Monrovia — The Liberia Peacebuilding Office warns that unless the government engages in massive public education about establishing the War and Economic Crimes Court, the process could face serious resistance from citizens in rural communities.
The newly appointed Executive Director of the Liberia Peacebuilding Office, Mr. Sheikh Kamara, predicts a potential disruption of the process leading to establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court for the country because of inadequate awareness.
Speaking in an interview with reporters in Monrovia on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, Mr. Kamara said that he senses potential disruption and resistance to the court's coming due to limited awareness across the country.
According to him, Liberia is at a critical junction regarding implementing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's recommendation for establishing the court. It's saddening that only people in cities or urban areas know about ongoing efforts to establish the court.
"There will be a potential disruption and resistance in establishing the War and Economic Crimes Court due to the lack of proper awareness and information. If that is not done across the country, especially in rural Liberia, there will be protests and disenchantment because people don't have the rightful information." He cautions.
According to him, people are just hearing about the court's coming but don't know how it came into being or where it originated, and the public needs to know.
Mr. Kamara urges the government to create a roadmap to inform Liberians and communities about the process leading to the court's establishment and its importance and benefits.
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"If you don't do that, people will indoctrinate their followers, and the court will be hard to accept. The office of the Liberia Peace Building will play a key role in that, and we are willing. The government needs to make available funds," he further urges.
Mr. Kamara says the office, when funded, will sensitize the public about the court so that tomorrow, there will be no disruptions and resistance, and people will not use misinformation and disinformation to subject the people to negative thoughts about the court.
He warns that once the court's implementation is disrupted, the government will feel the pain. Therefore, it's important at this early stage that the government creates a national roadmap for the court and begins to engage in awareness campaigns to provide the right message and information.
He wonders whether those in rural communities, especially far-to-reach villages, are hearing about the court and, if so, whether they have the right information.
He says there will be a time when people will carry out misinformation and disinformation in the interior where people have little or no knowledge regarding the court, and that will cause potential disruption and resistance in the process.
When that happens, how do we disabuse the minds of the people? We need funding to conduct awareness to make people know what it's about and how it came to birth. Someone thinks it just came but not so from the TRC Report, and we have to implement it.
