The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC) of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, United States Congress, is expected to begin hearings in the proposal for the establishment of a war and economic crimes court for Liberia on today, June 21, 2021.
The US Congress hearing will mark the greatest milestone in the establishment of a war crimes tribunal for Liberia since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) made its recommendation for the establishment of such a court.
The hearing, which will take place virtually via Cisco WebEx, will be hosted by Congressmen Christopher H. Smith and James P. McGovern, both members of Congress and Co-Chairs on the US Congress human rights committee. The Committee, in order to have a clear understanding and make an evidence-based decision on the proposal, invited outstanding advocates for the establishment of the court in Liberia, as well as Liberian government officials to give their positions on the matter.
The hearing, according to information, will examine the legacy of Liberia’s civil wars on its people and economy, the structure and likely policy implications of a proposed war and economic crimes court for Liberia, and grassroots efforts to secure rule of law in the country and meet victims’ needs.
The first panel of witnesses expected to appear before the committee to give their opinion on the matter include Ysyndi Martin-Kepyei, Executive Director, Movement for Justice in Liberia (MOJUL); Jerome V. Verdier, Esq, Executive Director, International Justice Group and former Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Liberia (TRC); Michael Mueller, Chairman of the Global Initiative for Justice; and Dr. Alan W. White, former Chief of Investigations, Special Court for Sierra Leone. All these panelists are pushing for the establishment of the court in Liberia, and are expected to make a case for the establishment of the court.
However, the Liberian government has failed to send any representation at the hearing up to press time.
A Hot Pepper’s source in Washington informed the paper that the US government, through its embassy accredited near Monrovia, informed the Liberian government about the hearing and requested that they send their representations to make the case on behalf of the government. According to the source, the Liberian government expected that its ambassador accredited to the United States would represent its interest, but the US Congress’ human rights committee rendered him not qualified to serve the purpose.
The source informed the paper that, up to yesterday, the Weah administration was still searching for a representative, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, was expected to guide the government in coming up with a name suitable for the purpose. Unfortunately, Minister Kemayah is out of country, representing the government at the 59th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS. He is expected to return home today, which will be too late for him to recommend anyone to appear before Congress.
Latest information on the Hot Pepper news desk is that Minister Kemayah has sent an urgent dispatch to the Liberian embassy in the US, which came from the Ministry of Justice. It is still unknown to the paper what is contained in the dispatch, but it is being suggested that the dispatch is in relation to the US Congress human rights committee’s hearing scheduled for today.
It is the popular view that, if the hearing goes on without the Liberian government being represented, and based on the preparation of the war crimes advocates to indict the government for not having the political will to establish the court, the US Congress’ human rights committee may adjudge that the Liberian government has been the hindrance to the establishment of the court, and if this happens, the US Congress may give the go-ahead for the establishment of the court with or without the consent of the Liberian President.
Notwithstanding, four names had been previously nominated to possibly represent the government: Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa, but he was rendered not qualified because he is a sitting lawmaker; Jeremiah Sulunteh, former Liberian Ambassador to the United States, but he, too, was denied on ground that he lied under oath while serving as ambassador in the United States. According to information, Ambassador Sulunteh swore an oath that he had no other nationality apart from Liberian citizenship; however, the US government investigated and found out that he had a Canadian citizenship. Because of this, he was denied a driver’s license in the US while serving as Liberian Ambassador.
The other two names nominated by the Liberian government were Lewis Brown, former permanent Ambassador to the United Nations; and Jonathan Massaquoi, Head of the International Law Group. However, sources have informed the Hot Pepper that these two individuals, who are qualified to represent the government and could have consented to do so, were never contacted by the authorities of the Weah government.
What appears more troubling is that the US embassy near Monrovia has recently adopted a routine to deny senior officials of government visas to enter the United States. Even though the actual cause has not been disclosed to this paper, it is an educated guess that their denial is due to the administration’s poor system of governance, unmeasured corruption, bribery and the refusal to apprehend individuals who committed heinous war and economic crimes, as well as crimes against humanity.
The US government recently lambasted the decision of the Liberian Senate to vote Senators Varney Sherman and Prince Y. Johnson to head two of its committees, describing them as economic and war criminals, respectively. But since then, the leadership of the Senate has been counter-reacting to the US embassy’s statement, and asking the embassy for clarification.
According to information, radical lawmakers are seeing the decision of the Americans as counter-productive to the diplomatic ties and traditional friendship existing between the two nations; as such, they have requested that the Minister of Foreign Affairs provide clarity on what is the reason the Americans are denying Liberian officials visas and, if the response of the Americans seems not satisfactory, impose a reciprocity on US officials wanting to travel to Liberia.
In international relations, reciprocity is defined as returning an action, in kind, to a nation or its citizens—be it favor, benefit or penalty. This means that the lawmakers are asking that Minister Kemayah dictate to the Liberian embassy in the United States to deny US officials and/or citizens entry into Liberia.
This information, which sounds so scaring in the ears of those who understand the ties between Liberia and America, is said to be the official stance of the radical lawmakers opting to fight the Americans back, apparently due to stubbornness or ignorance.