Without question, the reputation of President Sirleaf on the international stage is flawless. At home, however, most Liberians have serious doubts about the President’s commitment to national reconciliation, tackling corruption and prioritizing policies aimed at healing the wounds of victims of the Liberian Civil War. At the 11th hour, I call on President Sirleaf to salvage her legacy and reputation at home and among Diaspora Liberians by jump-starting national reconciliation and prioritizing healing the wounds of war by issuance of an executive order, granting visa waiver that opens the door for all Liberians forced into exile by the brutal civil war to return home and begin reconciliation.
Most Liberians outside of the country are on their own, adrift and without basic consular services. Decades after the war, national reconciliation is yet to begin. The Truth & Reconciliation Report has been frozen and not implemented. There have been no apologies from the Liberian Government and career politicians for their roles in shattering the lives of Liberian citizens and families. The Liberian government has chosen to reward politicians with excessive salaries and benefits, leaving inadequate funds for basic services, forcing many families to rely on remittances from Diaspora Liberians. Democracy is being decimated with presidential appointments of all mayors, chiefs, and heads of public corporations.
There are three compelling reasons why President Sirleaf bears the brunt of responsibility for jump-starting national reconciliation. First, because she is on record for financially supporting the atrocities of Charles Taylor. Second, as a Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia since January 2006, the president is not only a financial sponsor of a rebel group but also the head of one of the belligerents, The Armed Forces of Liberia, which, along with other rebel forces was responsible for atrocities that forced Liberians into exile. Finally, with President Doe dead and Charles Taylor in prison, President Sirleaf is the only person within the erstwhile leadership of Liberian Civil War belligerents with the legal authority and an official obligation to start any meaningful national reconciliation.
On June 8, 2017, the Liberian Observer published an article, captioned, ‘We Must Integrate the Diaspora in Our Policies on Migration,’ which suggests that President Sirleaf is interested in crafting policies in the interest of the Liberian Diaspora and perhaps national reconciliation. Because “Action speaks louder than words,” Mere thoughts or talks about “Integration of Diaspora” sounds like a sweet little favor that’s frankly too little, too late! The right of refugees to return home is a human right that is non-negotiable and must not be confused with normal migration.
At the 11th hour, the Sirleaf Administration must hasten to make right many things that have gone wrong for Liberian families over a generation because of the atrocities of the Liberian Civil War. While all rebel leaders and their financial backers are eternally liable for atrocities because there are no statutes of limitation for crimes against humanity, all the rebel organizations in Liberia have been disbanded and dissolved. The only surviving legal entity culpable for atrocities in Liberia is the Republic of Liberia. President Sirleaf as head of state of Liberia is in double jeopardy both as a financial backer of a rebel force and head of the Armed Forces of Liberia. Surely, for her, Reconciliation must be prioritized as a desirable national policy.
A simple executive order by President Sirleaf, granting visa waiver to Liberians forced into exile can begin national reconciliation thus allowing Liberian exiles to return home to visit their families without the complexities of visa. If Liberia presently waives visa for over 300 million ECOWAS citizens with no families in Liberia, including Nigerians who helped end the war, what is the justification for this Administration’s refusal to also grant visa waiver to Liberians forced into exile by the atrocities to which the Liberian government and rebels were responsible?
In a few months, President Sirleaf will permanently lose her authority to use her good offices as president to issue an executive order to allow Liberians forced into exile to return for the sake of starting national reconciliation. However, President Sirleaf will never loose her legacy as a two-term Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces of Liberia and her record that she financially contributed to Charles Taylor’s war machine which brought death, destruction, indefinite family separation and misery that many families have faced in the past generation and continue to face today. President Sirleaf who is also on record supporting Liberian “dual citizenship†bill must demonstrate leadership by taking the first step of opening the door to all Liberian citizens forced into exile by the civil war to return home. Without this first step, hopes of national reconciliation are fading and fast slipping away from President Sirleaf.
Featured photo courtesy of Vaner Casaes/AGECOM
