Written by Elijah Komontey Gbarweay
SEE WHY HE WAS CALLED BUTT NAKED: With his "birthday suit" on, he hands on an object with his right hand and handles his gun with his left hand perhaps targeting his opponent. See his shoes on.
GENERAL BUTT NAKED: This is Reverend Joshua Milton Blahyi, popularly referred to as GENERAL BUTT NAKED in Liberia, a once ruthless and fearsome battle front commander during the ill-fated April 6, 1996 onslaught that destroyed untold lives and properties in the wake of an open confrontation between forces loyal to Rooselvet Johnson of ULIMO J on the one hand and the combined ones of Charles G. Taylor and Alhadji Kromah on the other hand. After that incidence, Blahyi who had claimed to have possessed supernatural powers from SATAN to repel and crush any enemy, renounced violent and reinvented himself into a christian evangelist on the journey for self-proclaimed transformation. He had told the TRC hearing that he was under the influence of satan to do those things he could not have done under normal condition; he asked for forgiveness and agreed to have a date with justice at the ICC at the Hague whenever he is called upon. Today, hefaces those who he once tormented , preaching at places where he murdered and trying to rebuild the shattered lives of those he once commanded. But at the end of the day, are some crimes beyond the pale of forgiveness? If all the known major perpetrators of the heinous crimes committed in Liberia decided to take the same path of BUTT NAKED by either clutching a bible, quran or performing other religious rites in the name of reconcilliation and forgiveness will that be enough to heal the wounds of the past and make us to move forward and live like one family once again even if we had never lived like one before? Just asking...
GENERAL BUTT NAKED: This is Reverend Joshua Milton Blahyi, popularly referred to as GENERAL BUTT NAKED in Liberia, a once ruthless and fearsome battle front commander during the ill-fated April 6, 1996 onslaught that destroyed untold lives and properties in the wake of an open confrontation between forces loyal to Rooselvet Johnson of ULIMO J on the one hand and the combined ones of Charles G. Taylor and Alhadji Kromah on the other hand. After that incidence, Blahyi who had claimed to have possessed supernatural powers from SATAN to repel and crush any enemy, renounced violent and reinvented himself into a christian evangelist on the journey for self-proclaimed transformation. He had told the TRC hearing that he was under the influence of satan to do those things he could not have done under normal condition; he asked for forgiveness and agreed to have a date with justice at the ICC at the Hague whenever he is called upon. Today, hefaces those who he once tormented , preaching at places where he murdered and trying to rebuild the shattered lives of those he once commanded. But at the end of the day, are some crimes beyond the pale of forgiveness? If all the known major perpetrators of the heinous crimes committed in Liberia decided to take the same path of BUTT NAKED by either clutching a bible, quran or performing other religious rites in the name of reconcilliation and forgiveness will that be enough to heal the wounds of the past and make us to move forward and live like one family once again even if we had never lived like one before? Just asking...
The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia, West Africa. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. -Bernard Gbayee Goah
Also see: "Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah" at: http://bernardgoah.blogspot.com/
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