Monrovia –

 

he Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) on Wednesday presented to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) over 4,000 pages of declassified documents on Liberia compiled by the United States Government and its intelligence agencies over the last 30 years.

 

JPC Executive Director Augustine Toe presents documents to Truth commission.

Presenting the documents to the Executive Secretary of the TRC this morning, JPC Executive Director, Cllr. Augustine Toe said the day marked an important day in the life of the JPC, and by extension the Catholic Church, manifesting the mandate of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Commission to work and contribute to the work of the TRC as a means of healing the wounds of the country.

 

46 FOIA Requests filed

 

He narrated that in July 2006, the JPC in collaboration with its partner in Washington, D.C., the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights (RFK Center) partnered with the National Security Archive to petition US agencies for public disclosure of intelligence regarding human rights violations during the conduct of the Liberian civil war and before under the “Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

 

“The National Security Archive, an independent organization based at George Washington University, USA, filed the FOIA requests on behalf of the JPC, the RKF Center, and the Department of State has released over 4,000 pages of documents,” Cllr. Toe narrated.

 

The JPC Executive Director said despite the willingness of the US State Department to comply with the FOIA request, additional requests made to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have not been complied with and are still pending. “As of June 2007, the National Security Archive has filed 46 FOIA requests with the CIA and 23 with the DIA relating to the recent conflict in Liberia, these requests to the DIA and CIA are still pending,” he said.

 

On behalf of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of Liberia, he thanked the National Security Archive, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center of Human Rights, and Professor Bert Lockwood and his students at the College of Law of University of Cincinnati for analyzing, categorizing and summarizing the FOIA documents.

 

Horrifying occurrences

 

The documents contain information as to how some of the many horrifying occurrences and human rights abuses over the last 30 years actually happened including: The 1980 coup and public execution of the 13 senior officers of the True Whig Party Government on April 22nd, 1980; the invasion of the University of Liberia by the Executive Mansion Guard under the order of President Samuel K. Doe; the 1985 election, which was widely believed to have been fraudulent; and the killing of five American nuns in Gardersville by forces of the NPFL.

 

JPC Executive Director, Cllr. J. Augustine Toe and Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Arch Diocese of Monrovia, Monsignor Andrew Karnley.

Other documents include information in July 1990 when soldiers entered the JFK Medical Center, beat and evicted displaced persons; the Sinje massacre; the 1990 killings of civilians, primarily people believed to be Gios and Manos; the looting of several institutions, business houses and supermarkets by AFL soldiers; and the use of the Firestone Plantations Company by Charles Taylor as an alternative in the 1990s.

 

Also speaking at the turning over ceremony at the TRC’s 9th Street Office, the Apostolic Administrator of the Arch Diocese of Monrovia, Monsignor Andrew Karnley reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to working with the TRC.

 

“I want to assure you that we as a church will commit ourselves to collaborate with the TRC in whatever that will lead to the bringing of peace and stability to Liberia. I know that you are faced with many hurdles and challenges; but I still believe that all is not lost. I hope that we can begin to see light at the end of the tunnel so that the purpose for which the TRC was set-up can be realized.

 

 

“Particularly, the JPC will do whatever is possible within our means to support your work so that we all together can bring peace and stability to this country,” Monsignor Karnley pledged.

 

Not for public's eye, TRC says

 

Thousands of Liberians died or fled into exile as a result of years of war and chaos.

On behalf of the TRC, Executive Secretary Nathaniel Kwabo lauded the JPC and the Catholic Church for the gesture. “We are happy that the documents are finally here and we thank the JPC for taking particular interest in this process and for sharing with the TRC this major volume. We hope that they will inform our inquiry process; we hope this will corroborate some of the statements received from the public so far with respect to specific incidences."

 

However, Mr. Kwabo said, “we at the TRC don’t intend to release these documents to the public at this time as Section 45 of the Act creating the Commission specifically states that all communications and documents are classified as “confidential” by the TRC and cannot be released until after 20 years.”

 

He hoped that the press will not try to lure the Commission into making statements about releasing the documents into the public domain.