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Kromah, duo, others beg for clemency By: Alloycious David Courtesy: Hot News June 20, 2009  It
is apparently beginning to dawn on former Liberian warlords and former
rebel generals that the arrogance they exhibited during the TRC process
did not worth it. With several people and groups calling for war crimes
court to prosecute them, the former warlords and ex-generals are now
begging the Liberian people to pardon their wickedness. The leader of a defunct warring fraction, United Liberation for Democracy (ULIMO), Alhaji Kromah, now professor of Mass Communications at the University of Liberia, and two former dreaded rebel generals are begging for clemency for their roles in the war. Alhaji G. V. Kromah was national Chairman of the ULIMO forces before it broke up into two splinter groups – ULIMO-K loyal to him and ULIMO-J loyal to his former battle group commander, the late Roosevelt Johnson. But Monday flashed a different reality to Kromah, who had earlier this year accepted no wrongdoings or atrocities allegedly committed by his Mandingo-dominated ULIMO-K. He openly begged Liberians and those victimized by fighters who associated with his warring fraction to pardon them. Although he was seeking blanket pardon from the victims of his fighters’ excesses at his command, Kromah was saying ULIMO had come into the picture of the Liberian war for the purpose of stopping the war that was started by the ruthless and dreaded National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). “I have told the TRC that my group never committed any crime but I want to apologize here today,” he said. The audience watched as Kromah changed tone; perhaps one of the most deceptive characters of a man who is impacting knowledge into hundreds of Liberian students. Kromah, a former presidential aspirant in the 2005 elections, apologized for his group’s action, but again justified two wrongs for a right, saying, “All Liberians did something wrong” during the war. So he decided he should set the tone of discussion at the TRC National Reconciliation conference, warning delegates not to identify culprits of the civil war. “You need to come here with an open mind,” he said. Kromah did not say what constitute an open mind, but many are arguing that the consideration of a war crimes court to prosecute Kromah and his likes is also an open mind. Many believe the Liberian parlance of “bygones be bygones” is a recipe for most chaos, violence, war, and a stepping stone for Kromah and others to commit crimes again and again and go free. Speaking also during the reconciliation conference currently convening at the Unity Conference Center in Virginia, Charles Taylor’s former dreaded militia commander and general frontline commander, Roland Duo is also pleading with Liberians to forgive him for his role during the war. Duo was the commander of the Seaport Police, a deposit of former NPFL fighters who did not find a place in the National Army, Taylor’s private army, the Anti Terrorist Unit, and other security apparatuses. Roland’s rag-tag militia forcibly conscripted young men, students etc and took them on the battlefield to a war they did not make. Duo admitted that the former GOL militias and other fighting forces commanded by him, his boss Benjamin Yeaten who was the General Chiefs of Staff, were part of many things that happened during the war, noting, “There are no good war and a bad peace.” Although Duo was accused of massive looting and acquiring plots of lands forcibly, he wants Liberians to help sustain the peace secured. He operates housing units at various parts of Monrovia. He too cautioned delegates to put aside personal feelings for the sake of Liberia. He said if Liberians pressed for prosecution, almost everyone would be prosecuted because all Liberians one way or the other participated in the crisis. Critics say Duo generalization cannot hold water because not all Liberians were maiming, killing, raping, torturing people, especially women and children. Observers say if a war crimes court is established it would clear define who qualifies for prosecution and not all Liberians as Kromah and Duo may perceive. Another ex-rebel general who spoke during the conference was the spokesman of the defunct Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), Boi Bleayu Boi, a Reverend-turned-rebel commander. Boi was the towering voice driving the forces of MODEL toward Monrovia to unseat the regime of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor. Boi has also exonerated the MODEL forces of any wrongdoings, but sources in Tappita and Graie have accused the MODEL fighting men of committing atrocities. But when spoke at the conference Wednesday, he said he was also sorry for his actions and appealed to Liberians to put the past behind them. The MODEL was a predominantly Krahn rebel group. Expressing remorse for his action, Bleayu Boi said had he known that his association with the war would have stigmatized his family’s name he would not have participated in it. Note: story contributed by Alh Donzo, AKA-(Chris D) |
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