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The
Chairman of the National Board of Directors of the Union of Liberian
Associations in the Americas (ULAA) has Anthony Kesselly noted that Liberia has for a long time being afflicted by a "culture of impunity" and frowned on the pervasive practice in the country wherein some Liberians, who perpetrate heinous economic and other crimes, are celebrated, instead of being held accountable. The ULAA executive made these remarks when he addressed the King Zolu Doma Lecture Series launched in Philadelphia over the weekend. He said it is commonplace to see economic and war criminals roaming the streets of Monrovia with impunity as if they are some sorts of national heroes. Mr. Kesselly pointed to the destruction of the Liberian economy by these "re-cycled thieves and rebels without causes." He noted that the NTLA's position on this crucial matter could only serve to re-enforce this "culture of impunity" in our country as it goes a long way to institutionalize the absence of disincentive for wrongdoings. Underscoring his condemnation of the Transitional Legislative Assembly for the symbolic vote against a petition to have Charles Taylor face justice, Chairman Kesselly disclosed ULAA has a standing policy supporting appropriate judicial forums for all suspected perpetrators of war crimes against the people of Liberia. "To exemplify its commitment to this principled stand, ULAA in 2003 established a Special War Crimes Committee. The Committee was charged with the task of collecting relevant data that identify those suspected of violating the Geneva Convention on armed conflicts with the view to assisting in their prosecution," Kesselly recalled. He said the Union leadership has issued several policy statements containing calls for those suspected of committing war crimes to face commensurate justice. He described as "very embarrassing" the Transitional Legislature's vote against the well-meaning petition. Kesselly equated the nay vote as heralding the signing of an "unholy mutual self-defense pact" between the armed factions who dominate the Assembly. "This is frustratingly paradoxical when one considers that each of the warring factions came into being with an expressed commitment to counter and curtail the excesses of the other," he averred. This "infamous vote," Kesselly went on, can be taken as clearly signifying the guilty consciences of the armed factions for whatever mayhem they are alleged to have inflicted upon the Liberian people. The versatile political activist dismissed the excuse given by the Assembly members for their vote. He said the Assembly's assertion that "Allowing Taylor to face the Court in Freetown Sierra Leone will hamper the peace process," is not only ludicrous but also very shameful. "On what planet are we going to create peace without justice?" Kesselly wondered. He warned that nothing else, besides justice and accountability, could contribute to the long-term stability and peace of our country. Minutes of sessions of the Liberian Transitional Legislative Assembly released recently in Monrovia revealed that the Assembly had voted overwhelmingly to defeat a petition submitted by 80 human rights and pro-democracy groups in support of pressuring the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to turn former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor over to the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, the ULAA Board Chairman is thanking all those NTLA members, if any, who stood on the side of justice and voted for the petition. Chairman Kesselly is calling on the Liberian press to publish the tabulated vote reflecting how each member voted on the matter. It will be recalled that in late February 2003, the then ULAA President Sam Mohamed Kromah set up the War Crimes Against Liberians Committee as one of the ULAA national committees. Subsequently in June 2003, ULAA held a mass rally at the United Nations' Dag Hammarskjöld Park in New York to call for peace and security in Liberia. The rally was attended and presided over by the then ULAA Acting President Roberta Rashid. In a 5-count Position Statement read at that rally, ULAA and a coalition of non-Liberian organizations declared that: "the international community must move quickly, as in the case of Yugoslavia, to ensure the immediate arrest and prosecution of all persons responsible for War Crimes against humanity. We applaud the ongoing efforts of the international community to ensure a world free of all such persons." Young and emerging Liberian intellectuals, grouped in the newly formed Abliju Foundation in Philadelphia, on Sunday, July 18, 2004 launched the King Zolu Doma Lecture Series. The maiden Lecture featured two main topics: "The Dynamics of Warfare: How can we judge the participants?" and "Changing our War Psychiatry: Which way, Peace or Justice?" Some of the young intellectuals who served as panelists were Aagon Tingba, Edwin Dennis, Joseph Morlu, and Jeffery Harmon. The
Executive Director of the Abliju Foundation is Mr. Chorpie Charlie. The
honored guest who formally launched the Lecture Series was Mr. Morris S.
Kanneh, President of the Liberian Association of Pennsylvania, Inc.
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described
as a disservice to the Liberian nation the recent vote by the National
Transitional Legislative Assembly against the trial of former Liberian
dictator Charles Taylor at the War Crimes Tribunal in Freetown, Sierra
Leone.