Rev. Janice Faijue-Gonoe
‘‘We, the Lutheran Church Massacre Survivors, express our frustrations and disappointment that after 36 years, some still carry bullet fragments deeply embedded inside their bodies, and they lack financial resources or medical access to undergo extraction surgeries. Other survivors are continuously experiencing severe pain and agony as well as broken bones sustained from gunfire and machete attacks, severe leg trauma, permanently destroying their ability to walk without support. As survivors, we are not asking for luxury. We are asking for dignity, medical care, psychological support, and opportunities to rebuild lives forever changed by violence. If reconciliation is to be meaningful, then the welfare of victims and survivors must become a national priority,” the Lutheran Church Massacre Survivors in a statement said at the program.
Victims and Survivors of the Liberian Civil Wars under the auspices of the Lutheran Church Massarce Association (LUMASA) are not only calling for justice and accountability, but also medical care, psychological support, and other opportunities that would enhance restoring their pride and dignity.
By Augustus D.R Bortue-augustus d.r bortue@frontpageafrica. com
LUMASA’s call was contained in a strong – worded statement signed by its Founder, Peterson T. Sonyah, delivered during the 36th Memorial Service of the massacre held on Wednesday, July 29 at the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church on 14th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia.
It can be recalled that on July 29, 1990, approximately 600 unarmed men, women, girls, children and people with disabilities were brutally killed by soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) during the first phase of the bloody Liberian Civil Wars that claimed approximately 250,000 lives, destroyed infrastructures and disrupted social and economic activities nationwide.
Victims were targeted after being explicitly promised safety by soldiers of the AFL on the Lutheran Church Compound, which was designated by the Liberia National Red Cross Society (LNRCS) as a refuge for displaced people who fled their homes as the war intensified in the Capital, Monrovia.
In the statement, survivors of the massacre expressed their frustrations and disappointment that after 36 years, some still carry bullet fragments deeply embedded inside their bodies, and they lack financial resources or medical access to undergo extraction surgeries.
The statement further pointed out that other survivors are continuously experiencing severe pain and agony as well as broken bones sustained from gunfire and machete attacks, severe leg trauma, permanently destroying their ability to walk without support.
“As survivors, we are not asking for luxury. We are asking for dignity, medical care, psychological support, and opportunities to rebuild lives forever changed by violence. If reconciliation is to be meaningful, then the welfare of victims and survivors must become a national priority,” the statement further added.
Despite living under horrible conditions, LUMASA’s leadership urged its members to stay hopeful, display courage and share their lived experiences to foster healing and ensure history is remembered.
Speaking earlier, the Pastor-In-Charge of the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Rev. Janice Faijue-Gonoe, gave the welcome statement and overview of the 36th Memorial Service of the massacre.
Rev. Gonoe, on behalf of the Church leadership and congregation, extended deeper condolences to the families, survivors and all who carry the pain of this tragedy.
“May this service be a sanctuary of hope, a place where tears are honored and were God’s promise of eternal life shines through the darkness,” Rev. Gonoe stated.
He informed the audience that Ambassador Beth Van Schaack, the U.S. Ambassador-at-large for Global Criminal Justice, visited Liberia in July 2022 and her focus was on accountability for atrocities committed during Liberia’s civil wars (1989 – 2003), including the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church massacre and recommended the Lutheran Church to the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC and they parter with Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), Team for Egalitarian Emancipation and Transformation (TEGET) to foster partnership aimed at healing woods of victims and survivors of the civil war.
(Left Mr. Peterson T. Sonyah, Founder of LUMASA)
She then highlighted a series of programs undertaken by the Lutheran Church of Liberia in memory of victims and survivors, including strengthening memorialization and archiving efforts to document the survivors’ ordeal, engaging with victims and survivors in community-led memorialization and truth-telling activities.
In brief remarks, human rights lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe said the absence of a robust transitional justice process remains a significant hindrance to peace consolidation.
In addition, he said the lack of accountability for these atrocities has weakened public confidence in the rule of law and emboldened perpetrators of past and present injustices.
‘‘To move beyond decades of waiting, Liberia must take decisive steps to consolidate peace and reconciliation. We are together with you today and tomorrow. Count on me anytime you need my service,” Cllr. Gongloe assured the victims and survivors during the program.
In a statement delivered on his behalf, Dr. Cllr. Jallah A. Barbu, Executive Director, Office for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia, said for decades, victims have waited; families have waited, survivors have waited, Liberia has waited; justice delayed for thirty-six years cannot be justice denied forever.
“Today, therefore, is not simply about remembering tragedy. It is about renewing our collective commitment to ensure that Liberia finally closes this painful chapter through accountability, justice, reparations and national reconciliation. That is precisely why the work of the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia remains so important,” Cllr. Barbu stated.
“Equally important is the establishment of a comprehensive reparations program. Justice is not only about prosecuting those most responsible for grave crimes. Justice must also recognize those who suffered,” he pointed out.
The OWEEC-L’s Executive Director also stated that thousands of Liberians continue to live with disabilities, trauma, displacement, loss of livelihoods, destroyed families and interrupted education because of the conflict.
He disclosed in the statement that many survivors continue to struggle without adequate medical care, psychosocial support, educational opportunities, or economic assistance.
‘’A meaningful reparations program acknowledges their suffering, restores dignity and demonstrates that the State values every citizen whose life was shattered by conflict,’’ he added.
Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe in the middle swearing a country cloth, standing left in the back and white scrappy T-Shirt is Survivor, Mr. James K. Gaye alone with families of victims and survivors before the Lutheran Church
The ceremony also coincided with the launch of a memorial photo gallery that preserves the memories of the civil war including those whose lives were violently taken and whose stories continue to cry out for justice at the office of the Women in Peacebuilding Network close by at the Fish Market, also in Sinkor, Monrovia.
“May the memory of those who died at the Lutheran Church inspire us to pursue justice with courage. May the stories preserved in the Memorial Photo Gallery remind us that silence can never erase truth. May the voices of survivors strengthen our resolve. May God grant Liberia the wisdom, humility, and unity to finally close this painful chapter through justice, accountability, reparations, reconciliation, and the enduring reign of the rule of law,” the statement concluded.
During the memorial service, some survivors briefly shared their stories during that fateful night of July 29, 1990.
Meanwhile, the program brought together high-profile stakeholders, including civil society actors, human rights lawyers and defenders, representatives of diplomatic missions, families of victims and survivors, and the media.
The Monrovia Church massacre, also referred to as the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Massacre, was the worst single atrocity of the First Liberian Civil War.
Approximately 600 people were killed at the church, on 14th Street, in the Sinkor District of Monrovia on 29 July 1990. The massacre was carried out by approximately 30 government soldiers loyal to the late President Samuel K. Doe. The perpetrators were of Doe’s Krahn Tribe while most of the victims were from the Gio and Mano Tribes, which were in support of the rebels.
Background
The First Liberian Civil War lasted from 1989 until 1997.
By mid-1990, two rival factions of rebel fighters advanced on the Liberian Capital, Monrovia and the late President Doe was hiding out in his Executive Mansion near the seaside.
At night, government soldiers patrolled the streets of those parts of Monrovia still under government control in search for people from Nimba County, the area the rebellion had started in, beating and killing men and engaging in looting.
In search for safety, approximately 2,000 people had taken refuge in the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.
Massacre
Approximately 30 government soldiers (possibly as many as 200 according to a survivor of the attack) climbed over the wall of the church yard on the night of 29 July and carried out the massacre, shooting and hacking to death men, women and children, indiscriminate of age.
Of those targeted, only a small number of children survived, hiding under the bodies of adults.
The perpetrators of the massacre were from Samuel Doe’s Krahn Tribe, while most of the victims were from the Gio and Mano Tribes, which were in support of the rebels.
Early the next morning, the perpetrators returned, killing one survivor before leaving again.
An American missionary, Bette McCrandall, listened to the attack from a church compound nearby.
Aftermath
Among the first people arriving at the scene of the massacre the following day was a doctor from Guinea who discovered, as the only sign of life, a crying baby.
She had to walk over the dead bodies to reach the child and, after picking it up, saw other small children rise from their hiding places.
The reported leader of the death squad that carried out the massacre, Michael Tilly, later visited the hospital where survivors were being treated and threatened to execute them, as his troops had done at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center a week prior.
The massacre, the worst single atrocity of the First Liberian Civil War, resulted in neighbouring countries sending an armed intervention force, under the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States.
While the Liberian embassy in Washington denied involvement of government soldiers in the massacre, the US government confirmed their involvement and initially estimated the number of victims as between 200 and 300.
One of the two rival rebel leaders, the late Prince Johnson, the other being Charles Taylor, requested that the United States intervene, but it declined to send in the 2,000 Marines stationed off shore.
The US deployed Marines in August 1990 as part of Operation Sharp Edge, but only to protect and evacuate American citizens.
The former United Nations Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar stated he was horrified by the massacre and requested the protection of civilians in the country.
Former Armed Forces of Liberia officer Boi Bleeju Boi stated in 2008 that he was convinced that the massacre was carried out by government soldiers as it would have been impossible for any rebel force to enter the area, carry out the massacre and retreat without notice of the Army.
He also believed that the lack of investigation of the massacre by the Army pointed towards its involvement.
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church was rebuilt at the cost of US$1 million (~$1.95 million in 2024) and re-consecrated in August 1993.
Prosecution
The decades after the massacre saw no attempt at holding anybody accountable.
In 2017 four survivors of the massacre sued a former colonel of the Liberian Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, Moses Thomas, who now lived in Pennsylvania.
He denies all involvement of himself or his unit in the massacre.
Campaigners hope that winning the civil suit will cause his temporary protected status in the United States to be revoked and could possibly cause him to be deported to Liberia where, as of 2018, nobody has been tried for the massacres committed during the civil war.
