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Liberia: I will appear before the TRC come August 26, says Nimba County Senator prince Johnson
Jul 16, 2008
Michael Kpayili
 Nimba County Senator Prince Johnson has again reassured the Liberian public over his desire to appear before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Senator Prince Johnson who served as the Leader of the defunct Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) has previously resisted his appearance before the TRC on grounds that some Commissioners including TRC Chairman Jerome Verdier and Sheik Kafumba Konneh were not independently free from the arm conflicts in Liberia.
Senator Johnson said he has never informed anyone of his refusal to testify before the TRC but only highlighted key issues that need to be taken into consideration. He said as legal entity protected by law, the TRC mandate is irresistible and called on those involved in acts that demands explanation before the TRC to do so. He promised to appear before the Commission on the 26 of August to give detail explanation on what he knows about the armed insurrection in Liberia.
He however stressed the need for other Politicians that he considered “big elephants” to appear before the Commission if genuine reconciliation will be achieved. Senator Johnson rebel fiction, the INPFL captured and killed former Liberian President Samuel Doe. Former AFL soldiers are believed to have carried out the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church massacre on July 29, 1990.
Nimba County Senator Johnson spoke a TRC special memorialization program held at the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Monrovia. The program was the beginning of a special commemoration service for survivors and victims of the July 29, 1990 St. Peter Lutheran Church massacre.
Also speaking at the program, a survivor of the massacre Emmanuel Dogolea says his entrance at the Church’s edifice rekindled fresh memory of the dirty past. Mr. Dogolea who wept repeatedly at the program said only God kept his life protected. He revealed that over Six Hundred persons were killed in less than one hour including nine of his immediate relatives. He said although other tribes were in the Church compound, majority of those seeking refuge there were from Nimba County. He urged Liberians to do away with violence if reconciliation will be achieved.
The decade and a half long civil war in Liberia left over three Hundred Thousands people dead with over ten separate massacres reported.
Those in attendance at the program were, Senators Prince Johnson, Adolphus Dolo and Jewel Taylor. Others were Representatives Evon Kwah, Commissioners of the TRC, United Nations Personnel, relatives of the victims and survivors, sympathizers and members of the religious community in Liberia.
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