By our Reporter
Ahead of the 28th anniversary of the 1989 NPFL rebel war in Liberia, the Universal Human Rights International (UHRI) led by Liberian activist Torli Krua is calling for a sovereign national conference to commemorate the Christmas Eve invasion this year.
The December 24, 1989 invasion out of neighbouring Ivory Coast was led by former rebel leader Charles Taylor, who was later elected President of Liberia in 1997.
But Taylor, who is currently serving a 50-year jail term in Britain for aiding and abetting the war in Sierra Leone, was forced to resign and flee into exile in Nigeria after another rebel group, LURD besieged the Liberian capital, Monrovia in August 2003.
Rev Krua said in a statement released from the UHRI’s HQ in Boston, USA on Thursday that never again should there be shedding of blood of innocent people in Liberia.
He said as the anniversary of the Christmas Eve rebel invasion approaches, now is the time for Liberians “to ignite participatory democratic revolution consistent with Article 1 of the Liberian Constitution, with the goal of achieving the aspirations and will of the people.”
According to Article 1 of the Liberian Constitution: “All power is inherent in the people. All free governments are instituted by their authority and for their benefit and they have the right to alter and reform the same when their safety and happiness so require.”
The civil war, which officially ended in 203, is estimated to have caused the deaths of some 250,000 people
As the Liberian Supreme Court hears controversies surrounding the 2017 Presidential Elections, the Liberian human rights activist has said “we believe now is the time to give Liberia a fresh start.”
Liberians deserve a system of governance that is built on the aspirations and will of the people, not the 170 year old current corrupt system of representative democracy that empowers and enriches politicians, which he said is sponsored and nurtured by the United States and European Union.
“Participatory democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people, which empowers citizens not only to vote for politicians,” Krua asserted.
But further went on to say that participatory democracy also “empowers the citizens to set salaries and benefits of their employees (public officials), propose laws directly without petitioning public servants such as lawmakers or presidents, repeal bad laws and even recall corrupt leaders before their term expires.”
Consistent with this call for systemic change, Krua and his Universal Human Rights International has launched the Citizens Independence Movement (CIM) code named, “99 days for rogue, but one day for the master” www.mastersday.com.
CIM aims to promote participatory democracy and “expose the complicity of American and European donors in sustaining corrupt governments in African countries through unrestricted foreign aid.”