Ex-rebel to appear before TRC
2008-07-29 11:03
Monrovia - Former Liberian rebel leader Sekou Damateh Conneh said on Monday that he would return to the West African country to appear before its Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
"I have received an invitation from the TRC in Monrovia to appear before August 28, and I can assure the Liberian people that I will soon be coming," Conneh said.
The former leader of the disbanded Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) had not set foot in Liberia for more than two years.
It would mark the first time a warlord testifies before the commission, which started hearing witnesses of the brutal 14-year conflict more than a year ago.
The commission, modelled on South Africa's truth and reconciliation commission, which catalogued crimes committed during the apartheid era, could not force anyone to take the stand.
'No one should be exonerated'
Conneh said: "I have warned the TRC to be careful with partiality by making sure that all those who took active part in the war are invited. No one should be exonerated because of their position.
"I insist that all former warlords be invited. We need to explain to the Liberian people what we did."
Until now the TRC had been unable to get former warlords to testify. The former rebel leader did not give an exact date for his planned appearance before the commission.
Conneh became the leader of LURD, which began a fight to oust former Liberian president Charles Taylor in 1999.
"I will explain to the Liberian people what made me take arms and how I formed LURD. It is through the efforts of LURD that we have democracy in Liberia today," Conneh said.
Under the terms of its remit, the Liberian TRC would submit a detailed report to the government, which would then decide whether to pursue any official charges.
The commission was created after the peace accord of 2003 to compile an account of all human rights abuses during the successive civil wars, which plagued the English-speaking West African country between 1989 and 2003.