Former Liberia President William Tolbert will receive symbolic heavy responsibility Tuesday 45 years after he was murdered in the coup, and his body is believed to have been thrown into the mass grave.
Ten days after the president was killed, his 13 cabinets were stripped of, tied to the bet, and then executed by a shooting squad on a beach next to an army camp in the capital Monrovia.
No 14 bodies were found, but each will hold a state funeral at a ceremony attended by Joseph Boakai and other VIPs.
The incident was seen as an act of reconciliation and was also part of the country, i.e., with its recent past of violence.
On April 12, 1980, a coup in power by Sgt Samuel Doe, 28, ended more than a century of political dominance, American minority Americans were descendants of free black slaves from the United States in the 1800s.
Tolbert’s nine-year presidency is characterized by dissatisfaction with racial inequality.
His overthrow began at the beginning of the instability period in Liberia, and finally reached its final end in two devastating civil wars, eventually ending in 2003.
The doe himself encountered violent deaths at the hands of the rebels in 1990. His heavy stance in his hometown last week was also ordered by the president.
This archival photo shows Samuel Doe (with dark glasses) speaking to the country shortly after the coup [Eugene Shaw via Getty Images]
“It’s not just a funeral; it’s a time of national reflection, a time of reconciliation with our history, healing from wounds and remembering with respect and purpose,” Boakai said at Doe’s funeral.
For families who were executed in 1980, Tuesday’s ceremony was both a commemoration and a way of respecting the dead.
“It’s been 45 years, and the pain is still fresh,” said the daughter of Executive Attorney General Joseph Chesson.
She stressed that Tuesday’s renuclearization will be the beginning of a long-term process.
“It’s not just a ritual, but the beginning of the closure. Reconciliation is not an event,” she said.
“There are many aspects of recovery, but for us, it’s just one of many ways we continue to pay tribute to the fallen Liberian heroes we deserve,” said Bindu Dennis, daughter of Tolbert Foreign Minister Charles Cecil Dennis.
“Our father was only murdered in one of the most despicable and inhumane public acts in the world, born out of a greedy spirit of political power.
“As long as you understand closure does not mean forgetting, then we are on the same page.”
So far, 14 people executed in 1980 have been remembered by a tombstone, whose names have been paid tribute to the previous president every year.
However, when excavated earlier this year, human remains were not found.
Every family of killed will be marked in their public service [Moses Kollie Garzeawu / BBC]
“There are some things happening in our country that we are not proud of, but we are Liberians and we have to unite to advance our country,” said Jarso Maley Jallah, the minister in charge of the Reburial program.
Each family of the killed person is scheduled to present the Liberian flag as a symbol of public service and will have 21 salutes.
Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 2006 to gather testimony about atrocities committed in the conflict.
In 2009, the TRC identified a list of people prosecuted for war crimes, but did not take any action. In Liberia, no one has tried it, but some perpetrators have been convicted in other countries.
Last year, Boakai signed an executive order aimed at establishing a special court.
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