Chairman Verdier Revisits Lofa
December 3, 2007
MONROVIA (TRC)?Cllr. Jerome Verdier, on behalf of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC), government and people of Liberia, has extended
apologies to victims of atrocities committed during the Liberian civil war
saying, "We are sorry that it happened but thank God that we are still alive."
Last week while on a nation wide tour, Chairman Verdier made the apology to the
people of Lofa County after listening to horrifying accounts of atrocities
committed in New Nekabozu, Lorma Passama, Kamattahum, Barkadu and Popalahun,
saying their bitter experiences from the war were not limited to Lofa County,
but encompassed the entire country.
However, Cllr. Verdier assured the people of Lofa that the TRC will investigate
complaints thoroughly so that justice and reconciliation can happen, adding
that the TRC will carry on the investigation and make recommendations to the government,
which will decide on the next course of action.
He then urged the victims to liaise with the local TRC committees in the county
to tell their stories and assured them that abuses will be redressed. "The
Commission is about truth telling and reconciliation, which is paramount to
peace for a better Liberia."
The TRC chair also promised the people of Lofa that a visit by the entire Board
of TRC Commissioners will be made early next year, when a formal ceremony for
the reburial of those massacred during the Liberian civil war will take place,
so as to close the war chapter in the country once and for all.
During the tour, the chairman and delegation visited several mass graves where
massacres took place in the towns of Kamattahum and Lorma Passama in the Zorzor
District.
In those towns, some of the survivors narrated horrible and gruesome stories of
the atrocities committed against them by the various warring factions during
the civil conflict.
The chairman and delegation interacted with the elders, chiefs, traditional
leaders, women groups and students, as well as kids in Zorzor, Kolahun and
Voinjama Distrcits, where he explained the importance of the TRC process.
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