Liberians tell of rape, murder as commission opens

By Alphonso Toweh

MONROVIA (Reuters) - Liberians relived painful memories of rape and murder during the 1989-2003 civil war on Tuesday in the first hearing of the West African country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

At an opening ceremony in the war-scarred capital Monrovia, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf appealed to her countrymen to cooperate in seeking the causes of the 14-year conflict which killed some 200,000 people and spilled across Liberia's borders.

"This week, our nation starts a process of healing that comes not only from contrition and forgiveness, but the process of justice," Johnson-Sirleaf, elected in Liberia's first post-war polls in 2005, told hundreds of people in Monrovia's cavernous Centennial Pavilion.

The hearings began a day after the trial of former Liberian warlord Charles Taylor started in The Hague on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged support for rebels during neighboring Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war.

Johnson-Sirleaf apologized on behalf of previous governments for the state's role in stoking Liberia's conflict, which was fuelled by ethnic tensions and the traditional dominance of a small clique who founded Africa's oldest republic in 1847.

"We call on all Liberians to be honest, to be truthful, to help the process of healing by sharing their experiences by telling of what they know that has torn our nation apart."

Under the watch of female U.N. police officers, the first three witnesses testified to their experiences, often in broken English.

"About 25 persons came and some of them raped my sister. After some time, she died," said Saywah David, who was 11 when he watched the attack.