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Declining ethnic relations in post-war Liberia: The transmission of violent memories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2019

Aaron Weah
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Abstract

More than ten years after the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its Final Report, there has been no implementation of the recommendations proffered. This article focuses on post-conflict memorialization, the TRC's strategy to engender collective remembering, and a set of State-led actions designed to teach future generations about the past violence with a view to preventing relapse into violent conflict. Both the constructive and destructive patterns of remembering that have evolved in the wake of the government's silence since the release of the recommendations will be analyzed.

Keywords

violent memoriestransmissionethnonationalismethnonationalist
Type
Reconciliation and (re)writing history: What to remember
Information
International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 101 , Issue 910: Memory and war , April 2019 , pp. 151 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © icrc 2019 

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References

1 TRC, Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia, Vol. 2, 2009 (TRC Final Report), pp. xxiii–xxv. Page citations in this article are taken from the original, hard-copy version of the Final Report; a shortened online version is available at: https://tinyurl.com/y3ldsku6 (Vol. 1), https://tinyurl.com/y6qbkp9o (Vol. 2).

2 Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 213–256. On the number of victims and violations per county, see Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 257–259.

3 Ibid.

4 In the TRC Final Report (Ibid., Vol. 2, p. 361), the TRC recommends forty-nine individuals, most of them senior officials of government (past and present), for public sanction. Initial investigation into the list of these forty-nine prominent Liberians revealed that some allegedly provided military assistance while others provided direct financial support to warring factions. Those included on the list include former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; Kabineh Ja'neh, former associate justice of Liberia's Supreme Court (Constitutional Court); and Isaac Nyenabo, former president of the Senate and now Liberia's ambassador to the European Union.

5 For information regarding strengths and weaknesses of the TRC Final Report, see Paul James Allen, Lizzie Goodfriend and Aaron Weah, Beyond the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report: Transitional Justice Options for Liberia, International Center for Transitional Justice, 2010, available at: www.ictj.org/publication/beyond-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-transitional-justice-options-liberia.

6 See all of Liberia's 13 peace agreements, 1990–96; see also League of Nations, International Commission of Inquiry on Liberia, Commission's Report, Geneva, 15 December 1930. For example, the Nete Sie Brownell Commission's 1979 report on the 14 April 1979 Rice Riot, an incident that foreshadowed the violent military takeover of 12 April 1980, was never released to the public. Constructive discourse on what happened and who was responsible was not encouraged. Likewise, the 1930 League of Nations Commission of Inquiry over allegation of slavery and forced labour practices was handled in a similar fashion. In the case of the League of Nations, a certain level of participation of ordinary citizens was allowed and the inquiry report was eventually released to the League of Nations and the Liberian public.

7 Aaron Weah, “Post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission Revisionism in Liberia”, Front Page Africa, 4 August 2016, available at: https://frontpageafricaonline.com/opinion/post-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-revisionism-in-liberia/.

8 Ibid.

9 This comes from the author's observations of attitudes and behaviours of civil society, victims’ groups and other relevant actors informing perception around the TRC Final Report. For more, see Ibid.

10 See Ibid.

11 The Liberia TRC process collected more than 20,000 statements, conducted 800 public hearings and gathered hundreds of declassified materials. In 2009, when the Final Report was released, Liberians celebrated the Report and its findings. In a recent Social Cohesion and Reconciliation Index (SCORE) survey, more than 80% of respondents interviewed supported the implementation of the Report. See: www.scoreforpeace.org/en/liberia.

12 Konneh, Nvaskie N., The Land of My Father's Birth: Memoir of the Liberian Civil War; Royal House Communication Consortium, 2013Google Scholar; Nyamalon, Lekpele M., Scary Dreams: An Anthology of The Liberian Civil War, Forte Publishing, Monrovia, 2017Google Scholar; Cooper, Helen, The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood, Simon & Schuster, New York, 2009Google Scholar.

13 SCORE Index for Liberia, 2016, available at: http://scoreforpeace.org/en/liberia/2016-General%20population-1. SCORE is a robust diagnostic and predictive tool used to examine inter-group relations and measure social distance across ethnic groups. The indicators mentioned can be found under “Other Indicators”, labelled “Confidence in …”.

14 SCORE Index for Liberia, 2018, available at: www.scoreforpeace.org/en/liberia/2018-General%20population-0; Search for Common Ground, Preventing Election Violence through Early Warning and Early Response in Guinea and Liberia, July 2016.

15 SCORE Index for Liberia, 2018, available at: www.scoreforpeace.org/en/liberia/2018-General%20population-0.

16 Weah, Aaron, “Hopes and Uncertainties: Liberia's Journey to End Impunity”, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2012, pp. 341–342CrossRefGoogle Scholar. Also see Sawyer, Amos, “Emerging Patterns in Liberia's Post-Conflict Politics: Observations from the 2005 Elections”, African Affairs, Vol. 107, No. 427, 2008CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

17 Ereshnee Naidu and Cyril Adonis, History on Their Own Terms: The Relevance of the Past for a New Generation, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, February 2007.

18 Ibid.

19 Jelin, Elizabeth and Kaufman, Susana G., “Layers of Memories: Twenty Years After in Argentina”, in Ashpalnt, T. G., Dawson, Graham and Roper, Michael (eds), The Politics of War Memory and Commemoration, Routledge, London and New York, 2015Google Scholar. See also Jelin, Elizabeth, “Public Memorialization in Perspective: Truth, Justice and Memory of Past Repression in Southern Cone of South America”, International Journal of Transitional Justice, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2007CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

20 Devine-Wright, Patrick, “A Theoretical Overview of Memory and Conflict”, in Cairns, Ed and Roe, Michael D. (eds), The Role of Memory in Ethnic Conflict, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2003Google Scholar; Ibreck, Rachel, “The Politics of Mourning: Survivor Contributions to Memorials in Post-Genocide Rwanda”, Memory Studies, Vol. 3, No. 4, 2010CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

21 Igreja, Victor, “Memories as Weapons: The Politics of Peace and Silence in Post-Civil War Mozambique”, Journal of Southern African Studies, Vol. 34, No. 3, 2008CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

22 Ibid.

23 Lemarchand, Rene, “The Politics of Memory in Post-Genocide Rwanda”, in Clark, Philip and Kaufman, Zachary D. (eds), After Genocide: Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Reconciliation in Rwanda and Beyond, Hurst, London, 2008Google Scholar.

24 Mamdani, Mahmood, When Victims Becomes Killers: Colonialism, Nativism and Genocide in Rwanda, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2002Google Scholar. See also R. Lemarchand, above note 23.

25 Gberie, Lansana, A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and Destruction of Sierra Leone, Hurst, London, 2005, p. viiGoogle Scholar. In this quote, Gberie is paraphrasing Richards, Paul, Fighting for the Rain Forest: War, Resources and Youth in Sierra Leone, Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH, 1996Google Scholar. See also Abdullah, Ibrahim, “Bush Path to Destruction: The Origin and Character of the Revolutionary United Front”, Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 36, No. 2, 1998CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

26 L. Gberie, above note 25, p. 8.

27 Hoffman, Danny, “The Meaning of a Militia: Understanding the Civil Defense Force of Sierra Leone”, African Affairs, Vol. 106, No. 425, 2007CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

28 For more information about the Sierra Leone Peace Museum, see: www.rscsl.org.

29 TRC Final Report, above note 1, Vol. 2, pp. 213–256, and for number of victims and violation by county, pp. 257–259.

30 Ibid.

31 Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services, available at: www.lisgis.net.

32 Observations here are based on conversations between the author and Peterson Sonyah, chairman of the Liberia Massacre Survivors Association (LIMASA), who is himself a survivor of the St Peter's Lutheran Church Massacre of 29–30 July 1990, one of Liberia's most destructive massacres. These conversations spanned several months. To understand Boima's dilemma, the author also shared Boima's story with Sonyah, with the aim of assessing Sonyah's personal experience of trauma and how Boima's story may be similar to those of others in the survivor community. In response, Sonyah talked about how he has become incapable of living a “regular life”, how the past has become the new present, and how the present is a borrowed reality.

33 TRC Final Report, above note 1, Vol. 2, pp. 379–381.

34 Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 380–381.

35 Ibid.

36 H. Cooper, above note 12; N. N. Konneh, above note 12; L. M. Nyamalon, above note 12; Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson, This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President, Recorded Books, Prince Frederick, MD, 2010Google Scholar.

37 Mandingos are a critical part of Liberia's ethnic linguistic groups and were systematically targeted and executed during the course of the Liberian conflict.

38 TRC Final Report, above note 1.

39 E. Johnson Sirleaf, above note 36, p. 90.

40 Liberia is predominantly an illiterate society, and the books described in this section were therefore used mostly by Liberia's intelligentsia and not the uneducated masses. For more information, see: https://countryeconomy.com/demography/literacy-rate/liberia.

41 Guannu, Joseph Saye, “The Political History of Liberia and the Civil War”, in Omeje, Kenneth C., War to Peace Transition: Conflict Intervention and Peacebuilding in Liberia, University Press of America, Lanham, MD, 2009Google Scholar.

42 Interview with Peterson Sonyah, Chairman, LIMASA, March 2018, May 2018 and June 2018, at the Search for Common Ground Offices in Monrovia.

43 Comprehensive Peace Agreement Between the Government of Liberia and the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) and Political Parties, Accra, 18 August 2018, available at: www.pul.org.lr/doc/Peace%20Agreements%20Digital%20Collection.pdf.

44 See A. Weah, above note 16.

45 A. Sawyer, above note 16.

46 Ibid.; see also A. Weah, above note 16.

47 Focus Group Discussion on Reconciliation, Women's Center, Greenville, Sinoe County, 15 January 2018; the meeting was organized by Search for Common Ground and SeeD.

48 Ibid.

49 Ibid.

50 There is a dearth of literature on the origin of counties in Liberia; much of what is available are oral sources. The oral history of Sinoe County suggest a hegemonic history that privileged the ethnic Krus and the earlier settlers over their Sarpo and Grebo compatriots. A county conflict history for Sinoe County was undertaken to explore a more inclusive narrative, with the view to demolishing what appears to be a divisive hegemonic oral history. Information about the tribal feud between the two groups was obtained from a Search for Common Ground six-month reconciliation dialogue in Sinoe County, September 2017 to January 2018. The outcome of this dialogue has led to the design of a five-year county Reconciliation Plan. These plans are affixed as annexes to the Strategic Road Map for National Reconciliation and Healing. On 12 December 2012, the Liberia National Vision was promulgated at the Gbarnga, Bong County National Vision Conference and the Road Map was conceived as an outgrowth of Liberia's long-term strategy document.

51 The ethnic nations of Krus comprise the total of forty-eight sections while Sarpos comprise only six sections of the country.

52 Focus Group Discussion, above note 47.

53 TRC Final Report, above note 1, Vol. 2, p. 254.

54 Interview with Stephen Norman, Royal Hotel, Monrovia, 19 April 2019. On file with author.

55 Focus Group Discussion, above note 47.

56 “Ethnic Conflict Looms in Sinoe”, Daily Observer, 18 August 2015, available at: www.liberianobserver.com/news/ethnic-conflict-looms-in-sinoe/.

57 T. Saye Goinleh, “Sinoe Citizen Stresses Reconciliation in Caucus”, New Republic Liberia, 12 July 2018, available at: http://newrepublicliberia.com/sinoe-citizen-stresses-reconciliation-in-caucus/.

58 SeeD, SCORE Liberia Policy Brief: Addressing Political Tribalism, 2017, p. 1, available at: www.scoreforpeace.org/files/publication/pub_file/49/Policy%20Brief_Liberia_Political%20Tribalism_Final.pdf.

59 Focus Group Discussion, above note 47.

60 TRC Final Report, above note 1, Vol. 2, p. 264.

61 Konneh, Augustine, Religion, Commerce and the Integration of the Mandingo in Liberia, University Press of America, Lanham, MD, 1996, pp. 97–117Google Scholar.

62 For further reading, see Ellis, Stephen, The Mask of Anarchy: The Destruction of Liberia and the Religious Dimension of an African Civil War, New York University Press, New York, 2006Google Scholar; N. N. Konneh, above note 12; Sleh, Aaron, Toe, Samuel and Weah, Aaron, Impunity Under Attack: The Evolution and Imperatives of the Liberian Truth Commission, Civic Initiative, Monrovia, 2008Google Scholar.

63 See A. Sleh, S. Toe and A. Weah, above note 62.

64 Author's observations. See also Johnson, Yomi, The Rise and Fall of President Samuel Doe: A Time to Heal and Rebuild Liberia, Soma Associates, Lagos, 2003Google Scholar.

65 Interview with Augustine Konneh PhD, African Methodist Episcopal University, Camp Johnson Road, 5 February 2018. On file with author.

66 A. Sleh, S. Toe and A. Weah, above note 62, pp. 1–8; “Lutheran Church Massacre Survivors Seek US Justice”, 12 February 2018, available at: www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42996851; Lennart Doddoo, Liberia: Reparation, Cry for Justice Dominate Lutheran Massacre Memorial”, Front Page Africa, 3 August 2018, available at: https://frontpageafricaonline.com/liberia-war-crimes-trial/liberia-reparation-cry-for-justice-dominate-lutheran-massacre-memorial/.

67 Weah, Aaron, “Post-Conflict Memorialization in Liberia: Progress and Challenges”, Journal of Conflict, Religion and Peace, Vol. 5, No. 1–2, 2011–12Google Scholar.

68 Ibid.

69 TRC Final Report, above note 1, Vol. 2, pp. 213–256. See also A. Weah, above note 67.

70 For a description of the architectural design of the community's preferred memorial, see A. Weah, above note 67.

71 Aaron Weah, “Duport Road: Remembering Wartime Atrocities”, The Perspective, 12 June 2009, available at: www.liberiaitech.com/theperspective/2009/0612200902.html.

72 International Center for Transitional Justice, Memo to the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Monrovia, April 2009.

73 For more details, see A. Weah, above note 67.

74 Levitt, Jeremy, The Evolution of Deadly Conflict in Liberia: From Paternaltarianism to State Collapse, Carolina Academic Press, Durham, NC, 2005Google Scholar.

75 League of Nations, above note 6.

76 Ibid.

77 Johnson, Charles, Bitter Canaan: The Story of the Negro Republic, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ, 1987 (first written in 1930), p. 214Google Scholar. Allen Yancy was vice-president of Liberia (1928–1930) under former president Charles D. B. King (1920–1930); both resigned as a result of the League of Nations report.

78 Organizing Conference, Proposal for the Establishment of a Liberian National History Project (Conference Report), Governance Commission, Republic of Liberia, 13–16 May 2013. The author served as the note-taker for this event. The Liberia TRC recommended writing an inclusive and general history of Liberia to facilitate genuine reconciliation. Following the launch of the Liberia National Vision 2030 and Reconciliation Road Map as post-TRC instruments, the Governance Commission spearheaded the Organizing Conference as the first step to writing Liberia's general and comprehensive history. The event brought together historians, anthropologists, journalists, political scientists and development scholars, among others, to discuss the priority of writing Liberia's history and technical modalities. The four-day conference agreed on periodization, themes and that the history writing process should commence from 500 years before 1822, the date of arrival of the settlers. The history would be written over a period of five years.

79 Ibid.

80 Ibid.

81 Interview with Augustine Konneh, above note 65. Augustine Konneh is one of Liberia's leading historians and head of the panel of experts that was in charge of Liberia History Project. At the time of the history conference, the author worked for the Governance Commission, the leading entity tasked with organizing the event.