Liberia-The death of former Liberian warlord turned elected Senator of Nimba County, Prince Y. Johnson (PYJ)on Thursday, November 28, 2024 has shortened the list of former Liberian war actors recommended for prosecution in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) final report of 2010.
Depending on who you talk to, the late “PYJ” as he was widely called, was hero or villain as seen in a wave of reactions by Liberian citizens on the social media in reaction to news of the death of Sen. Johnson at a local clinic in Monrovia’s Paynesville suburb.
Cautioning people of his native Nimba County on Thursday, his political prodigy, Vice President Jerimiah Koung spoke of the need for unity and called on citizens not to react to “denigrating” comments being expressed on Facebook and other social media platforms by some. President Joseph Nyuma Boakai later described the fallen Senator as a patriot.
PYJ, who was a rebel general and leader of the disbanded Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL), was among the big six former warlords recommended for prosecution for bearing the greatest responsibilities for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country’s 14 years civil war that claimed the lives of some 250,000 people.
His demise follows the death of the leader of the defunct ULIMOJ and K leaders, Roosevelts Johnson and Alhaji G.V. Kromah some time ago. Charles G. Taylor, former Leader, and key Associates of NPFL, General Prince Y. Johnson, former Leader of the INPFL, and key Associates of INPFL, Prof Alhaji G. Kromah, former Leader of ULIMO-K, and key Associates of ULIMO-K, George E. S. Boley, former Leader of LPC, and key Associates of LPC, Sekou D. Konneh, former Leaders of LURD, and key Associates of LURD, Thomas Yaya Nimley, former Leader of MODEL, and key Associates of MODEL.
Besides Kromah and Prince Y. Johnson, a good number of their key war-time associates have since died, including former ULIMO-J rebel leader Roosevelt Johnson and others. Many considered the fallen Liberian Senator and one-time INPFL leaders as the “star” of the pending war crimes trial theatre, as the office of the War and Economic Crimes Court set up by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai is set up.
Other key associates of the big six including former General Yeaten of the defunct National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) are still alive and were named in the 2010 final report of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) who were said to be responsible for the years of carnage to be prosecuted.
“All factions to the Liberian conflict are responsible for abuses, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. The massive wave of gross violations and atrocities assumed a systematic pattern of abuse. All factions committed gender-based violence against women and recruited children to participate in acts of violence,” the TRC report revealed.
“External state actors in Africa, North America and Europe participated, supported, aided, abetted, conspired and instigated violence, war and regime change for political, economic and foreign policy advantages and gains (Consolidated Final Report, Vol. II, p. 18).”
The TRC advised for the establishment of an Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal for Liberia and named individuals, corporations and institutions recommended for prosecution or, in some cases, for further investigation.
The commission also included a list of individuals recommended to be barred from holding public office for thirty years (including President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf). The commission urged the Government of Liberia to guarantee the full enjoyment of social, economic and cultural rights, in addition to civil and political rights.
The TRC’s report called for the establishment of a National Palava Hut Forum as a complementary tool for justice and national reconciliation. The commission recommended that the Palava Hut process be based on traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. Persons recommended for prosecution in the TRC Report for the commission of international crimes would not be entitled to be pardoned through the Palava Hut process.
The TRC recommended that the Government of Liberia assumes its full responsibility under international law to provide reparations for all those individuals and communities victimized by the years of instability and war, especially women and children. The commission recommended a reparation program of approximately US$500m over 30 years. The commission recommended general amnesty for children, and amnesty for lesser crimes in an effort to foster national healing and reconciliation if individuals admit their wrongs and express remorse.”
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