Reports in an online news medium has revealed that US President Joe Biden is ready to take action against corrupt public officials past and present and former warlords who caused mayhem and destruction in Liberia.
The Website, National Interest, reports that Benoni Urey, who is currently the leader of a minor political party, All Liberian Party (ALP) and others directly cited in Truth and Reconciliation Commission, are the likely next targets for arrest and prosecution.
There are two categories of the TRC conviction lists-War Crimes and Economic Crimes convicts. Urey is listed as an economic criminal in the TRC final report.
It can also be recalled Urey was listed as a Specially Designated National (SDN) by the Treasury until 2015 for his involvement in money laundering and illegal arms trading.
In 2009, a leaked cable penned by then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice noted, “Benoni Urey continues to pose an ongoing threat to the peace and stability in Liberia and the sub-region. Urey was the Commissioner of Maritime Affairs for former Liberian President Charles Taylor and was known to play a key role in arms procurement.”
In 2016, reports also circulated that Urey was denied a U.S. visa in an embarrassing incident at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia.
Benoni Urey has long played a complex game in his effort to evade accountability for his wartime actions. He spearheaded dubious legal charges against his political opponents in an effort to maneuver himself back into a position of power and disingenuously declared his support for a Liberian war crimes court, the reporter added.
Last year, Newsweek wrote that Urey is simply hopping “from one bandwagon to the next, hoping it will never reach a real court of international law.”
The arrest of Sekou Kamara who was arrested in the US sends the unmistakable message from Washington: war criminals, no matter how long ago their crimes took place, will face justice for the sake of Liberia’s peace and stability.
The report stated that Urey once declared in defense of his patron Charles Taylor, “Let them free Taylor or carry everyone to jail; we had a war in Liberia and one person did not commit all atrocities. A lot of people did and if one person can face justice, why not the rest?” He should be careful what he wishes for. Source: The National Interest
