At the time there are increasing calls for the establishment of a war and economic crimes court here, a call has been made for the arrest of Nimba County Sen. Prince Y. Johnson, popularly known as PYJ.The call is not being made for his role in the brutal slaughter of over 250, 000 Liberians here during the country’s civil war, but rather his recent treats to go after his kinsmen who are in support of the establishment of said court.
The Nimba Senator, who is listed among several individuals within the Truth and Reconciliation Report to face trial for their roles in the country’s brutal civil war, days ago vowed to go after his kinsmen, he did not say how.
The Liberian civil war left hundreds of thousands dead with infrastructure and businesses worth billions destroyed.Speaking on a local radio station Wednesday, one of the men PYJ has vowed to after, Nimba County District #8 Rep. Larry Younquoi called on state securities here to invite Sen. Johnson for questioning on the basis of his treats.
“And those are things that he should be called now by the CID and the police in uniform, Senator Johnson what do you mean by that?” Rep. Younquoi told local broadcaster OK FM Wednesday, 14 November.
Sen. Johnson recently threatened to unleash massive resistance and go after key advocates, including fellow Nimba County lawmakers in the wake of incessant public campaign here for the establishment of a war crimes court to get war criminals account for their actions.
The Nimba County Senator remains persistently uncomfortable with the war crimes court campaign as he faces wide ranging allegations of alleged atrocities, which include the capturing and mutilation of sitting Liberian President Samuel Kanyon Doe to death during the brutal civil war in 1990.
The civil war in the 90s is estimated to have claimed about 250,000 lives here and forced millions into exile before another rebellion to oust imprisoned ex-President Charles Ghankay Taylor in 2003 witnessed another mass bloodshed with thousands more Liberians murdered.
The two – time Nimba Senator, Prince Johnson in the 90s controlled a dreaded breakaway rebel faction, the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), an offshoot of Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).
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In the wake of his threats to mobilize his loyalists from Nimba County to resist and go after war crimes court supporters, Rep. Younquoi wants to be provided state security protection to avoid being harmed before government gets alarmed.
The war crimes court campaign has an international backing, mainly from the US whose citizens were among the victims too.In his threats, Sen. Johnson specifically names Rep. Younquoi, Nimba County Rep. Samuel G. Korga and Nimba kinsman Cllr.Tiawan Gongloe as members of his county that are pushing for a war crimes court, warning that he and his loyalists will go after them in their respective homes.
But Rep. Younqoi says he blames the Senate and the Executive for allowing Sen. Johnson to make “reckless statement” without taking action against him.“Let me tell you for record, I blame the Senate and the Executive Branch of Government for allowing Senator Johnson to be reckless in statements that he makes around,” he says.
Rep. Younquoi adds that Sen. Johnson could be facing questions for treason by now for threatening resistance against efforts to have him give account of his past if Liberia was a country that protects lives.Rep. Younquoi laments that Sen. Johnson is after his life, thus prompting his call for government to provide him state security protection.
He wonders why the police are not asking Sen. Johnson by now for his threats, noting that the police are here and for the past one week, Sen. Johnson has been saying he will resist the war crimes court and making other threats without any action taken.
Rep. Younquoi describes Sen. Johnson as a divisive character on the basis of allegations that the Senator had claimed that Nimba belongs to Gio and Mano tribes alone, with claims that Mandingos do not belong to the county.According to him, Sen. Johnson allegedly says he cannot work with Liberians of the Krahn tribe, slain President Doe’s kinsmen.
But Rep. Younquoi warns that Sen. Johnson has to account for his killings, alleging that the Senator killed an enterprising young man from his (Rep. Younquoi’s) home.
He vows that he would sign up to the war crimes court document when it is presented to the Legislature, declaring Sen. Johnson an enemy of the state who had already been paid by Nimba people for whatever good he may have done for them.
By Winston W. Parley-Edited by Othello B. Garblah
