It was an unprecedented move for a Liberian head of state
During a national reconciliation ceremony, President Joseph Boakai pledged to make July 5th an official day of remembrance
and apologized to the population for the government's involvement in the civil war
There is hardly a Liberian family that has not entered by the pain, the violence, and the injustice that has hunted our nation
On this historic occasion, I offer formal apology on behalf of the city
The apology marked the latest step in an ongoing reconciliation drive launched by the Liberian head of state
Days earlier, Boakai attended memorial services for former presidents Samuel Doe and William Tolbert
both executed during the war. There too, he urged Liberians to draw strength and unity from their collective trauma
and to make sure history wouldn't repeat itself in a speech that resonated with families of victims
It definitely doesn't fix it. But I do think and agree that the president is trying to reconcile
It's all about reconciliation. Something that I agree with. Because, yes, we can forgive, but we can never, ever forgive
Liberia's back-to-back civil wars, which devastated the country between 1989 and 2003
claimed a quarter of a million lives and resulted in widespread atrocities
including the use of thousands of child soldiers. Last year, Boakai signed an executive order to establish a special war crimes tribunal
but the country has yet to try anyone for crimes committed during that period