Friday, September 2, 2011

Liberia: Govt to Seek ICC Intervention

Winston W. Parley

Source: The New Dawn (Monrovia)

Deputy Information Minister
Norris Tweh
The Government has sounded a warning, threatening to forward the names of individuals it believes are stirring up pre-electoral or election violence to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for possible prosecution.

Making the disclosure in Monrovia Thursday, Deputy Information Minister Norris Tweh said government was troubled over what he called 'creeping electoral violence' allegedly being excited by either individuals or politicians in the country, which according to him has the propensity of erupting post-election violence.

Tweh made specific reference to a recent alleged pronouncement made by a Presidential Aspirant Cecelia Ndebi on the BBC, claiming that the holding of the just ended National Referendum would have reversed the country to its immediate ugly past. Tweh said government was seriously concerned about such acts by politicians and individuals whose actions have the propensity to cause chaos or violence in the country.
He further recalled few of the recent incidents reported in the local dailies that many believed to be politically motivated, including the alleged burning of ruling Unity Party's Deputy Campaign Manager Eugene Nagbe's vehicle which is still undergoing police investigation.

Mr. Tweh warned those allegedly engaged in such undemocratic practices to desist from being quickly moved to engage in acts of violence, as government is under obligation to compile governance report especially relating to the ongoing electoral process to the ICC.

He said in as much as Liberia is signatory under the ICC to prosecute criminal cases, the court has authority to investigate and prosecute who ever linked to or responsible for crimes and genocide in the country, even if government did not make such report.

He cited examples of several suspects from Kenya and other countries around the world that are being prosecuted by the ICC for alleged erupting violence which resulted to crimes and genocides in their countries, among others.

He argued that pre-election violence could cause post-election violence that in some instances result to crimes, genocide among others. Tweh hover said given the fact that the just ended national referendum did not report any one cheating or turning around the wishes of the people, it met that the Liberian Democratization System was progressing.

"First we condemn those violent acts and warn our citizens to desist to desist. We as government are under obligation to maintain peace and stability in the country at all times; we at the Ministry are also under obligation to inform our citizens that the International Criminal Court or ICC has authority to investigate acts that could create violence in our country, because Liberia is signatory to that," he said.

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Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah

Everyone is a genius

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein

Drawing the line in Liberia

Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah



Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause

They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.

If Liberia must move forward ...

If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's greatest problem!

While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - Bernard Gbayee Goah

What do I think should be done?

The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Solving problems in the absence of war talks

As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truthBernard Gbayee Goah

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