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Reference
EthnicKrahn
Hatemonger I am not really sure as to what to make of a Trokon T article, Responding to "Ethnic-Krahn Hater" reference of me as “an Isaac B. Rue.” I am Mr. Isaac B. Rue. Anyway, I hope Trokon T will eventually properly identify him of her self. Please excuse my language. I am only writing in a Trokon T style. A Trokon T writes in the article, Responding to "Ethnic-Krahn Hater," and states “True, in all forms of journalism we should avoid misleading our readers and inciting others to hatred. In this case, however, I see no such thing; it is the sad fact Isaac, the very very sad fact.” If Mr. Tom Kamara, or should I speak his language and rather state, if ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara did not intend to mislead his readers and incite others to hatred, why didn’t ethnic Kissi Tom refer to himself and the other groups in ethnic terms? Trokon T, you correctly stated, “When Taylor first came to Liberia with his rebel group, we all knew he had used the animosity the people of Nimba had against Doe and those from his county. The tribes that were mostly victims of killings by his group were the Krahn and the Mandingo.” Now tell me, if everyone knew that the Krahns and Mandigoes were victims of killings by Taylor’s group, why didn’t ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara state so in his article, A Look at Washington’s Concerns and Accolades? In this article, ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara cleverly states, “Charles drove ethnic Mandingoes and others into exile…” Why didn’t he state, Charles drove ethnic Krahns, Mandigoes and others into exile? It is simple. To state that Charles drove ethnic Krahns into exile will be stating something positive about the Krahns, and it will be very, very wrong for a Krahn hatemonger to say something positive about the Krahn people. In fact, let me take this discussion just one step forward. By ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara’s standard, the 2003 Accra peace conference, which ushered in hope and peace for all Liberians must be classified as ethnic Krahn dominated conference. Can anyone out there tell me that a Krahn person was not a delegate on most of the delegations that were represented at that peace conference? Can any other Liberian tribe say this? If the Krahns contributed to the peaceful resolution of the Liberian conflict, why then are the Krahns not given any credit? The answer is plain and simple. It will be very, very wrong for a Krahn hatemonger to say something positive about the Krahn people. Now, let’s continue our journey through some of ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara’s articles. In his article, Burdens & Benefits of Ethnic Politics in Current Liberian Political Formations, ethnic Kissi Kamara writes, “The Americo-Liberian replacement, a military council of soldiers and their civilians admirers, has been known for its hyper-corruption and sprawling human rights abuses. At the head of this military council was an ethnic Krahn, Master-Sergeant Samuel Doe.” Mr. Kamara further writes, “A group that commands politics and therefore resources, whether in a dictatorship that Liberia was under the military, or in dreamy democracy to be born, must get accustomed to demands for justice from marginalised ethnic groups.” Now ethnic Kissi Tom, let us examine the facts and put all emotions aside. How do you define the word group? Are you saying that since Doe is from the ethnic Krahn tribe so the Krahns were the group in power? Does ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara and other proponents of this ethnic Krahn dominated Doe government fallacy have any statistical evidence to justify their claim? Ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara and others are simply using a cliché as there is no statistical evidence to their claim that the Doe Administration was ethnic Krahn dominated. It was clear that prior to 1980, the president, vice president, and just about all-cabinet ministers were ethnic Americo-Liberians. The National Legislature and the Judicial were all headed by ethnic Americo-Liberians. Most deputy, assistant ministers and managing directors of all the major corporations were headed by ethnic Americo-Liberians. Can ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara and others say this about the PRC or the NDPL under Doe? Let’s take a look at the leadership of the group of soldiers who replaced the ethnic Americo-Liberians as stated by Mr. Kamara and determine if his assessment is correct. The leadership of the group of soldiers was: Samuel K. Doe (Krahn) Thomas Weh-Syen (Sarpoo) Thomas Quiwonkpa (Gio) J. Nicolous Podier (Kru) Fala Varney (Kissi) Abraham Kollie (Lorma) Where is the Krahn dominance? Where is the similarity between the ethnic Krahns and the ethnic Americo-Liberians? A look at the cabinet of the PRC and the NDPL government will show similar pattern. Can anyone out there dispute this? Is there a county in Liberia or any ethnic group in Liberia that can earnestly say that they were marginalized by the Doe administration as it was done under the ethnic Americo-Liberians? Not to keep dragging this discussion, even the saying that the Armed Forces of Liberia was a Krahn army is false, baseless and misleading. I am told that the Chief of Staff of the Arm Forces of Liberia on the day Doe was killed, is not from the Krahn tribe. Where then did all of this Krahn army fallacy come from? Well, it’s simple. In order to isolate the Krahns, Taylor’s strategy was to refer to the Arm Forces of Liberia as Krahn soldiers and not as country people soldiers in order to encourage individuals from the ethnic Kissi, Loma, Gio, Grebo, Bassa, Kpelle, Via, Kru, etc. to desert the Arm Forces of Liberia. Most of these people yielded Taylor’s call, failed to defend their motherland and by the time Taylor got to Monrovia, everyone knew first hand that Taylor’s rattrap was not for the Krahn people alone. Let me just share this with you and I’ll entertain your response. When Ciata Victor of the Liberian Connection web site first published her commentary, about “The National Transitional Government of Liberia Appointees,” she gladly informed the world as to who the Krahns were in the National Transitional Government. After reading her list, I sent her an e-mail congratulating her for telling us who the Krahns were in the government and asked her to tell us the tribes of the others. To my surprise, she removed the ethnic reference from the list. I guess it was okay for her to say this person is a Krahn person, but it was not okay to say the same about other tribes. Are you getting the picture? Do I take pleasure in referring to Mr. Tom Kamara as ethnic Kissi Tom Kamara, or Trokon T as a Trokon T? You bet no. What if all of us began to refer to other Liberians in terms of their ethnicity? How will the Grebos feel if Tom Kamara and others constantly refer to the Chairman and Interim Liberian Leader Gyude Bryant as an ethnic Grebo? Can you imagine the outrage that will be coming from the Grebos? The Grebos will be outrage because they are aware that such comments only lead to hatred against all Grebos. They are aware that in case the Chairman and Interim Liberian Leader Gyude Bryant does anything to offend other Liberians, Liberians will one day also say “these people do not kill anyone unless you are from the Grebo tribe.” I have suffered personal loss because of guilt by association. My father, uncle, aunts and countless relatives who were killed by the Taylor forces never worked for the NDPL or were members of the Arm Forces of Liberia. In fact, my father, Hon. Silas P. Rue, was a member of the House of Representatives from Grand Grand Gedeh County during the Tubman and Tolbert True Whip Party Governments. He told me that he would not work for the PRC or NDPL governments because the PRC used violence to remove his True Whip Party government from power. Unlike other True Whip Party partisan’s from all counties of Liberia who gladly worked for the PRC and NDPL, my father kept his words and never worked for the PRC or NDPL. On the day Taylor’s forces entered the Barnersville, Gartnersville area, my father was brutally killed by Taylor’s forces. His crime, he was a Krahn man. My father, uncle, and countless relatives were killed simply because they were Krahns. This is where I stand. To say that I want for us to be silent is absurd. I firmly believe that I should not be held responsible for any act committed by any other individual. The courts should be the place to determine as to who is guilty or not guilty of war crimes. This thing of guilt by association is immoral, wrong, and unethical. I beg for Change in our mentality. This thing of calling others ethnic Americo-Liberians, ethnic Krahns etc. has not helped us in the past, will not help us now, and in the future. Is there anyone out there who is willing to try this Change process for the sake of the good of all Liberians? Thanks, |
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