Nimba County Senator Prince Johnson’s calls for UN investigators into perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Liberian Civil War has added a twist to the ongoing debate over the establishment of a war and economic crimes court here.
By Jonathan Browne
Monrovia, April 10, 2024: Former rebel general, Senator Prince Yormie Johnson, one of the key actors of the Liberian civil war listed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for prosecution, trashes the TRC report here. Instead, he wants the United Nations to come and conduct an independent investigation into perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He argues that prosecution of war crimes in Liberia should not be based on the TRC recommendations, which he describes as bogus. He notes that Commissioners of the TRC were divided on its final report and recommendations with four against three.
Senator Johnson’s position followed the signing of resolution by about 28 senators on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, endorsing the establishment of a war and economic crimes court for Liberia.
He didn’t initially affix his signature to the document but subsequently approached the presiding Senate Pro-Tempore Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence and signed, followed by Willington Geevon Smith and Bill Theaway of River Cess County and Gbehzohngar Findley of Grand Bassa County, respectively.
Senators on Capitol Hill had begun signing the resolution on Monday, which they consummated yesterday, concurring with their colleagues from the House of Representatives in the formation of the court that seeks to prosecute people who committed heinous crimes and crimes against humanity during Liberia’s 14-year-old civil conflict that left about 250,000 people dead, including women and children.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has recommended over 90 individuals, including ex-generals and former officials, for both war crimes and economic crimes.
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But PYJ further argues that the TRC report is mere recommendations that are not binding. He notes that the Supreme Court of Liberia ruled against the recommendations because they are unconstitutional.
“If you want to bring a war crimes court, the best thing to do is to write the United Nations directly, so that the UN can send their investigation team to go all over again to the counties to find out information about those people who may have committed heinous crimes, but it should not be based on the TRC that is bogus,” he maintains.
He noted that a recommendation is nothing but advice, a suggestion, a console, or an opinion that is subject to scrutiny.
The signing of separate resolutions by the House and the Liberian Senate in support of the war and economic crimes court marks a significant departure from the protracted delay by two previous Liberian administrations in implementing the TRC recommendation, which has been lying on the shelf, dusted.
This followed President Joseph Boakai’s bold determination to bring to closure an ugly page in Liberian history from December 25, 1989, to September 2003, with the signing of the Compressive Peace Accord Accra, Ghana, warring factions, and civil society.
The international community, including the United States, supports the President’s resolve.
U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack is leading the campaign here, urging citizens to support calls for the establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court for the country.
President Joseph Boakai publicly announced his support for the court during his inaugural address in January and has held a conference with Dr. Alan White, former chief investigator of the UN-backed Special Court of Sierra Leone, who was reportedly present at the Senate to watch Tuesday’s endorsement by the Senate.
