MONROVIA – Liberia, with a rocky historical past of two bloody civil wars fueled by political and tribal divides, is now having fun with the dividends of peace. Nonetheless, one main agenda its publish warfare leaders have tried to achieved however failed is reconciliation.
By Gerald C. Koinyeneh, [email protected]
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, with Joseph Boakai serving as her Vice President trumpeted reconciliation as one in every of her main home applications when she inherited a rustic reeling from the brutal civil wars. Her appointment of her fiercest political rival, opposition chief George Weah as Liberia’s peace ambassador was not sufficient to assist her obtain her aim. Sirleaf would later admit that in her final annual message in 2017.
“Let me say, straight out, two areas have continued to pose main challenges for our administration: corruption and reconciliation,” she stated. “Our nation’s lengthy battle for nationwide reconciliation has its genesis in historical past. A coup d’état and years of civil battle exacerbated longstanding divides which have left deep wounds. The strategies and motivations of the Fact and Reconciliation Fee haven’t helped us to discover a approach ahead to attain the specified outcomes for reconciliation. Nonetheless, we should proceed implementation of the 207 suggestions within the Report, nearly all of which have already been carried out.”
President George Weah, who succeeded her, opted to not assist the TRC’s advice to ascertain a tribunal to attempt these liable for the worst atrocities dedicated throughout the warfare, within the identify of reconciliation. His resolution drew criticism, with many accusing him of protecting alleged warfare criminals for political acquire.
President Boakai has made reconciliation, a serious home coverage. Already he has collaborated with households of the late Samuel Kanyon Doe and William R. Tolbert to provide them symbolic reburial in Grand Gedeh and Montserrado, respectively.
He has additionally convened a nationwide reconciliation program. Different notable nationwide occasions embody the official celebration of Liberia’s 178th Independence anniversary and a nationwide prayer service on the Effort Baptist Church after he declared Wednesday, July 30, a Nationwide Prayer Day.
Nonetheless, the absence of key opposition figures at these main nationwide occasions has sparked public concern and renewed scrutiny of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s reconciliation drive, with critics questioning the sincerity and inclusivity of his authorities’s efforts to unite the nation.
On President Boakai’s declared Nationwide Prayer Day, Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe of Bomi County delivered a stirring prayer that doubled as a pointed attraction to the President.
“Father, we elevate up our President, H.E. Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., into Your Arms. Could You strengthen him every day, lead him in knowledge, and provides him a coronary heart of a real Father to this Nation. We ask particularly that You give him the grace to forgive, and to behave on that forgiveness—not simply in phrases, however in deeds,” Snowe prayed.
The senator’s remarks struck a nerve with observers, notably as he emphasised the necessity for President Boakai to succeed in throughout the political divide and foster real unity.
“We pray that he’ll take the daring step to work with the previous Presidents, Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and George Manneh Weah, Madam Jewel Howard-Taylor, Speaker Fonati Koffa, in addition to political leaders like Mr. Alexander B. Cummings, Mr. Benoni Urey, and others who’ve served and proceed to care deeply concerning the future of Liberia.”
Becoming a member of the refrain of concern, the Nationwide Patriotic Get together’s Chairman, Atty. George Sylvester Mulbah, criticized the Boakai administration for what he termed a “lack of a holistic reconciliation course of.” He identified that main opposition figures proceed to be excluded from nationwide gatherings.
Atty. Mulbah stated such exclusion undermines Liberia’s democratic and reconciliation processes.
He referred to as for a deliberate effort to incorporate opposition leaders reminiscent of former President George Weah, Alexander Cummings, and Benoni Urey within the nationwide dialogue, citing their continued relevance to peacebuilding and nationwide improvement.
Whereas prime Boakai officers say invites have been accorded to those political leaders, their absence has fueled hypothesis that nationwide reconciliation shouldn’t be continuing in earnest. Some argue that the Boakai administration has but to maneuver past symbolic gestures and take significant steps towards bridging the deep political and social divisions which have lengthy plagued Liberia.
Critics contend that reconciliation should contain inclusion, recognition, and respect for all former leaders and political actors, no matter previous affiliations or disagreements. They warn that failure to take action dangers undermining public confidence within the President’s acknowledged dedication to unity and peace.
As Liberia continues to recuperate from its political and financial struggles, the decision for President Boakai to “act not simply in phrases, however in deeds” echoes as each a religious attraction and a political crucial.
