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Players of LAMCO Enforcers
accused of being responsible for lost matches.
During 1985 aborted invasion,
spearheaded by late Thomas G. Quiwonkpa, Charles Julu became a
household name throughout Liberia when he allegedly dumped
unspecified number of Nimbian children into wells in a vicious
retaliation, eye witnesses said, against Nimba County, where
Quiwonkpa hailed from.
His reputations and that of
late Samuel Doe were marred by what was later dubbed, “Nimba
Raid.” Consequently, late Samuel Doe, in order to safe face,
transferred the ex-general at the Executive Mansion as a commander
for the Executive Mansion Guard.
Julu survived the rebel
incursion after he fled to a neighboring country where he resided
until 1994. He mysteriously appeared in Monrovia during a power
sharing government headed by Prof. David Kpormakpor. Charles Julu
mobilized a handful of AFL remnants that happened to be members of
his Krahn tribe.
Despite the presence of West
African Peace Monitoring Group in Monrovia and at the Executive
Mansion, providing security for the transitional government,
Charles Julu stole the show in the morning hours when he forced
his way on the fourth floor at the Executive Mansion in an attempt
to seize power.
When news of Charles Julu’s
presence at the Executive Mansion as a coup maker broke out in
Liberia, especially in Monrovia, dark cloud formed. Speculations
fill the air and suspicious eyebrows were raised at ECOMOG.
Later in the day, the High
Command of ECOMOG ordered the dissident ex-general to step down
from the Executive Mansion. But Charles Julu insisted on playing
his tape. “I want to play my cassette. I want to play my cassette
for the people to hear it,” he was quoted as saying.
But ECOMOG gave him an
ultimatum to step down or be forcibly brought down (death or
alive). The ex-general still insisted that he wanted to play his
tape, even though some of his men have fled.
Late in the evening, ECOMOG-trained
Black Berets, along with ECOMOG Executive Mansion Guards moved on
him while ECOMOG Delta Company launched artillery around the
Mansion to scare him away. People ran helter-skelter around
Monrovia.
Charles Julu fled the
Executive Mansion at around 6:00 p.m. and sought rescue near the
Barclay Training Center, a military barracks near the Executive
Mansion. Security was put on the alert for his capture and arrest.
Charles Julu was on foot
heading toward the Mama Point area near United States Embassy when
a group of National Security agents arrested him and turned him
over to ECOMOG.
He was locked up at the Post
Stockade at the Barclay Training Center. No charges were brought
against him as the Constitution of Liberia was unofficially
suspended due to the civil conflict.
Charles Julu became a free man
by force on April 6, 1996 when fighting broke out amongst four of
the warrant factions in Liberia. National Patriotic Front of
Liberia (NPFL) of Charles Taylor and United Liberation Movement of
Ahlaji Kromah (ULIMO-K) moved to arrest the late Roosevelt Johnson
of ULIMO-J backed by Liberia’s Peace Council of George Boley at
the Barclay Training Center (BTC).
It was not confirmed whether
Charles Julu took part in the fight, but unreliable sources said
he gave orders to defunct Liberian Peace Council and ULIMO-J
militias to defend the barracks, his only rescue at the time, with
their blood.
After the general elections which restored peace to Liberia, it
was reported that Charles Julu has changed his life; he became a
devoted Christian and was attending services regularly at the Lord
Allahdullah Church,
according to
family sources. It is not known whether he is a born again
Christian.
But according to one political
student at the University of Liberia, Charles Julu is using
Christianity to get away from public eyes and government
surveillance, adding, he must not be taken for granted.
A law
student at the University of Liberia applauded Liberia’s solicitor
General Tiawon Gongloe for the manner in which he is handling the
trial against the alleged coup plotters. “I agree with the
Solicitor General that this is a new day in Liberia where the rule
of law must prevail. According to our constitution, it must be
proven beyond all reasonable doubts that these people actually
were plotting to overthrow the Liberian government. They have the
right to a free and fair trial, but let there be severe punishment
for trouble makers in a new Liberia,” he said.
Solicitor General Gongloe told
journalists recently in Monrovia that government is treating the
suspects as they are until they were proven guilty and the State
will prove them guilty.
“It would appear to the
ordinary people that people are being preferentially treated
because in time past, people accused of treason were treated as
convicts, not allowed visitation by their relatives, etc.”, he
said adding, “As I speak to you, these suspects have unrestrained
assess to their families on visitation days.”
A human rights activist in
Monrovia told runningafrica.com recently in a telephone interview
that though he advocates for a fair and open trial in Monrovia, he
recommends that not only Charles Julu and George Koukou, but all
trouble makers in Liberia must be rooted out and secluded from
society for life if found guilty, adding it’s better to get rid of
one or two people to save million lives if necessary.
Meanwhile local and
international human rights organizations, political and social
organizations in Liberia and abroad are carefully monitoring the
trial of the accused coup plotters in what they believe to be a
first major test to post war
government’s transparency of justice; hoping all necessary tools
and expertise, including the proper scrutiny of evidence and
credibility of the witnesses, government agents, and the recording
in order to avoid false imprison as it was during past regimes.
Among other things, observers
hope government would check the backgrounds of witnesses; their
political and social connections, and other factors that may
influence the trial.
Writes, Thomas Kai Toteh
Running Africa
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