An apology opens a way to national healing

We are sorry.

With three simple words, Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai is taking his West African country a major step forward in a journey toward national healing.

The July 5 declaration – which Mr. Boakai addressed to “every victim, ... to every family broken, to every dream shattered” – marks the first official state apology for two civil wars that ravaged the country between 1989 and 2003.

During that time, a quarter-million Liberians were killed, many more were wounded and displaced, and thousands of children were forced into combat.

In the lead-up to the official apology, Mr. Boakai engaged in conciliation initiatives including memorial services for two former presidents, William Tolbert and Samuel Doe. The former was killed in a coup led by the latter in 1980. In January, Mr. Boakai also attended a service for Prince Johnson, a warlord who had Mr. Doe executed in 1990. All three men were violent and undemocratic leaders, but Mr. Boakai sought to allay feelings of ostracism and convince their ethnic kin and former regional supporters to be part of national civic life.

“Let us reject bitterness. Let us reject division,” Mr. Boakai said at Mr. Doe’s service, reported Liberia’s Daily Observer. “This is a time to reconcile with our history, to heal from our wounds, and to remember with respect and purpose.”

“We have waited long for this,” a local traditional leader told the paper. “To see the government come here, to walk our land, means we too are part of Liberia’s healing.”

As the New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice notes, public expressions of atonement like Mr. Boakai’s are “more than words.” They promote “constructive dialogue and unite the public behind ... common goals.” But achieving reconciliation and unity sometimes requires traditional justice, including prosecutions, as postconflict countries such as Rwanda and Chile have demonstrated.

In fact, Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended both a public apology and the setting up of a War and Economic Crimes Court in a 2009 report. While officials did not act on these recommendations for nearly 15 years, the approach is changing under Mr. Boakai. He has appointed an adviser to oversee the setting up of tribunals to handle cases.

“Political stability ...  demands that you hold people accountable. And that’s what [Liberia is] trying to do with the war and economic crimes courts,” United States Ambassador Mark Toner remarked late last year.

The effort to pursue a transparent reckoning can honor Liberians’ loss and dignity while also furthering justice and forgiveness.