When the Liberia Truth &
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) began to grill me at its 9th Street office in
Sinkor through series of recorded and aggressive weeks of interviews unlike all
others who appeared before it, I knew something was amiss. November 4, 2008,
Mr. Suah, a member of the Inquiry Department of The Liberia Truth &
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) contacted me. He told me the TRC wanted me to
appear before it on Monday, November 10, 2008 at 10:00am. I consented.
Because I felt compelled to do
so. I happened to be one of the young men who showed up in the middle of the
Liberian people “struggle” in the early 80s. So I have information and
experiences that would help find a lasting solution to the problems that
provoked a 14-year of war and terror that caused the near-destruction of the
Liberian nation. November 10 at 9:30am I was at the Pavilion. I took my
assigned seat. At 10:30am, Mrs. Bull, an employee of the TRC, approached me
(there are two ladies bearing the name “Bull.” I understand both are married to
two brothers. One of the ladies is a lawyer and the other a teacher.
The one I refer to in this post
as Mrs. Bull is the teacher. The other I refer to as Cllr. Bull is the lawyer
who is one of the 9-persons Commission.
Mrs. Bull thanked me for
coming. We spoke for few minutes. And she left. One thing she didn’t do is to
inform me why the Commissioners were absent. After a handshake, she disappeared
in the back. I sat for about half an hour reading a newspaper when Mrs. Bull
returned. It was at 11:00am. We were one hour late. She informed me that the
Chairman of the Commission was in the back. He wanted to speak with me. When I
got in the back, I met Cllr. Jerome Verdier. He was seated near a window facing
Broad Street. His leg was crossed. I walked directly towards him. As I
approached him, he stood up gracefully. He extended his hands to me for a handshake.
I shook his hand. He offered me a seat facing him. Then he started talking. He
welcomed me. He apologized for the absence of the Commission. Because he said
the Commission was bereaved. A staff member passed on. He described the
deceased as a “very dedicated” man. He said he learned all this later on when
he arrived at the Pavilion. The rest of the Commissioners were at the Sinkor
Headquarters mourning and he was at the Pavilion for the Hearing. He said the
reason why he did not know anything about what had happened was that both of
his cell phones were turned off the previous night. He turned them back on when
he arrived at the Pavilion. And that’s when he got all the news. Considering
the sad situation, he was under obligation to cancel the Hearing for the day.
He or Mr. Suah would contact me to set up another appointment for my
presentation. According to him, I would either appear on Tuesday, November 11
or Wednesday November 12 at 10:00am. This would be confirmed by him or Mr.
Suah. I expressed condolences on behalf of my family and me. I told the
Chairman I would be looking forward to hearing from him or Mr. Suah as per his
advice. We shook hands again and departed.
I went back to my regular work
routine. Then my phone began to ring off the hook. Everybody who was awaiting
my Presentation on the radio called. Each wanted to know why there was no
broadcast on my Presentation. I had to keep explaining what had happened all
day long to everybody.
After the calls calmed down, I
had to pay attention to my volunteer work with my NGO. During my work day I did
not hear from the Chairman or Mr. Suah.
At 6pm I sent a text message
to Mr. Suah to confirm the Chairman’s advice. He did not reply. So I called him
on his cell phone. When he answered, I asked if he received my text. He said
“Yes!” He said he forwarded my text message to Mr. Kwabo, executive secretary
to the Commission. He asked me to contact Mr. Kwabo. So he gave me Mr. Kwabo’s
cell phone digits. I dialed the digits immediately. It was at 6:30pm by then.
There was no answer. I called Mr. Suah back. I told him there was no answer on
Mr. Kwabo’s cell phone. Mr. Suah informed me Mr. Kwabo was in a meeting.
However, Mr. Suah insisted I call Mr. Kwabo again. And I did. When Mr. Kwabo
answered to my call, it was about 8pm. I asked him if at all I would appear on
Tuesday as per the Chairman’s advice. Mr. Kwabo said he didn’t know. He asked
me to contact Mr. Suah. I told him I’ve been in contact with Mr. Suah. Since
nothing was improving, that’s why Mr. Suah asked me to call him. Mr. Kwabo said
he didn’t know what was “obtaining” in the TRC in respect to my Presentation.
I called Mr. Suah again to
make an observation: things were getting ridiculous. I told Mr. Suah I needed
to make plans for my next day’s work. So I needed clear answers. He laughed and
shrugged his shoulders. He couldn’t say anything more. So we hung up the phone.
Indicatively, there would be no presentation on Tuesday by me.
The next morning was Tuesday.
It was November 11. At 9:30am, I was en route to my regular work routine. Mr.
Suah called. He asked if I were on my way to the Hearings. How could I?! I
asked him. He said the Commission was expecting me at 10am. I told him it was
impossible. He called me at 9:30am. How could I be at the Pavilion at 10:30am?
THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE! I was on my way to work. I told him the TRC failed to
inform me of the Tuesdays Hearing on the previous night. So I wasn’t prepared
to appear before the TRC. Mr. Suah began to appeal for me to show up. I told
him no. I made all efforts the previous night to prevent what was occurring,
but the TRC was of no help. So I asked to be rescheduled for Wednesday,
November 12. By then, I would appear. But the young man kept appealing for me
to change my mind and appear. He said they would make a vehicle available to
pick me up from wherever I was. I still said no. And that was it. We hung up
the phone.
Few minutes later, Mr. Suah
called back and expressed a much stronger desire for me to appear. By then I
had gone far away from home. He kept appealing until he touched a soft spot in
my heart. I gave in. I told him I could be at the Pavilion at 11am to make my
presentation. And that was because I had to go back home and prepare. He
agreed. So I returned home. I did what I had to do. And took off to the
Pavilion. I got there at 11am on the dot. The Commissioners were sitting around
a table conversing. I passed by Cllr. Pearl Brown Bull and Mrs. Bull. When Mrs.
Bull recognized me, she told Cllr. Bull. Cllr. Bull shouted. “Mr. Chairman, Mr.
Bedell is here. Can we start now?” Chairman Verdier said something and Cllr.
Bull loudly said, “Yes, we can! Mr. Bedell is here” The Commissioners hung
heads and took their seats. I took mine too. I set up my E-machine computer.
And I was ready to roll. But little did I know the Commission had decided to
have more than one Presenter that day. Had I known this, I would have left and
be rescheduled for another date. Anyways, I took the Oath and began speaking.
In about an hour, Chairman Verdier informed me to be prepared for Questions
& Answers period. This was unusual. All presenters exhausted their
presentations before the Commission posed questions. I needed to exhaust mine.
The Chairman complained that time was against them. They were supposed to get
back at the Headquarters for the same death news. But he didn’t pre-warn me.
When I questioned him, he said there was plan for me to reappear on another
date. I disagreed. We had few heated exchanges. Not to make it a debating
contest, I agreed to reappear. So the Commissioners asked their questions. And
I answered them. When they ran out, I stepped down and left the Hall.
The Media was awaiting me
outside. I did an interview and took off from the premises. At the end of the
day I expected the Commission to contact me for a reschedule. But it never did.
I called Mr. Suah. I informed him of the disaster the Commission created. He
asked me to contact Mr. Kwabo. From one thing to another, he asked me to forget
and downplay the Commission. I couldn’t understand what Mr. Suah meant by that
statement. So I asked him to clarify it. He said he didn’t know what was
unfolding. The Commission was in total disarray. I told him the Chairman
informed me that he would be contacting me.
He was shocked. It appeared
the Chairman did not say anything to him on the matter. By now things were very
confusing. I couldn’t figure out who was responsible for what in the TRC. I
asked Mr. Suah whether or not the Commission was trying to censor me. He asked
me why. I told him, my Presentation was the only one I know of that wasn’t
broadcast via TV and radio.
I told him I believe the TRC
was suppressing my Presentation. Mr. Suah seemed surprised my Presentation was
not aired. He giggled again and said I don’t know what to tell you.” So I said
could it be that the Commission cannot stomach the truth I spoke. I then asked
him, is the Commission’s Mandate not based on finding the truth? And if it
finds the truth, is it not its Mandate to use the truth to heal the Liberian
people? Why then was it running from the truth I spoke?
Mr. Suah was speechless. In
the end I informed Mr. Suah, if the Commission did not contact me ASAP and
answer to my many questions, I would consider its actions against me
well-calculated. I would have no choice but to call a press conference to speak
to the Liberian people on the issues I raised centered on the Liberian
situation of war and terror. Mr. Suah said, asked me not to. He promised to get
back with me soon. We hung up the phone and went our separate ways. Today is
November 17, 2008. More than three days after our discussion and no one has
reached me yet. So I have decided to go public and tell my story. The Liberian
people need to know that I submitted my Presentation. And they have the right
to know what I said.
In my next post, the breakdown
of my presentation to the Liberia Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
that was not broadcast to the Liberian people and the world will be issued.
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