The one-day crack Executive Mansion reconciliation meeting President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf hosted between the widows of the slain leaders of the ‘1980 Revolution’ ended with a sealed peace deal, leaving observers flummoxed. Observers, basing their cynicism on hindsight, had thought that the sealed deal might be anything but sincere for a number of reasons – past failed high-profile reconciliation attempts being one key reason. But Mrs. Tarloh Quiwonkpa, believed to be the most bitter of the two, says neither she, the President, nor Mrs. Samuel Doe have any reason to feign peace. She has been talking with The Analyst:

The wife of former AFL Commanding General and PRC strongman Thomas G. Quiwonkpa, Mrs. Tarlor Quiwonkpa, said the outcome of last week’s Executive Mansion peace meeting was no drama but a sincere mutual decision for peaceful coexistence.

Background

Mrs. Tarloh Quiwonkpa made the clarification in an interview with The Analyst, over the weekend, after this paper reported observers’ foreboding about how simply the widows of the general and the former President reconciled and decided to put the past behind them when much more formal and well-organized past efforts, which involved major stakeholders, failed.

They especially frowned on the exclusion of President Sirleaf from the process, arguing that in order for such reconciliation meeting to affect the nation’s peace process, the President needed to reconcile separately with each of the widows before attempting to reconcile them.

Also in their apprehension, observers had recalled the failed peace initiative hosted by President Doe in Nimba County months before Charles Taylor launched a full-scale invasion of the country with a force that comprised mostly General Quiwonkpa’s Nimba kinsmen.

They had also recalled the series of peace meetings sponsored by several NGOs and civil society groups, which initially appeared successful but later, proved to be nothing but farces staged-managed by local leaders and members of Nimba youth organizations in and out of the country.

Genuine reconciliation, no drama

But Mrs. Quiwonkpa said while such apprehensions may have their grounds, they went wide of the mark with regards to what occurred in President Sirleaf’s office last week.

She said attempts to draw conclusion from those past failures was unfair to the President’s efforts and to the resolve of  Mrs. Nancy Doe and her to work together in order to help move the country ahead rather brooding over the past.

“I think what is crucial is that our people need to understand that the war led so much displacement and animosity. And so, we have realized that we cannot move ahead until we have true reconciliation between the various parties, and that we have done,” Mrs. Quiwonkpa said.

She said given their concern for the wellbeing of the Liberian families and the growth of the nation, it was important that the Liberian people understand that what happened at the President’s office was genuine.

“This should not be suspicious; it is no dramatization, and we are not trying to make some sort of fun out of this realistic historic event,” she said.

She said there was no point for separate peace meetings between President Sirleaf and her because they had ironed out their differences in the US – without involving middle people or the media – during one of the President’s visits to deliver a speech at the University of Minnesota.

Mrs. Quiwonkpa said what many Liberians and the media interpreted as her “dislike” of President Sirleaf was actually efforts to get the President’s attention and empathy in the wake of her husband’s death in attempts to obtain the political “enterprise” to which President Sirleaf other friends of General Quiwonkpa had subscribed.

“I was trying to look at dialogue to find out something because Madam President, being the President of our nation, was also a very good friend of my late husband. I think what I have been looking for over the years, trying to make sure I reconcile and get an answer, I have gotten it. I am pleased and I am very, very hopeful,” the Quiwonkpa widow said.

She said what was necessary at this time of the nation’s recovery was not to try to relive or dwell perpetually in the past but for the Liberian people to understand that they cannot keep anger and animosity throughout the years.

“When you look back at the Liberian people, you cannot keep this resentfulness and hatefulness. You will rather want peace, unity, and love to prevail because these are what this nation needs to move us forward as we head into the future,” Mrs. Quiwonkpa emphasized.

She said she granted the interview to The Analyst essentially to proselytize the view that the nations needs, as its reconciliation pillars, love and peace and unity.

That, observers say, leaves the question of why the former commanding general’s wife chose now to reconcile with the wife of President Doe.

“It’s being 26 years. I think dialogue provides a sense of communication that brings two parties together to resolve issues. There may not be 50-50 resolution but we all need to find means of moving ahead in the interest of the people of Liberia,” she said, noting that as one advanced in age in a conflict situation, one got wiser.

She said it was because she was convinced that President Sirleaf was working in the interest of the Liberian people who the war have affected in various ways and to various degrees that she decided to meet and reconcile with her despite what other cynics were making of ongoing recovery efforts inside Liberia.

“If a person is doing something that is productive, despite, let us all put our personal issues aside. The Liberian people are still holding to many issues that she herself, as President, is trying to resolve. The President has realized that reconciliation is important,” she said.

Mrs. Quiwonkpa who currently resides in the US and by all indications has no immediate plan of coming home to resettle said the reconciliation with Mrs. Doe opened doors for other peace initiatives through President Sirleaf – especially with individuals like Harry Yuan, a kin of her husband who she said has abandoned her.

She said not only was she ready to reconcile with individuals with whom she has had differences, but that also she was prepared to contribute to the growth and development of the nation.

The registered nurse with master’s degree in Nursing Informatics and a musician said she was prepared to use her skills in her areas of expertise if she were requested to do so.

“At this point in time, I can be of any help. I will like to focus in areas where I like to see this nation’s children, hospitals, the social aspects get the best set of equipment, sustenance, and expertise in terms of how the equipment in a hospital are used. The most important aspect is I will be willing to provide my skills in the nursing,” she said.

Ahead of any opportunity to serve the Liberian people, the once bitter critic of President Sirleaf said upon returning to the US, she would begin a crusade of encouraging Liberians to build a good image of their country and their government.

“I will let them know that Liberian people are courageous, strong and determined people and that they are doing their best to survive. Even though it is not easy, they are not giving up,” she said.

She said she might even consider campaigning for President Sirleaf, if requested to do so – her only current political drawback, she said, being that she was a partisan of no political institution in the country.

“[I would campaign for her] if the President asks me. As I have indicated I am here for peace and reconciliation; I love the fact that she has done lots of good things in a very short time. Let’s be realistic; if she was not doing the things I will like to see, I am not afraid to express myself,” she said.

Apology

Meanwhile, Mrs. Quiwonkpa has apologized to the Liberian people on behalf of her husband and the late President for the roles they played in the Liberian conflict.

“They [Liberians people] went through tremendous pains and agony. At this time, I just want to say, I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. When I say I am sorry, I am sure a lot of people say if Quiwonkpa and Doe did not fight this was not going to happen,” she said.

She said her apology related more to the two men lending themselves to bad advice than to any evil plans that they hatched to subject the Liberian people to difficult times and mayhem.

“So I am sorry in the sense that they were subjected to what they went through and let’s put that ugly past behind us. Let’s come together; let’s shake hands and move on and forgive one another,” she said.

She said whatever national unity the nation sought, its religious community – Christians, Muslims, animists, etc. – must put the country first and bring its adherents together to put the ugly past behind them.

“There is a brighter future ahead of us if we come with true forgiveness and reconcile for the sake of our country,” she said.