Monrovia – A Grand Bassa County lawmaker has vowed to support calls for the establishment of war and economic crimes court as a means of “ending the culture of impunity and serving affected Liberians that are yearning for seeking justice”.
Report by Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, [email protected]
Representative Vicent Willie says he also suffered the “atrocities and psychological impact” of the country’s 14-year civil conflict and now that he is a legislator; he is unflinchingly supporting the prosecution of sponsors and perpetrators of war crimes.
“We represent our people and when majority of those people are affected, it means that we should stand tall for them,” Hon. Willie said during an interview in Monrovia.
“I am one of those many victims of the circumstances that was being created by those who killed our people, those who sponsored war in our country and that is why I’m vigorously supporting this process.”
“I was a little boy and I experienced the killing of people and I can say to you that most of us that were born in the 1980s are all traumatized. Those who created those problems for us, those who sponsored it, those who went on the field and also killed our people – they should be brought to justice.”
Willie, who represents District #4 in Grand Bassa County at the Capitol, disclosed that he has begun researching a bill that was proffered and submitted during the tenure of the 53rd Legislature by his predecessor, Jeh Byron Browne.
“The man that I succeeded at the House proffered a bill for the establishment of a war crimes in the country – I have gone back to collect that bill and I’m doing serious research on it so that the bill can be inculcated with the one that has be sent by the Citizens Action for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court,” he said.
The lawmaker’s open support for the establishment of war and economic crimes court comes as pressure mounts on the government of President George Weah to prosecute individuals accused of committing these crimes over the past decades in the country.
The submission of a bill sponsored by a United States Congressman Daniel M. Donovan (Republican, New York) calling for the full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendation including the establishment of a war crimes court for Liberia is fueling speculations that Liberia’s international friends including the European Union, United Kingdom and the US are all supporting the prosecution of war criminals.
And the arrest in France last week of Awaliho Soumaworo aka “Kunti K”, a naturalized Dutch citizen over his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996) while acting as a commander for the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), adds to a list of Liberians that are either on trial or have been prosecuted in a foreign land because of crimes they committed against humanity.
There are mixed reactions amongst Liberians, some are arguing that it is untimely to make such a move.
But Hon. Willie has slammed these perceptions, stressing that the time is expedient to prosecute individuals who are accused of plunging the country into destruction.
“If we do that, we’ll end the long existing problems of Liberia. There’s this saying, ‘if you sweep the dirt under the carpet, it will get puff-up and you won’t know how to control it’,” he said, recalling that because the country has failed to end impunity its problem will always persists.
“Those who suffered from the killings and looting of our coffers are more than those who created the crimes and are happily moving around here. So, how can you prioritize a minimal group of people over the majority? Those few people among us must be prosecuted to serve as deterrent for our younger generation.”
Establishing war and economic crimes court is not a one-day’s thing, the legislators we will have to pass it and the president approves it, which might take two to three years. So, nobody should start complaining about money and it’s still soon – this is a matter of playing with the situation and our people will continue to grieve, he said.
“Some of us who are affected by their action are more than those that are moving with happiness on the streets. Liberians will never be happy until justice prevails. Those who killed innocent people and sponsored the killings of innocent people must be brought o justice.”
At the same time, the Grand Bassa County lawmaker, who is serving his first term as a lawmaker, stressed that if Liberians had taken measures in the past to curb the repeated economic and war crimes, the country wouldn’t have plunged into the current deplorable state of corruption and impunity.
“If we have the war crimes court established in this country, lot of things will change – there’s this argument that people are raising that there’s no money to establish the world crimes court.
He said Liberians need to stop the “lazy argument about being interconnected” and that the establishment of the court would threaten the peace.
He rejected notions that establishing the court would open old wounds as being perceived by individuals, who are peddling misinformation about the initiative.
“Look at Sierra Leone, what happened to people who meted evil against their people? The country [Sierra Leone] is moving ahead; no wounds were opened and it has even solved the problem because people saw justice,” he said.
He argued that once people are served justice, wounds will be healed, and they will support justice.
“But when I see that someone killed my ma and pa, my sister and brother, looted the coffers of this country and happily going all over the place, they are building their duplexes and riding luxurious cars – for every time you see those people, it reflects your memory and you get angry,” he added.
Weighing-in on the political will of the Weah-led administration to support the establishment of the court, he asserted that the President is “one of the best persons” to lead the country to establishing war and economic crimes court.
Willie also recalled that House Speaker Bhofal Chambers had been a long time advocate for the establishment of the court, adding that “ even bulk of our colleagues are in readiness to support this process.”
“I don’t think the Speaker will go against his previous action… he stood firmly in support of war crimes court in the 53rd and I know that he will support it in the 54th, if he doesn’t Liberians and history will judge him.”
He said Liberia’s international partners are showing commitment to the process and would obviously help source funding when the need arises.
“If this generation doesn’t act now, our next generation will follow same and we will be heading for different thing, and maybe it might be catastrophic for us in years to come,” he said.