The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (TRC) has extended the duration of its Thematic and Institutional Public Hearings to February 15, 2009.
The decision was taken to afford individuals who did not appear before the commission during its public hearings the opportunity to participate in the TRC process.
There has been growing requests from individuals who did not testify before the commission until the closure of public hearings in December 2008, for an extension of the hearings to afford them the opportunity to participate.
The commission also informs witnesses who testified before the commission and "lied under oath" that opportunities are still available for them to correct "falsehoods" in their testimonies. Witnesses falling within the above category are henceforth advised to report to the commission to identify and correct the "fabrications" in their testimonies.
The commission reminds these witnesses that failure to correct said "falsehoods" in their testimonies, they could face varying consequences available to the TRC pursuant to the Act of Legislature that establishes it.
The TRC expresses gratitude to the Liberian public and the international community for their overwhelming support to the commission during the discharge of its mandate in the year 2008.
Meanwhile, it is the hope of the commission that this spirit of cooperation and collaboration will continue and be further enhanced during this New Year.
Under the theme: "Understanding the Conflict Through its Principal Events and Actors," the hearings have been addressing the root causes of the conflict, including its military and political dimensions.
The hearings are focused on events between 1979 and 2003 and the national and external actors that helped to shape those events.
The TRC was agreed upon in the August 2003 peace agreement and created by the TRC Act of 2005. The TRC was established to "promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation," and at the same time make it possible to hold perpetrators accountable for gross human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law that occurred in Liberia between January 1979 and October 2003.
