Filed in by Olando Testimony Zeongar – 0776819983/0880-361116/life2short4some@yahoo.com
Monrovia – It’s more than one month since it was first reported that former dreaded warlord Prince Y. Johnson, popularly known as PYJ, had allegedly sealed a deal with President George Weah, to trash the establishment of a war crimes court for Liberia, yet the Liberian leader remains reticent over denying or confirming such report.
President George Manneh Weah continues to remain conspicuously taciturn over reports that he has allegedly entered into a deal with former dreaded warlord Prince Y. Johnson, to trash the establishment of a war crimes court for Liberia.
‘Deal exposed’
Late in August, news broke that President Weah and the former leader of the defunct Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), Prince Y. Johnson, who is now senator of vote-rich Nimba County, had entered into an agreement for the latter to support the former second term presidential bid, while the former will in return use his presidential powers to quash the establishment of war crimes court for Liberia.
PYJ made the disclosure back in August that he had entered into a pact with President Weah and other individuals whose identity he did not reveal, so that the Liberian leader shields them away from appearing before a war crimes court, in exchange for their support to his second term bid to hold on to power.
A PUNCH investigation reveals that the reported deal was uncovered when Senator Johnson at the time informed some lawmakers at the Legislature regarding what he called a set of proposals from the president, so that he gets their support in 2023 for the presidency and for the impeachment of embattled Supreme Court Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, and for his part, he (President Weah) would squash anything that has to do with the establishment of a war crimes court for Liberia.
Infamously credited with the capturing, torturing, disfiguring and murdering of former president Samuel Doe, Senator Johnson is also accused of taking several Liberians including renowned Liberian musicians Robert Toe and Tecumsey Roberts, to their early graves during the brutal Liberian civil war.
Now a preacher said to have been converted to Christianity in Nigeria, Senator Johnson, in August, while delivering a sermon at his Chapel of Faith Ministries, in Paynesville City, termed as a fiasco heightened calls for the establishment of a war crimes court for Liberia, saying no such court would be established in the country, and that those calling for same are “foolish.”
Senator Johnson bragged that he played a pivotal role in bringing President Weah to power, indicating that to apparently protect him and others who allegedly perpetrated mayhem during the war, the Liberian leader will not give in to the establishment of war crimes court.
In the Nimba County senator’s sermon that went viral on social media, he noted that regarding President Weah’s resolve to protect him and others, he stands ready to rally citizens of Nimba to massively support the president’s second term bid, adding that such support would be contingent upon how many citizens of Nimba President Weah would appoint to major governmental posts during his first term.
“… If you touch George Weah, you’ve touched us. He has got our backing and we, too, got his backing; so, your war crimes court is [a] fiasco,” Senator Johnson said.
‘International pressure‘
Howbeit, Liberia’s long-time friend, the United States’ Foreign Affairs Committee of that country’s House of Representatives, Wednesday, passed a resolution in support of the establishment of a war crimes court for Liberia.
The lead proponent of the resolution, Representative Daniel Donovon, who represents approximately the 6,000 immigrant Liberian community on Staten Island and parts of South Brooklyn in New York, tweeted Wednesday that the “Committee passed my resolution supporting full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations, including the establishment of an extraordinary Criminal Tribunal for Liberia.”
PUNCH has seen copy of the resolution which was among nine other Bipartisan Bills advanced by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on 27 September, which affirms strong United States-Liberia ties and support for democratic principles, and calls for full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, including the establishment of an Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal for Liberia.
“Whereas today, the United States is home to an estimated 80,000 people of Liberian ancestry in vibrant communities across the country, who have been instrumental in America’s efforts to build a peaceful, democratic, and prosperous Liberia,” the resolution commences.
It goes on to say, Liberia and the United States share close historical, political, and economic ties over the course of a nearly 200-year relationship, adding, that the people and Government of the United States have a deep interest in Liberia’s democratic stability and postconflict development.
The resolution which seeks the full implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including the establishment of an Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal, also endeavors advancing Liberia’s efforts toward national development through continued support to be channeled through efforts by the Department of State and United States Agency for International Development toward the rule of law, effective governance, and the robust role of civil society in the country.
” Whereas the civil war from 1991 to 2002 resulted in the death of over 200,000 people in Sierra Leone and Liberia, the displacement of over 1,000,000 persons, and the horrific cases of amputations, mass rape, and human rights abuses conducted under the leadership of Charles Taylor.”
In closing, the Rep Donovon sponsored resolution states: “Whereas the United States Government and American citizens have invested in Liberia to rebuild and support democratic institutions, post-conflict recovery, economic growth, improved access to education and health care, professionalization of the country’s military and civilian security forces, and efforts to foster accountability and transparency of government institutions: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— (1) upholds its commitment to maintain and foster the enduring relationship between the people and the Governments of the United States and Liberia; “
(2) “urges the Government and people of Liberia to support the truth and reconciliation process through full implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, including the establishment of an Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal;” and
(3) “supports efforts by the Department of State and United States Agency for International Development to advance Liberian efforts toward national reconciliation through continued support for the rule of law, effective governance, and the robust role of civil society,”.
