April 12 – National Redemption Day in Liberia

nPostednon April 12, 2016

n
n

Thisnanniversary is not really about redemption (a sort of clearing of andebt). Instead, it is an opportunity for Liberians to mourn peoplenkilled in a coupnd’état.

n
n

nLiberianis unique among African nations, because it began with anwell-intentioned move to allow freed – formerly enslaved – andnfreeborn people of African descent to go to Africa (most for thenfirst time) and set up a nation based in form on the United States.

n
n

nTherenwere definitely some problems with this idea. For one thing, thesenpeople coming to Africa, from America, were surely displacing peoplenwho were living in the area of the planned new nation. You just knownthat that had to lead to some problems…

n
n

nAnd,noh, yeah, it really did. Apparently, for more than a century, then“Americo-Liberians” – the people who were descended from thenpeople who came from America – dominated the powerful positions innthe government and economy, and they marginalized, stereotyped, andndiscriminated against native African peoples. n

n
n

nOnenof the largest and most important Americo-Liberian families was thenTolberts. A man named William R. Tolbert, Jr., was elected to thenHouse of Representatives and later became Vice President undernWilliam Tubman.

n
n

nNownthese terms – House of Representatives, President, Vice President –n sound very familiar, but the Liberian government did not operatenexactly like the U.S. government. There was only one political party,nthe True Whigs, and rather than having a separation of powers betweennthe legislative, executive, and judicial branches, the executivenbranch was way more powerful. In other words, the president rulednmuch more absolutely than does the U.S. president. And they tended tonhold onto that power for life – President Tubman ruled for 27nyears. He wasn’t replaced by a free election, but rather because hendied!

n
n

nButnWilliam R. Tolbert, Jr., started to make some changes when he wasnpresident. First, he was one of the few presidents who spoke annindigenous language, in this case Kpelle. Second, he worked for andnmanaged to pass a constitutional amendment that barred a presidentnfor serving more than eight years in office. Third, he helped createna program designed to bring more indigenous people into thengovernment.

n
n

Ofncourse, many of the conservative elements in the nation hated thenchanges Tolbert was making. They accused him of “letting thenpeasants into the kitchen,” and they made moves multiple times tonget rid of the amendment limiting presidential terms. Tolbert said innanswer to the complaints: “I will serve my country as long as Inhave life. I do not have to be President to do so.”

n
n

nStill,nmany indigenous people thought that the positive changes werenhappening too slowly. They were too angry after the decades of beingnsecond class citizens. And on this date in 1980 a small group ofnsoldiers stormed the executive mansion, killed President Tolbert, 26nother government officials, and later publicly executed 13 cabinetnmembers. All of these soldiers were indigenous people, and theirnleader, Samuel Kanyon Doe, became the new president. He declared thatnhis new government would be a great thing for the people – he evenncalled his military regime the People’s Redemption Council. n

n
n

Inbet you already guessed the sad truth – Doe’s rule was corrupt,nviolent, and full of injustice. Since Doe died, there have been twoncivil wars. Since 2005, the nation has been struggling to recovernfrom all the instability, all the violence, all the death andndestruction.

nLikenI said, rather than celebrating Doe’s “restoration,” manynLiberians view April 12 as a time to mourn all the people who died innDoe’s coup.

n
n

nThatnwas a whole lot of sad. Now enjoy some of the beauty of Liberia: