Saturday, April 01, 2006

 

April ~ A Dreadful Month For Liberia

The month of April should be a prayerful month for Liberia and for all her citizens wherever they may be. The below incidents were just a few of the human tragedies and carnage that I remember from where I sit, without much thinking, that occurred during the month of April in various years ago. Plane crashes that took the lives of permanent citizens, especially the one on April 28, 1975; the April 14, 1979 Rice Riot; the April 12, 1980 Coup d'état and execution of President William Richard Tolbert; the April 22, 1980 execution of the thirteen government officials; the April 14,1981 execution of five members of the original coup members including the number two man for allegedly staging a putsch; the April 1, 1985 Flanzamaton 50-caliber fiasco who was later executed; the Saturday, April 6,1996 Roosevelt Johnson night mare; and several other dates within the month of April during the war with unprecedented carnage and human suffering that began on Sunday, December 24, 1989 and ended on Monday, August 11, 2003 when Charles Taylor left for exile. It is cautiously interesting that the Taylor saga from his alleged disappearance to his helicopter flight to Freetown occurred at the eleventh hour before the month of April 2006.

Ghana's Draconian Law Against Female Students
With the many strides nations have made and are making to break the disparity of education between the sexes, Ghana still practices the policy to deny pregnant students the right to sit for their basic education and senior secondary school certificate examinations. Recently many female students' rights were violated when they were forced to undergo pregnancy test without their consents. A number of these students, who had just weeks to sit for their school certificate examinations, were kicked out of school because they were found to be pregnant.

This is not one world. It appears that the heads of schools discriminate, harass and traumatize these young ladies, which is a clear violation of their human rights. I urge the leaders of the Ghana Education Service, yea the Republic of Ghana to abolish the policy that denies pregnant students the right to sit for their basic education and senior secondary school certificate examinations; moreover, those who violated the rights of the students be persecuted for their gross violation of several counts of human injustices.

Who Were Responsible?
I believe the now Special Court Prosecutor Desmond de Silva, QC, chief prosecutor and his predecessor David Crane of the war crimes court in Sierra Leone were very much responsible for the fiasco that surrounded the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's non committal to arrest and take charge of, the Olusegun Obasango non committal to apprehend since no local crime was committed and Mr. Taylor's own will to survive, who took advantage of the mess and allegedly took to his heels with respect to the first law of nature, self preservation, and allegedly absconded in a desperate act of cowardice, an act I never envisioned could have clouded the confused mind of CHARLES GHANKAY MACARTHUR DAPKPANA TAYLOR.

The slave masters, who stood by from afar, airlifted their wards and watched Liberia bleed, still want to impose their colonialism orders down our throats. They now want to take charge and command us as if we are still attached to their leashes. Too little, too late!

What are the facts? The indictment was issued in June of 2003. Pray tell me, this is 2006 and why is it at this point in time, tremendous pressure is been borne on the Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and the Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. No one wanted to be the pawn in this whole Taylor affair. The two countries had enjoyed cordial relationship and now a rift has been wedge between both countries because of this blunder. Nigeria informed the Liberian authority to travel to the seaside town of Calabar and take custody of Mr. Taylor, but Liberia wanted no part in that rigmarole and stressed that Taylor to be sent directly to Sierra Leone. Sent by whom Liberia?

The protocol between the special court, the counties of Liberia and Nigeria were non-existing. The very actions the leaders of Liberia and Nigeria did not want to get involved in as they tried desperately to wash their hands off this Taylor affair exactly happened. Due to Taylor's alleged flight, he was escorted to Liberia, handed over to the Liberian government, still as a free man. The Liberian government should have turned Taylor over to the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) representative, who would have read the Miranda rights to him, Taylor, as he was been arrested, handcuffed and shackled, to be transported to Freetown where he would be placed in custody at the special court holding pen. I am not sure, but if the Liberian representative put the cuffs on Taylor, then there was a blunder in the protocol and procedural hand over.

All I hope and wish is that Liberia continues on the right path of reconstruction and nation building and not sidetracked in the Taylor and the Special Court Proceedings. Let me just put your hearts at ease friends. I believe Charles Taylor is not a threat to Liberia nor is he a threat to Africa. Taylor's two most thoughtful phrases he uttered at about three O'clock Liberian time on Monday August 11, 2003, in the pallor of the Executive Mansion have come to hunt him, the "sacrificial lamb" and "God willing, I will be back." This turn of event is the beginning of the end of his freedom, while being innocent until proven guilty of the alleged crimes. Good luck.

The below are excerpt of the farewell speech that was delivered in the presence of African leaders who came to see him off into exile. "History will be kind to me. I know I have fulfilled my duties, ...I realized that I could no longer see the blood of our people wasted." He had decided to make the ultimate sacrifice, and be the "sacrificial lamb" and the "whipping boy". "I'm stepping down from office of my own volition. No one can take credit for asking me to step down. I did not want to leave this country. I can say I am being forced into exile." "I must stop fighting now. I do not stop out of fear of the fight. I stop now out of love for you, …for me it is no longer important that I fight. What is important is that you live and there is peace… I can no longer see you suffering, the suffering is enough." "God willing, I will be back."

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