Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Monrovia (Agenzia Fides) – “We must ensure that those who bear the greatest responsibilities for the horrors in Liberia must be held accountable for the crimes committed,” said Monsignor Andrew J. Karnley, Apostolic Administrator of Monrovia, capital of Liberia, at a Mass commemorating the over 700 victims of a massacre that took place in Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church on July 29, 1990. The attack was led by troops of then-President Samuel Doe.
He called on Liberians to see massacres committed by various factions in the civil war as lessons, saying they must vow they will never be repeated.
Liberia has witnessed the formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, based on the model of the one in South Africa, which was created after the era of Apartheid, to investigate crimes committed during the civil war. However, there are those in the country who are calling for the establishment of an authentic war crimes tribunal, like that of their neighbor, Sierra Leone. The conflict in Sierra Leone and that of Liberia are closely tied, so much so, that the former Liberian President Charles Taylor is being tried by the International Court for war crimes in Sierra Leone, for his role in financing the guerrillas of Sierra Leone who were responsible for numerous atrocities committed against civilians.
The Apostolic Administrator of Monrovia said that the Catholic Church also intends to ask for the formation of a war crimes tribunal in Liberia. “What happens after the TRC? Let’s stand for justice. Let us stand up for righteousness. If we fail to hold them accountable for their crimes, some of us will become victims again one day.”
Msgr. Karnley recalled the massacre of the defenseless citizens who had sought refuge in the Lutheran church. “They had come to the house of God to seek refuge under his watchful eyes but wicked men came and murdered them right in the presence of God.”
Msgr. Karnley also called for the erection the erection of special memorials for all victims of the conflict at strategic locations around the country. “The truth telling process in a therapeutic one, we believe that special memorials must be constructed at the approaches to our major cities to serve as remembrance for all those who lost their lives during this national horror.” (LM) (Agenzia Fides 18/07/2008)
