6 July 2009
(Page 3 of 3)
The act aside, she said the report did not take cognizance of this Act in its findings, determinations and recommendations for prosecution and lustration in Volume 1 and The Consolidated Final Report, Volume II of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, emanating from the TRC Public Hearings.
Other reports she said the report ignored included the ; The Advocates for Human Rights( USA) Diaspora Report; The National Conference On Reconciliation, convened by the TRC, and Co-Chaired by the Governance Reform Commission and "additional research findings" from others.
Further justifying her dissention Cllr. Bull said the act to grant immunity from both civil and criminal proceedings against all persons within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Liberia from acts or crimes committed during the civil war from December 1989 to August 2003 was not repealed before the enactment of "The Act To Establish The Truth And Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Of Liberia" in 2005.
"Therefore, the act quoted herein is still in force within this jurisdiction, the Republic of Liberia. This Amnesty clause is a clear indication that the parties to the CPA Agreement opted for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as an Alternative to a War Crime Tribunal... to document and acknowledge a legacy of conflict and human rights violation facilitate genuine healing in the spirit of national reconciliation for Liberia," she said.
She said the TRC emerged out of negotiated settlements in which there were no clear victors and that it would be out of place for the commission to try to achieve that which was not achieved by belligerent parties and human rights advocates at a time when Liberians would rather forget the past and forge ahead with unity and reconciliation.
In a related development, the a pressure group pressing for the establishment of a war crimes court to prosecute former Liberian warlords and their lieutenants says it is dissatisfied with the TRC report.
In the opinion of the group, the Commission falls far short of obtaining immediate justice for the Liberian people by first calling for the resignation of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and those it considers key perpetrators of violence against the Liberian people.
The Analyst will bring you the group's contentions in subsequent reports.
With these disagreements and public outcry against a report that all Liberians had been waiting for to deliver peace and reconciliation, observers say the TRC has either torpedoed the peace process has turned it upside down. "But did it?" is the question many say will be answered in the next months as Liberians peruse the report.
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