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'I Will Stand Tall in Defense of
Ellen'
-Cllr. Varney Sherman, Rubbishes TRC
30-Year Ban
July 20, 2009
 MONROVIA,
Counselor Varney G. Sherman says the blanket
indictment of supporters of warring factions, which forms part of
the recommendations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC),
calling for the exclusion of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, among
others, from appointive and elective offices, 'violates Article 81
of the Constitution of Liberia'. He added that he would stand tall
in defense of the President.
Article 81 of the Constitution
provides that “any citizen, being resident in Liberia, of Liberian
nationality or origin, and not otherwise disqualified under the
provisions of the Constitution and laws of the land, shall have the
right to canvass for votes for any political party or candidate of
any election.”
Cllr. Sherman also added that to the best of his knowledge, the only
criminal offense, the commission of which is penalized by the
forfeiture of a public office and disqualification from holding
public office for a maximum period of five years after serving the
conviction, is treason - Penal Law Section 11.2.
He referred to Article 21 of the Constitution of Liberia which
provides that no person shall be made subject to any law or
punishment which was not in effect at the time of the commission of
an offense, nor shall the Legislature enact any bill of attainder or
'ex-post-facto law.'
According to Cllr. Sherman, “unless support for a warring faction
during our civil conflict is deemed to be treason, which to my mind
cannot be so deemed since the enterprise succeeded in removing the
elected government from power, I see no other law which sanctions
support for warring factions and prescribes forfeiture of and/or
prohibition from holding public office as a sanction.”
“The TRC's blanket indictment,” he posited, “is also in violation of
the language and spirit of Article XIII of the Comprehensive Peace
Accord.
“There is nothing in the Accord that authorizes the TRC to
investigate and indict persons who violated the criminal laws of
Liberia, yet, the TRC indicted supporters of warring factions for
egregious domestic laws violation; and recommended a ban on them
from holding appointive and elective offices in Liberia.”
“While I do not and will never condone human rights violation or the
violation of international humanitarian law, or any law for that
matter, I have no doubt that genuine healing and reconciliation of
the Liberian people are not fostered by a recommendation that their
elected President be barred from holding appointive and elective
office in Liberia,” he told a crowded press conference Thursday,
July 16, 2009 in Monrovia.
Sherman: “The recommendation is more divisive than reconciliatory;
it is clearly inconsistent with the primary legal regime which
authorized the establishment of the TRC.”
Cllr. Sherman, whose Liberian Action Party (LAP) recently merged
with Liberia Unification Party (LUP) of slaim class-room teacher
William Gabriel Kpolleh and the ruling Unity Party (UP), of which
President Sirleaf is the first partisan, also maintained that the
TRC's final report did not have any impact on the merger between
LAP, LUP and UP.
“When we signed the articles of merger, each leader of the
constituent political parties emphasized that we had determined that
the merger is good for Liberia and that they made the decision to
merge so that at the end of the day, there will be fewer but
stronger political parties,” he explained.
The lawyer indicated that the merger would facilitate and promote
fully functioning multi-party democracy in Liberia.
“Certainly, what is good for Liberia cannot be made wrong for
Liberia by the TRC's final report; what is good for Liberia cannot
be made wrong by the singular action of any person or persons; what
is good for Liberia will preserve and withstand any onslaught,” the
politician further accentuated.
“I remain confident that the merger of LAP, LUP and UP is good for
our fledging multi-party democracy and will prove to be a political
milestone for generations to come,” he opined.
He told reporters that his confidence in the integrity, capacity,
ability, commitment and performance of President Sirleaf as
President of the Republic of Liberia had not been shaken by the
TRC's final report, adding that his assessment of President
Sirleaf's love for the common patrimony and her ardent desire to
contribute to its development and the development and security of
its people, using all her energies and resources, as demonstrated
through three and a half years of her stewardship of this country,
continued to carry very high marks, which 'nothing in the TRC's
final report affects'.
“Now, if the recommendation of the TRC's final report banning
President Sirleaf from holding elective or appointive office had any
appreciable level of legal and political efficacy, then the final
report might have placed a dent in the merger of our political
parties; it might have undermined my confidence in President Sirleaf;
it might have materially adversely affected our personal
relationship. But it is my considered opinion, both as a matter of
law and political considerations that this recommendation of the
TRC's final report is fatally flawed and lacks any legal or
political efficacy,” he stressed.
However, Cllr. Sherman told journalists that it is common knowledge
that President Sirleaf gave financial support to the National
Patriotic front of Liberia (NPFL) when it started its military
campaign to remove President Samuel Doe from power, adding that the
President had confirmed that fact, many, many times since 1990.
“However,” he added, “whether President Sirleaf was a member of the
NPFL's command and control structure is still debatable because some
NPFL members have suggested that she was while she and other NPFL
members have vehemently denied that she was.”
Cllr. Sherman said that at every attempt over a period of 15 years
(1990 to 2005) to find a political solution to the civil war, the
issue of whether supporters of warring factions, including their
heads, should participate in the political governance of Liberia was
raised; and each time it was overwhelmingly decided that those
persons should not be prohibited from participating in the political
governance of Liberia.
According to Cllr. Sherman, the first major indisputable evidence of
those overwhelming decisions was when the heads of warring factions
became members of the governing council, LNTG II, headed by the late
professor Wilton Sankawolo and LNTG III, headed by Madam Ruth Sando
Perry.
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