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>> Before our first witness enters I like to make a quick comment about the reason why we are beginning with an expert witness our first witness is is a historian is a professor of history who is a Liberian as well as coming to talk to us about. Gave an overview of the Liberian history because as the chairman of the Commission's job is to help us review our history clarify our history and saw in order to do that we have to to understand where we've come from and how we we've got to where we've got to and to do that to create a context and it started up our ground before our.

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Witnesses come we have invited an expert in history and to help us understand that and so it just so that you we are not confuse we're now beginning with the victim. Defense witness is an expert witness I would now turn over to audit Yousif hearings officer. Who will begin the formal hearing proceedings thank you for your patience and your cooperation.

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OK Thank you ladies and gentlemen. My name is John Tia. And. This afternoon we now have the opportunity to call on the first witness. agustín. To come forward to make a speech in tissue. So we're going to rise for the mystery show. With you. Right. Eye on gusting Connie rummy the problems with the present day she may have come to make it to the T.V. as you have lived here is the truth and nothing but the truth so help me God.

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Is the witness. You work on to see I was hoping here. To have the respect and you thanks and appreciation for volunteering to come and say this this process of seeking. Peace beauty and reconciliation. We had a commission. Priest Liberians who come forward to assist in this process because we believe it is.

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Part of the picture Arctic duty of every Liberian to support a process that would definitely lead to a lasting peace in our country. And most libraries I volunteer into come forward just to make their contribution and today you have come to. Delve a little bit into our history and perhaps treasonous among.

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The root causes of conflict to the US. We appreciate that and this is your opportunity. To exercise that this is a national process your interest can talk to us but there's be a real lead back when Liberia. Is going to be I carved transcribes and. Both of those would be left for.

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Posterity. So we thank you very much I will use this time to introduce the commissioners here person to you for doing that you are very literal yourself and then you can make your presentation you may choose to stand or remain seated in making a percent we have to put everybody.

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On my left and the extreme is Commissioner Shekhar for my common. Purpose. Jericho. Did to appear. Washington Joe Stewart. I'm sure I'm for you. I happen to know what these gentlemen have seen here so what happens to be my own. My parents are you know from Cape Town and we were born.

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And then my parents live. In low far and we had the opportunity to. Live there for some time to go to school across the border Syria. And then came to the United States since one thousand nine hundred seventy and I'm also one of the. So victim of the war because my Both of my pay.

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My mom and dad were killed during the war and was able to get some of my siblings here with me United States so it's a pleasure. And also a very solemn moment for me to be given the opportunity by the advocate for human rights the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to share my own thoughts with regards to given a brief history in understanding the Liberian civil war so I'm glad to do that is a commission thank you very much to Mr C. that presupposition.

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It's OK I understand you know Professor. I just want to acknowledge the fact that the commission chair of the committee the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. And leave I did say some things here at the beginning that are very important for us to understand with regards to coming to understand.

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Our history our diversity and it's from that perspective that I'm looking at this brief history of Liberia so that we can understand the root causes of the Liberian civil war. For those of you would. I would say Liberia. If you look at the African map it's. In the Atlantic southern part of West Africa it's our boundaries and the West to.

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Sierra Leone and we to Guinea and south east with Ivory Coast. The population one might say at the time it was about to be point two others will say three point five million. In terms of size for Americans we can say that it's comparable to the state of Tennessee it's slightly.

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Larger than the state of Ohio. Liberia to have. Reached natural and mineral resources. We do have we do have Rob We do have iron ore we do have gold we do have diameter and other kind of resources backsides. Liberia is a member of eco us the Economic Community of West African States it's also a member of the manor river Union in fact is the founding member two countries from the Manor we were Union in one thousand nine hundred eighty three Sierra Leone and Liberia.

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And then in one thousand nine hundred eighty Guinea joined the man river Union. And so Liberia is in a very unique situation in fact it's so unique that many of our neighboring African countries see us as the fifty first states of the United States why because of this long highlight that we do share with the United States historically financially for over two hundred years so you can see the uniqueness of Liberia.

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Where do one start to understand. The history of Liberia where Liberians are quick to say that their country is still all this African Republic. And the only country within the continent. And. That was not colonize during the colonial period. Rather it was a country stablished for we putt treated people of African descent that were returning from the United States that we call settlers that we call America Liberians that we also call Congo.

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You know if you look at the made the same claim that they were also not on the colonial rule but of course we do know that they where for some time on that Italian rule. So then the question becomes what was in Liberia before the settlers got there before the arrival of the settlers in the nineteenth century.

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There were sixteen ethnic groups that inhabited what became known as Liberia. There's not much time for me to go through all of these sixteen at any good but it's important for us to know that this poor is a of languages and dialects. But although these people where mainly in and making this movement to the area where they did find themselves.

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They also lived in a very distinct Joe graphical areas in the region where they find themselves. We do not know when these people came to this region there we ask historians are still try to to revisit and reconstruct the yes movement of these people into this area. But there's one thing that we do believe and that we do know that these.

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People that we're moving in this region that became known as Liberia. Where coming from the north as a part of the South what migration especially when we saw the great Sudan Nic states of Mali and saw decline and collapsing this people were making the movement to a better place looking for learn.

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So we can say that by the fifteenth and sixteenth century we saw this movement and where they're searching their search all along the coastal areas why is the coastal area important while the coastal area is important important for social cultural interaction these people interacted with one and order but not only that this course to an area was important for social cultural interaction it was this area that these people converge for trade purposes but it was also in this coastal area that he.

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Was interned C. and we had all kinds of slave poor has been established in this area but there's one more thing that is important it was in this Costello area that the settlers force established a Liberian government as depressed in line so this caused becomes extremely important so it's important for us to understand that probably ought to read that there were ethnic groups that are established themselves in this region that became known as Liberia.

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And then came the eight hundred S.. If you saw the settlement of the settlers when did this began. I will claim that the establishment of such a major stablish many Liberia began in eighteen twenty one. With the protection of the American. Government and the private sponsorship of the American clueless Asian society.

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The ego such liars. Followed America in more their roles and strategies as this tablets them serve along the coast what are those tragedies out right conquest the purchase of land that were not subject for sale the conversion of. Treaties of friendship into owner's deeds of ownership as such my Elite mono his power and resources the majority of the indigenous peoples.

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Where controlled by forced but not only that they were controlled by force their leaders their chief where caught up in. A system of in their actual. That's why I make the claim that even dollar Liberia was not colonized like all the African countries. But the story call and political conjecture that emerged from the settlement but you love the relationship between the return east and the indigenous peoples.

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To do you a familiar colonial conditions what were those conditions exploitation in equality morn applies a show of power and resources this conditions I will suggest. Learn so deep to addiction conflicts and suspicions between the indigenous peoples and. The settlers. Those. I would say that. The nature of the settlement made the degeneration of the state.

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Into autoroute. Almost inevitable. How can I prove that we have to look at the roots of the retiree and the same in Liberia. But where the roots of authoritarianism. The roots of authoritarianism were planted by the American Colonization Society during the settlement in Liberia for example the organization introduced several repressive measures what were those measures the nuisance low which made it illegal for a new Liberian to organize or participate in demonstration against the colonial government second was the association law which banned Liberians form becoming members of any organization that was not sanctioned by the colonial government.

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So here what we saw those who fire later this rule were subject to find were subject to a flawed game the were subject to a imprisonment they were subject to having their property consecrated So in the Nischelle stage what we saw that there was a suppression of the indigenous peoples.

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But following this colonial rule. Each Satsuma independent state formalized aspects of these. What I call authoritarianism in Liberia. They denied citizenship to the indigenous people. They violated the human rights of the citizens by forcing them to work in government projects without compensation they levy taxes against the indigenous people we tout allowing them representation.

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So that from the J.J. Roberts administration following to the leather administration of the surplus that we saw maintain a fine of this authoritarianism. Let me give you an example of this kind of authoritarianism by the settler governments let's take the other Bakaly administration from nineteen or fourteen thousand nine hundred forty three.

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I will claim that the out of Barkley administration laid the basis for the institutionalization of authoritarianism in Liberia how well on the other back near we first thought the frontier force. On that this arrangement this military organization was responsible for policing the interior but not only policing the interior to make sure that there is tax payments compliance but not only to make sure that I was tax payment compliance to make sure the Chiefs are accountable to the Bakley.

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That's what we saw on the other Barclays regime that the front you have forced became the principal instrument of correlation. Used against the indigenous people as they were suppress with we got stood their rights and then we saw the famous regime of William D. as Tubman which many people believe was the golden age of Liberia I will submit that even though we saw for.

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Reinvestments I was an attempt to be able to bring the indigenous people and the settlers together economically and politically I will suggest. That Domingue William V. as Tubman regime we saw an explanation of authoritarianism by developing a network us curity network which engaged in spying intimidating and imprisoning indigenous people who where.

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The settler government well it was on their WM top moment that we saw that the true rigged party became same institutionalized as a single party all of those workers for the government were first to become members of the party and their salaries portions of their salaries were given for the maintenance and the functioning of the party but not only that we also find out that governments use state resources to provide benefits and salaries for party of the shelves and then we saw that with them out all boards regime when told what came into power in one nine hundred seventy one.

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He vacillated between liberalization and authoritarianism. But he became very clear on which side told what was because we saw in twelve nineteen seventy nine when Liberians were out there demonstrating as a result of the exorbitant hike price of rice Liberia's staple food. President told birds or the troops to shoot and kill Liberians that were out there.

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And those later on those were parts of that movie. And that organization like more Jap and Pa those leaders were all arrested and even student government leaders were also arrested and thrown into jail and some of them were not even given any kind of justice. So I would claim that given these repressive political climate.

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The proximate conditions for triggering violent regime change. Was right. And as a result of this we saw the coup of nine hundred eighty. What brought us to the coup of one nine hundred eighty there are many other factors but in one thousand nine hundred eighty. April one thousand Forty nine hundred eighty seventeen a least head man.

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On the auspices of Assad you know on our side. Overthrew the government of Tolbert. Fourteen of. Its top officials were executed. Subsequently we saw put in place a government of civilian made up of civilian and military officials. Known as the people's redemption council came to power. How then can we evaluate this regime.

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Unfortunately. Door decided to continue the same pattern of administration that. In fact I would suggest that he acts pondered the dragnets. Here he was ruling by decree. That was one big creek that prohibited workers from striking that was another law that made it impossible. All force schools and all the institutions of higher learning from having student government.

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But not only that it was the fair Morse decree eighty eighty which allowed for any war and that is suspected of criticizing those government to be arrested and sent to jail with no justice. So what we saw during the doors regime that dollar manipulated ethnicity. Not only money at the city also Manju player corruption mediocre team in aptitude.

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And even use violence to govern. And as a result of these. People became the bring. In.