PYJ PRINCIPLE: “The rule of the gun interferes with the peace, stability and progress of a nation since it inevitably breeds suspicion, fear discontent, insecurity and the like.”  - Excerpts from the book “The Gun that Liberates Should Not Rule by Prince Y. Johnson, Founder, Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia - 1991

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monrovia -

n 1991, almost a year after masterminding the capture and killing of President Samuel Kanyon Doe, Prince Yeduo Johnson penned what he said at the time was the guiding principle of his breakaway Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia(INPFL) – a book aptly titled: “The Gun That Liberates Should Not Rule” implicitly suggesting that those who took up arms to liberate the people from the wrath of dictatorship and oppression should not in turn become rulers of the very people they came to liberate.

That was long before the once-feared warlord turned in his guns for the bible and long before he turned in his military and rebel fatigue en route to his current sojourn as a senior Senator from Nimba, the county used as a launching pad for the civil war on the Christmas Eve of 1989.

Now, more than a decade later, Johnson appears set to renege on his principles – or does he?

Having once turned in his fighting armor and seems settled into civilian life, Johnson, declared recently that he will be throwing his hat into the political fray for the 2011 presidential race.

Facing ghosts of war

Former INPFL rebel leader Prince Johnson has declared his intention to contest the 2011 Presidential election. Senator Johnson says he would stand in the Presidential election as the most formidable force and has boasted that his team would raise five to ten million US dollars to contest the Presidential election. Johnson says most of his support would come from Liberians who were sacked by the Unity Party led government.

So is Liberia ready for a Prince Johnson Presidency? More importantly, is Prince Johnson ready to face the drumbeat of ghosts many believed he and his INPFL forces killed during civil war.

Johnson appears content in believing that Liberians have forgiven him in part due to the massive support he received en route to winning his seat in the Senate. But the Truth and Reconciliation Commission did not feel the same way.

Apart from recommending him for prosecution for massacre and other war crimes, the TRC has requested that Johnson be made to account for remains of former President Samuel K. Doe.

During his testimony before the TRC last year, the Senator said that he burnt the body of former President Doe and threw the ashes into a river contrary to report that the remains were eaten.

Senator Johnson’s testimony was challenged by Conmany Wesseh who told the public hearings that Senator Johnson displayed Doe’s Skull to him. But in its final report the body recommended that the Senator should be made to account for Doe’s remains, especially his skull which was displayed by “him as a war trophy”.

The Commission has also recommended that appropriate national memorial ceremonies be held and a befitting grave be erected with a tomb to honor the memory and lost of President Doe who ‘surrendered’ but was killed by Sen. Johnson.

Freedom quest has risks

Many hold the opinion that Johnson’s decision to enter the race is aimed at pressuring President Sirleaf, who is also listed among a group of Liberian political players banned from politics for 30 years.

Ironically, as a rebel leader, Johnson writes: “In his quest for freedom man has risked his life to destroy kingdoms, overthrow monarchs and dictators, and rescind oppressive and suppressive laws and decrees. Because of this, man can justly be proud since by so doing, he has improved his living standards and quality of life, the comfortable life is no more a luxury made for only the rich or upper class citizen; modern industries can nowadays produce the requisite demands of man based on his affordability, while improved health care systems, drugs and medical practitioners, mass communication, and the development and expansion of knowledge of both the material and immaterial universe has reached incredible proportions in our lifetime.”

But Johnson’s military past may be the least of the potential problems bound to haunt his candidacy - should he hang on to his declaration.

Mending fences with Grand Gedeans key

Key among  the potential pitfalls would be: Who would be his supporters? Where would he count as his base? Could he play the spoiler and win Nimba County? How much leverage would he amass along the way?

Prince Johnson has in recent years attempted to mend fences with prominent Grand Gedeans including Jackson E. Doe.

More importantly, has Johnson made amends with the citizens of Grand Gedeh, who still hold him responsible for Doe’s death. Scoring a reconciliation point could prove vital for Johnson and offer the Senator a test of how much he can accomplish amid great obstacles.

Johnson’s INPFL have been linked previously to the massacre scores of ethnic Krahns in 1990 when ECOMOG peacekeeping soldiers tried to evacuate the Krahns from Liberia. A witness told a Truth Commission hearing that the victims were transported onboard five ECOMOG trucks from the Barclay Training Center (BTC) to the Freeport of Monrovia on September 11, a day following the death of President Samuel Kanyon Doe to await evacuation when INPFL fighters under the command of General Prince Johnson stormed the port and demanded their turnover.

Testifying on the first day of the TRC Public Hearings in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, Henry Zonweayea, local chair of the ruling Unity Party who survived the massacre, said following their arrival at the Freeport they were temporarily housed in a warehouse of the Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation (LPMC) before Johnson, then leader of the INPFL now senator of Nimba County, arrived and demanded that the peacekeepers release all of the evacuees to him. Prince Johnson, he said, was informed by the soldiers of the evacuation plan, but he contended that they would not be evacuated. He said the INPFL leader instead ordered his fighters to bundle several of the evacuees into two waiting pickups and a bus.

According to him the victims were taken to the Caldwell Bridge where all of them were ordered to kneel down as the fighters shot them execution style. Zonweaye who claimed he escaped the massacre said those murdered numbered up to 50, naming some of the dead as former police intelligence chief Peter Thomas and National Housing Authority (NHA) managing director Samuel Tody.

Making amends with Grand Gedeans could prove a formidable task for Johnson. Nevertheless some key facts appear omitted from Johnson’s book – and his explanation about his “gun” principle. Johnson writes:

“Always stressing that the guns that liberate must not rule, General Johnson proved all speculations wrong by laying down his arms when ECOMOG arrived, cooperating with the peacekeepers until the arrival of the Interim Government of National Unity Government(IGNU) which came to office as a result of his decisive vote.”

Ironically, when Doe was capture many of Johnson’s men were seen carrying arms, the very arms Johnson says he surrendered when ECOMOG arrived.

A true democrat

While critics will be sure to pound on Johnson’s “Gun that liberates should not rule” principle, Johnson explains in his book that he is a true democrat who refuses to seize power in order to give way for the establishment of a democratically elected government. “He believes that the people must decide who they want for their leader. The rule of the gun he often says interferes with the peace, stability and progress of a nation since it inevitably breeds suspicion, fear , discontent, insecurity and the like.”

Besides the flaws in his principles, Johnson is also likely to face criticisms that he is also guilty of many of the sins he accused Doe of in his book. Johnson writes: “Although Doe advocated the multiparty democratic form of government, in practice he ruthlessly suppressed any and all opposition. The lives of members of various opposition parties were characterized by constant harassment, intimidation, unexplained disappearances, and secret executions.”

Love him or hate him, Johnson played a pivotal role to the peace process as he and his forces fought to safeguard Monrovia and prepare the way for the arrival of the Ecowas Peace Monitoring Group(ECOMOG). The former INPFL leader has come a long way since, leaving a trail of enemies and a rebel past likely to haunt him for the rest of his civilian life. However that translate into a presidential contender remains to be seen. For the foreseeable future, Johnson’s past will likely come full circle and reawaken some old ghosts of his war past. The man who once instilled fear on the battlefield and during the height of the civil war now finds himself looking to make amends. Would Liberia embrace him or detest his thirst for power through the ballot box.  A cloud of doubt remains lingering over the Major General whose flare for a kill instilled fear in both his friends and admirers.

Fear amid transition

Those doubts became evident late last year when statements attributed to Johnson suggested that Johnson had threatened to take Liberia back to  civil war if he is prosecuted for war crimes. The issue drew some strong reactions from the United States Ambassador to the war-destroyed nation. Dr. Linda Thomas Greenfield, drove to the Senate building here in Monrovia  for an  immediate closed-door meeting with the fuming former rebel General.  

Johnson later retreated from his words and told FrontPageAfrica: "I never told anybody in this country I was bringing war. Why will I bring war in my country?” Dr. Greenfield later explained that the meeting with Johnson was for her to seek clarification from the  former rebel chieftain about his alleged threats to bring war back to the country.

Even amid the assurances from Johnson, the mere mention of his name still instil fear among many. Without a gun by his side, Johnson will be hoping to give his best shot at the presidency throwing away the principles he professed more than a decade ago – that “the gun that liberates should not rule.”