’s elections day.
We see the appointment of a fellow supporter to head such a critical case as nepotism at its highest level. We believe that Madam Leymah Gbowee is loyal to madam Sirleaf; therefore she would heavily economize the truth of the matter surrounding the incident that took place on Monday thus denying the victims justice.   Appointing madam Gbowee to spearhead such investigation is a complete injustice to the victims.

Presidents Obama should take this opportunity to discuss with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf the crucial role the Liberian administration can and must play in ensuring justice, accountability, and respect for the human rights of all Liberians.

The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) created in May 2005 under President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was mandated to promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation by investigation more than 20 years of civil conflict in the country and to report a gross human violation that occurred in Liberia between January 1979 and 14 October 2003. The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was released July 1, 2009. In the final report, issued June 2009, the TRC included Sirleaf in a list of 49 names of people that should be “specifically barred from holding public offices; elected or appointed for a period of thirty (30) years” for “being associated with former warring factions. On 28 August Liberia’s parliament consisting mostly of members of former warring factions announced it must consult its constituents for about a year before deciding whether or not to implement the Commission’s recommendations.

In January 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that the TRC’s recommendation was a constitutional violation of the listed individuals’ right to procedural due process, and that it would be unconstitutional for the government to implement the proposed bans. 

Even though her testimony at Liberia’s Truth Commission hearing proved otherwise, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has claimed consistently during these elections period that she had no role in the war that maimed and killed innocent people and destroyed the country’s entire infrastructure. She must be presented an opportunity to exonerate herself in a credible Liberian war crime court. If Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is responsible, as the evidence indicates, regardless whether such crimes were committed in Liberia or elsewhere pre or post 2003, it would be a travesty of justice to have indicted former president Charles Taylor and removed him from office; but yet allow Ms. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to remain head of state even though she also financially supported as well as ordered a rebel group (NPFL) to committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.  There is a wise saying: “The dangerous part of a snake is not its tail but its head”.  And there can be on other snake head in the Liberian 20 years carnage then Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.  

While plans to implement the TRC final report remain in limbo, the country has experienced and continues to experience ongoing violence and internecine conflict, striking deficiencies in judiciary, police, and corrections operations, vigilante justice, and high incidence of rape of young men, women, and girls. We agree that madam Sirleaf has the right to procedural due process. However, we are only too aware that the right to procedural due process cannot happen in Liberia if a credible court system does not exist.  Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising judiciary system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of human rights violations.  We call on the Obama administration to buttress our call for Justice in Liberia.  We call for the establishment of a credible justice system designed to address these problems and help reduce the incidence of human rights abuses. We believe that a peaceful West Africa demands total peace in Liberia. Any conflict in Liberia at this time would greatly destabilize the entire region. As such, We call on  the Obama administration and the Liberian government to make the establishment of a superior court (Liberian war crimes court) capable of investigating crimes against humanity  a top priority so that peace and justice may be restore in that region. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in West Africa especially so Liberia will not produce the intended results. 

CDC Tubman’s Speech: Bloody Monday Was an Assassination Attempt

November 12, 2011

ADRESS TO THE NATION REGARDING “CDC MASSACRE DAY” AND November POLLS

My Fellow Liberians;

CDC Standard bearer Winston Tubman, a CDC supporter shot in the head by Liberian police

Let us observe a few seconds of silence for those killed at our headquarters on Monday, November 7, 2011 (“CDC Massacre Day”) by members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and Police Support Unit (PSU) of the Liberian National Police.  Thank you for observing the silence. 

What occurred in our compound on Monday, I am convinced, was an assassination attempt on my life and that of my Vice Standard Bearer.  This is because for more than an hour on that day, our partisans were gathered on the street in front of the Lone Star Cell Company on Tubman Boulevard and the ERU and PSU did nothing until shortly after I arrived, together with my Vice Standard Bearer.  A few minutes after, we were approached by a Nigerian General of the UNMIL contingent who admonished us to turn around and go back into our compound because he feared what awaited us down the road and further in town by the ERU and PSU.  While listening to the General’s advice, we came under attack by the ERU and PSU who began heavily tear gassing us.  They followed us into our compound and began shooting live bullets at the crowd. 
When I disembarked from the vehicle and attempted to head into the building, I was instantly pushed back by one of our young Security Guards; unfortunately for this young comrade, he was hit at that very moment by an assassin’s bullet that we believe was intended for me.  May his soul rest in peace!

My Vice Standard Bearer and I were hurriedly ushered into the building and were held hostage on the floor and in the closet of my office by attacking ERU and PSU officers for over two hours as they continued to shoot live bullets and tear gas into the building. Eventually, we secretly left the vicinity for a secure area.

Today, my fellow citizens, we still do not yet have a total figure about our casualties because we continue to receive news of missing partisans who have not been seen or heard from since the day of the “CDC Massacre” when they departed home for our headquarters. So far, I know of at least three (3) dead and over 150 wounded.  As we speak, some of our partisans are having bullets removed from their bodies at local hospitals.  In fact, there is a most horrible scene in my mind when an ERU officer pointed his gun and fired point blank range at the head of one of our partisans who was instantly killed.  Over 150 of our people were arrested and locked up at the Monrovia Central prison and in containers around town, among others.

Initially, the Justice Minister and Police Director both misled the world about this attack by the Liberian government on our headquarters; Justice Minister Tah accused us of exchanging fire with the ERU; Director Amblard accused UNMIL of shooting Liberian citizens; Director Amblard, however, has since retracted his statement and admitted that his forces used live ammunition against our people.  One can only hope that the Justice Minister and President Sirleaf would follow the route of honesty and humanity.  

Elections:         

After the first round of the elections, we immediately began engaging with our international partners and all stakeholders involved, informing them of the massive fraud which we believed were being perpetrated in the tabulation process by the National Elections Commission.  They all said that there was insufficient evidence to support our contention of cheating, but what they all either missed or ignored was the fact that President Sirleaf and her UP controlled the entire machinery that conducted the process; thus, we would have had to rely on them to give us the evidence necessary to prove their complicity and guilt in the cheating that went on and this would have been a difficult task;    Thus, we called the boycott of the runoff to demonstrate to the world and all Liberians that President Sirleaf and her UP lacked the numerical strength they had claimed after the first round and since elections are won by votes and not on the strength of political endorsements by observers. Thus, our boycott would have compelled them to either display their strengths with their numbers or be proven to be the electoral hijackers that we all now know them to be.          

They have now announced some highly inflated figures that give President Sirleaf a victory—or as she calls it, “a renewal of her mandate”; what mandate can this flawed process give her? What mandate did she ever have in the first place—the 19% of the vote she received in 2005?  What a national calamity!!!     

 However, it is our current position in the CDC that we will NOT accept the results of the process—not just that we disagree that President Sirleaf is the declared winner, but that the numbers as we and everyone else who followed them on Monday all agree were too low to justify the inflated figures they are now releasing.      Therefore, we still stick to our original position and unequivocally reaffirm that we will NOT accept the results from the runoff elections held on November 8, 2011.  It was a political farce of the highest order and, therefore, must not be allowed to stand.

Now, many of you are asking “Where do we go from here”:

Fellow Liberians, as we speak here today, our lawyers are busy working on all our legal options:

A) We believe that everything that flows from Tuesday’s elections must  be annulled and a new round of elections scheduled within a month;

B) We are more determined than ever to press our claims especially after the lethal force unleashed by the President’s Security apparatus on our unarmed, innocent people on Monday, November 7, 2011.

Thus, how can the President pretend to be seeking to reconcile Liberians while ignoring the deaths and wounding of innocent Liberians by her ERU at her directive?

Our position to not recognize the results from the runoff remains unchanged; we will NOT recognize the so called win by President Sirleaf as a result of the very flawed process leading up to the second round of the elections; our party will meet shortly to revisit and re-examine our position and if there’s either an enhanced or mitigated position, we will announce it to all;

This tragedy was totally unprovoked; our hearts go out to all of the families that were affected, most especially the families of our fallen martyrs;

In the next few days, we will give them the proper burials befitting their ultimate sacrifice and will call on all CDCians to assemble and pay homage to their fallen comrades and we will hope then that our people will NOT be met by live bullets from President Sirleaf’s ERU as they did on the day of the “CDC Massacre”, November 7.

Likewise, we deplore and categorically condemn the government shut down of media institutions; the President’s remarks that this unconstitutional act was done in keeping with “Due Process” is nothing but another one of her intentional distortions, that are often in contrast with reality.  These media institutions were raided after mid-night on the day of the “CDC Massacre” by the ERU as they sought to seize the evidence that these media houses had of what occurred at our headquarters; What “Due Process” gives them the right to raid offices at such odd hours of the night? 

We call for an investigation headed by independent, international dignitaries into the tragedy that shall forever go down in our history as a (national) “Day of Shame” in our country.  The President cannot appoint her Partisans or supporters, who are on record as being very critical of our party and cause, to then pretend to be neutral investigators or impartial peacemakers in this process.  Our dead brothers and sisters deserve better!

Oh yes, we need peace.  CDCians, like all patriotic Liberians, are committed to a peaceful, united and modern Liberia.  But this peace must be accompanied by justice and fair play.  It must be a peace for government officials; but it must also be a peace for ALL Liberians, including CDCians.

 May God continue to protect the works of our hand and save our noble party, and country!

I thank you!

Speech delivered by CDC standard bearer Winston Tubman, Saturday Nov. 12, in Monrovia. 

Liberia’s Tubman wants disputed presidential poll annulled

By Fran Blandy | AFP 

Winston Tubman

Winston Tubman, who pulled out of the second round of Liberia’s presidential election claiming fraud, called Saturday for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s victory to be annulled and fresh elections held.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

The comments come just a day after Tubman had said he was willing to work with Sirleaf, despite his boycott which won him little sympathy abroad as international observers gave the first round a clean bill of health.

Tubman’s boycott raised tensions in the west African nation, whose second-post war poll had been billed as a chance to cement its fragile democracy eight years after a 14-year conflict that killed 250,000 ended.

Political tensions turned bloody on the eve of Tuesday’s election when police fired live bullets into a crowd of opposition protesters gathered for an unauthorised march amid a hail of stone-throwing and tear gas.

Tubman said Tuesday’s vote was “a political farce of the highest order and must not be allowed to stand.”
“As we speak our lawyers are busy working on all our legal options,” he told reporters, reading from a prepared statement after consultation with the Congress for Democratic Change.

“We believe everything that flows from Tuesday’s elections must be annulled and a new round of elections scheduled in a month. We will not recognise the so-called win of Mrs Sirleaf,” he added.

On Friday, Tubman had said that while his party would not recognise the results he was “prepared to heal the wounds of this country and to unite our country.

“Since Mrs Sirleaf will now claim she is the president and is recognised by the international community, we have to find a way to work with her and I believe it is not beyond our ability to find a way for that to happen,” he had said.

On Saturday however, in an apparent about-turn, he slammed Sirleaf’s Unity Party as “election hijackers”.
And he repeated his assertion that Monday’s shooting at CDC headquarters had been an attempt by Sirleaf’s forces to assassinate him. AFP journalists saw two bodies with gunshot wounds to the head.
No official toll has been released, and while Tubman said earlier up to eight may have been killed, he now says three are confirmed dead with many reports of CDC supporters missing.

The 70-year old former UN diplomat pulled out of the race claiming “massive fraud in the tabulation process” in the first round. He brushed aside international observer’s assertions the poll was free and fair.
“Elections are won by votes and not strengths of political endorsement from observers,” he said.

The National Electoral Commission on Friday confirmed Nobel Peace Prize winner Sirleaf the landslide winner in polls with 90 percent of votes to Tubman’s 9.4 percent.

However Tubman pointed to the low turnout of 38 percent — attributed to the boycott and fears of further violence — as proof Sirleaf did not have wide support and that she had doctored the vote.

“They have now announced some highly inflated figures giving president Sirleaf a victory, or as she calls it, a renewed mandate … What mandate can this flawed process give her? What mandate did she ever have in the first place?”

Tubman referred to 2005 elections when his running mate, former AC Milan football star George Weah took on Sirleaf in the first polls after the end of a brutal 14-year war in 2003.

In a first round of voting Sirleaf lost to Weah but came back to narrowly beat him in the second. Weah, who at the time had not finished high school, was criticised for his lack of education and administrative experience.

The CDC cried foul, despite observers saying the process was free and fair. Weah later withdrew his claims and accepted the results, but the party still feels it was cheated.

This time round the party thought that with the dream team of Harvard-trained Tubman and the crowd-pleasing Weah as his running mate they were sure to win.

Sirleaf on Friday called for national reconciliation and announced an independent commission would probe Monday’s shooting which Tubman rejected as full of “partisans and friends of the president.”

Sirleaf also named fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, women’s right activist Leymah Gbowee, to lead a new peace and reconciliation initiative to heal the divisions in the country.

What is Going on Under Your Leadership is not Our Destiny (An Open Letter to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf)

H.E. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf                                                            

President of Liberia
Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs
Executive Mansion, P.O. Box 9001, Capitol Hill, Monrovia
Republic of Liberia

Dear Madam President:

Kirkpatrick Weah

I write as an advocate for human rights, a friend and to a lady with whom I shared a cold political prison and unacceptable place while incarcerated (1985). I campaigned for you in 1997 and 2005. We had hope in your ability to deliver by uniting the country and to mitigate the most poverty striking condition of our people. Every time I think of you and your government, I think of the notes we exchanged on September 9, 1985 at the Post Stockade. In reply to my second note to you, you said “one day we will have the destiny of our country in our hands.” Madam President, the destiny of our country that is now in your hands looks like the same under Tolbert and Doe when it comes to police violence against journalists, innocent civilians, corruption and surrounding yourself with sycophants, who will be in the vanguard to condemn you tomorrow, when things get out of hands. You fought against these things in the past. This is why we slept on cold floors from one prison to another. Madam President, have you forgotten our difficult days during the struggle to dawn a new day in our country? Have you forgotten what we stood against yesterday? What is going on under your leadership ( killings and police brutality) are not the destiny we talked about in prison.

My eyes are filled with tears for the victims on November 7, 2011, like that of April 14, 1979, the invasion of the University of Liberia 1984 and the civil war (1989-2003).

Liberians in the Diaspora, both your supporters and members of opposition parties, are saddened. Today, November 7, 2011 the police of Liberia shot and killed innocent civilians and wounded many, who had gathered at the Party Headquarters of the Congress for Democratic Change, CDC. This is the second time of blood bath in this year, including the invasion of GW Gibson. The right to assemble, Madam President, is a fundamental right that cannot be derogated save an emergency order is given by the government.

Today, President Obama issued out a statement and said “We encourage all security forces in Liberia to exercise maximum restraint and to allow peaceful protest.” I have heard America making similar statement like this and later, their action went another way. This statement concerns me a lot.

Reports concerning the wanton shooting of civilians is claimed by the police as self-defense. Madam President, under international laws and laws of our country, there must be or had to exist “a necessity of self-defense, instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment of deliberation.” It is argued that any action taken in the case of the police brutality, shooting and killing “must be proportional, since the act justified by the necessity of self-defense, must be limited by that necessity, and kept clearly within it.”

Madam President, from videos being watched and consultations with human rights agencies, both local and international, the preponderance evidence for the use of “self-defense by the police is very hard to fathom. The “necessity of self-defense” established under international law and ours is being abused all the time by the police of our country.

Madam President, you just got a Nobel Peace Prize. Congratulations! Having said that, the killing and police brutality places a dark cloud over the worthiness of your receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. This is not good for you and our country. 

I am pleading with you to stop the continuous police violence owing, but not limited to, the following reasons:

1.      A repeat of Libya, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, etc in Liberia. A specter of chaotic events in the countries supra is haunting our country; 

2.      The peace, for which your government and the international community contributed, could be destroyed and Liberia could slip back to its past of fourteen years of civil war; 

3.      Reconciling the Liberian people through the TRC mandate and other traditional methods of reconciliation could be jeopardized; 

4.      The reconstruction of our country and betterment of the lives of our people for which your government assisted in eradicating Liberia’s debts will be placed in ruin; 

5.        I am pleading with your government to observe our laws and international law for peace and the protection of all Liberians regardless of political affiliation and aliens within our borders. 

6.      Please investigate and remove the Police Director and have a well knowledgeable and trained police officer to head our national police force, save he is getting order directly from you to use life bullets to take the lives of innocent people and to brutalize our compatriots who are exercising their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, the right to peacefully assemble, etc. 

7.      Your legacy of contributing to upholding the laws of our land, your fight to uplift our down trodden people from poverty, diseases, mitigation of unemployment and to improve educational facilities and reconstruction of roads, is being destroyed almost every year since January 2006, from the work of the police and those who are stealing from our national covers. Please do something about this. 

8.      Like me, Madam President, you have children. Please do not pay lips service in punishing those who killed other people children in the name of unproven necessity of self-defense. The case of the police. 

As a human rights group, we will continue to advice your leadership on what we considered violation of international laws and the laws of our dear country. This, we will do without let or hindrance.

May the Lord save our country as we mourn for those killed on November 7, 2011.

Kirkpatrick Weah

Signed: Kirkpatrick Weah

Executive Director, LIHRRWO

Your former political prison mate ( 1985)

C/o Embassy of the Republic of Liberia, Washington DC.

Liberia’s Sirleaf wins 90 pct in boycotted vote

By JONATHAN PAYE-LAYLEH and RUKMINI CALLIMACHI – Associated Press

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — Africa’s first and only female president handily won re-election Thursday with 90.2 percent of the vote, but her victory has been rendered hollow and her government may struggle to prove its legitimacy because the opposition boycotted the poll.

Hours before the results were announced in an election that was supposed to solidify Liberia’s shaky peace, opposition leader Winston Tubman said he would not accept the outcome of this week’s presidential runoff.

With nearly nine-tenths of precincts reporting, National Election Commission chair Elizabeth Nelson announced late Thursday that Sirleaf had received 513,320 votes out of 565,391 tallied. Only 52,071 ballots, or 9.2 percent, had been cast for Tubman, a former United Nations diplomat who, like Sirleaf, was educated at Harvard University.

Last week, Tubman called on his supporters to boycott Tuesday’s presidential runoff, and many polling stations closed early due to the dismal turnout. By early morning, many had no lines outside. By afternoon, poll workers were seen dozing, some laying their heads on tables next to near-empty ballot boxes.

Turnout hovered around 33 percent of registered voters, not even half of the 71 percent who turned out for the election’s first round.

“Our decision before the runoff is that we would not accept the results,” Tubman told The Associated Press by telephone from Monrovia, Liberia’s sea-facing capital of pockmarked buildings that still bear the scars of the horrific 14-year civil war that only ended in 2003.

“We’re getting pressure from everywhere including the White House to partake in something we know is stacked against us,” Tubman said. “The international community cannot see our case, and we wanted to bring this to their attention … They should know we’re not just making trouble. I’m not a trouble maker. They should not ignore us. This was a way that our voice was heard.”

He has argued that the electoral process was biased in his opponent’s favor and that his party had collected evidence of ballot stuffing and of improperly filled-in tally sheets. International observers said that there was no evidence of fraud and on Thursday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said that the United States was “disappointed” by the opposition’s withdrawal.

The Atlanta-based Carter Center headed by former President Jimmy Carter said the boycott had marred the vote.

“The opposition’s decision to boycott the runoff was based on their assertion that the overall election was significantly flawed. These claims remain unsubstantiated,” the group said in a statement. “(The) boycott essentially denied the Liberian people a genuine choice within a competitive electoral process.”

Most analysts and country experts believe that Tubman would have lost Tuesday’s election if he had participated. His Congress for Democratic Change party got around 33 percent of the vote in the first round last month, compared to around 44 percent for Sirleaf. She later won the endorsement of the third-place finisher, who had just over 11 percent.

“If you look at the figures, you can see that Tubman (was) almost certainly going to lose. He is 12, 13 points down in the polls,” said Stephen Ellis, the author of a history of the Liberian civil war and researcher at the African Studies Center Leiden in the Netherlands.

“It’s an obvious calculation. He withholds legitimacy from the government,” Ellis said. “If it was felt by a large part of population to not be legitimate, in a place like Liberia, with its history, it becomes quite worrying.”
Those who did make a point of going out to vote were overwhelmingly in support of Sirleaf, who was first elected in 2005 and was just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month. Besides the boycott, some citizens also stayed away due to the fear of violence.

On the eve of the vote, Tubman’s supporters clashed with police on the streets outside the opposition’s headquarters, and at least two people were killed after security forces opened fire with live bullets. That same night, the government shut down several opposition radio stations, a move that was criticized by rights groups.

Sirleaf has vowed an investigation, but the police-led violence has added another layer of negativity to a vote that was meant to cement peace.

The country’s civil war erupted in 1989 and continued on and off until 2003. As many as a quarter-of-a-million people were killed and the country was destroyed. Rebel soldiers played soccer with human skulls. They created forms of torture unheard of before, like slicing open the stomachs of pregnant women, taking bets on the sex of the unborn child.

The nation’s fragile peace has been mostly held together by the presence of thousands of United Nations peacekeepers still stationed in Liberia eight years after the war.

The police’s excessive use of force on Monday indicates how far the country still has to go in terms of security sector reform, before a durable peace can be declared, said Corinne Dufka, a Washington-based researcher for Human Rights Watch who is an expert on Liberia.

Lawrence Randall, the executive director of the Liberia Media Center said that the opposition’s rhetoric is irresponsible.

“They are trying to stir up tension. And in my opinion it’s very, very unnecessary — we need to proceed in a line of peace. We can’t keep making statements that instigate,” said Randall. “But I think in general people are convinced,” he added, “that peace is paramount.”

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Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper contributed from Washington.

Press Statement on current situation in Liberia

Operation We Care for Liberia (OWCL)

Bernard Gbayee Goah President, Operation We Care for Liberia (503) 333 6246

According to AFP news, during a protest called by Opposition Leader Winston Tubman on Monday, at least four of his supporters were shot dead following clashes that broke out with the Liberian riot police when the rally was prevented from turning into a march.  A radio and television station owned by opposition and three other radios were shut down overnight following the violence. “Right after our evening broadcast police came and asked us to leave the premises of the station and closed it down,” said Samukai Dukulay, senior broadcaster at Power television and Power FM. Liberia’s opposition had complained that the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Sirleaf days before the first round was tantamount to foreign interference in the elections.

Operation We Care for Liberia is deeply concerned about the manner in which peaceful Liberians were treated by police loyal to the President and the potential consequences it may cause, not only for Liberia but also for the West African sub region. Much has been witnessed with regard to the disproportionate use of force by police and army forces loyal to sitting Liberian Presidents and the violation of citizen’s integrity and rights especially so FREEDOM OF THE PRESS, THE RIGHT TO PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY, PROTEST AND DEMONSTRATION, ABSTAIN FROM A POLITICAL PROCESS WITHOUT INTIMIDATION, AND THE RIGHT TO LIFE.  It is unacceptable for radio and television stations owned by opposition to be force to close by government police.We believe that the premise of the Liberian police argument — that it acted fully within its rights in defending its laws to the detriment of its own citizens — has gone unchallenged not only by the United Nations and the United States, but also by the current Liberian Government under the leadership of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Liberian police, the argument goes, had to resort to the use of force in order to restore calm before elections runoff because there were fire arms present among members of opposition party. We believe that such argument does not hold water because credible information from eye witnesses revealed that at no time were opposition partisans in possession of fire arms during the shootings nor are civilian Liberians allowed to carry fire arms at any time after 2003.  It is our understanding that all warring factions and their members were disarmed by the United Nations before Liberia’s 2005 elections and UN peace Keepers have controlled the security of the country since the end of the civil war which ended in 2003.

Operation We Care for Liberia is concerned about the use of constitutional responsibility by the Liberian police force only to infringe upon the rights of its own citizens. After all, these are the very citizens the constitution must protect.  We believe such actions are a complete violation of the rights of the people of Liberia.
While we recognize the good will of the United Nations peace keepers in Liberia, we are concerned that its silence on situation that took place on Monday resulting in the deaths of peaceful Liberians is unacceptable at all levels.
We condemn the Liberian Government for not handling the situation peacefully to calm whatever condition(s) that may have led to such inhumane action carried out by its police force against its own citizens.

Interestingly, whereas; citizens were killed in a wake of peaceful protest from opposition camp on allegation of   elections fraud, opposition party absence in the electoral process without representation, elections runoff continued to take place in Liberia. Nobody seems to be in any rush to remind the Liberian government the importance of equal representation in any process, and – what “responsibility to protect” means under international law.

We call on ECOWAS and the international community especially the United States of America to pressure Liberia to desist from such practices and that all voting activities cease and are postpone immediately until proper investigation is carried out.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s anxious desire to become president the second time, as well her continuous silence on the deaths of her own people, and lack of intervention about what may have gone wrong, compel us to believe she has no interest in upholding her constitution responsibilities to protect her people. We, at this time demand answers from the President for exhibiting such (contra-Liberian interest) behavior.

Also, President Johnson-Sirleaf travels the world frequently to pick up awards that do not benefit the suffering Liberian population. Travelling to next door opposition camp in her own country in order to solve problems affecting her own people seems just very impossible for the Liberian President.  She would rather travel to the United States multiple times for no reason other than to protect her legacy. President Johnson-Sirleaf must understand that it is the primary responsibility of her government to protect its citizens in times of crises. Opposition camp members are not aliens; they are Liberians as such, must be protected and not killed by the very government they turn to for protection. We seriously question the President’s judgment.

The fact that force was used on peaceful Liberians resulting in the deaths of four is troubling. To see Liberians brutalized and killed under the very nose of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf while the rest of the world remains silent in response is unhealthy for Liberia.

We are aware that protection of human rights is also a matter of international concern among all countries, including Liberia. Therefore, we insist that the United States, United Nations, and ECOWAS confront the government of Liberia on the matter of protecting its own citizens and not buttress what took place resulting into the deaths of innocent people, as well as the closure of opposition radio and television stations.

While President Sirleaf may only have interest in the well-being of her winning the elections runoff, we believe such interest, however, should by no means translate against the rights of her people. Also, while it is true that the President has  a constitutional responsibility to restore law and order across Liberia, this does not in any way imply a right under international law to use excessive force on armless civilians.

If President Sirleaf is unable or unwilling to protect her own people from police or military harassment, then the protection of human life and dignity becomes the responsibility of, ECOWAS, the International Community or the people themselves.

We therefore call upon ECOWAS, and the international community to consider their responsibilities to protect all Liberians in order to prevent human suffering and protect the Liberian population against the use of force by government police. We believe such intervention is necessary and legitimate at this time because the existence of evidence of crimes committed against civilian on Monday is undisputable. Live gun shots were fired and four citizens of Liberia were killed from gun wounds.

It is also our understanding that many Liberians have fled the capital Monrovia and are now hiding in nearby villages and other places. Delaying an adequate response to the situation in Liberia may result into more deaths and starvation of citizens mostly women and children. We call upon the United Nations to provide humanitarian assistance to those hiding in villages around the city.

We again condemn the Liberian police action on its own citizens because such action does not only violate international norms and principles, but also demonstrates how and to what extent the notion of “excising the law to protect” can be abused. It shows clearly that the misapplication of any law can result in a punitive, rather than a peaceful intervention, and that the disproportionate use of force by forces loyal to a sitting president pursuing its own questionable objectives can lead to human suffering.

We demand that the current violation of citizens integrity and rights in Liberia cease at once!

Thank you.

Bernard Gbayee Goah
President, Operation We Care for Liberia
(503) 333 6246