Liberian Warlord in the U.S.A: The Curious Case of George Boley
In mid-July, the Democrat & Chronicle interviewed co-workers and neighbors and found him well liked and respected. By early October, 2006, all charges had been dropped by the Federal prosecutor.
George Boley is once again in the news. Boley, a former staffer at the Rochester City School District and long time upstate New York resident, is accused of being a Liberian warlord and being responsible for war crimes and atrocities during the civil war and various dictators that have afflicted Liberia. The accusations from Liberians date back almost thirty years.
The current charges are administrative, illegal entry into the United States and war crimes. His first hearing is scheduled for February 24. Jeffrey Goldberg, in The Atlantic, reports that criminal charges are being considered.
During the Doe dictatorship, Boley was Minister of State for Presidential Affairs. His "political party" was called the Liberia Peace Council, or LPC. Tribally based, it is accused by the Liberians of participating in war crimes and the use of children as soldiers.
Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created to shed some light on the twenty plus years of civil war, dictatorships and warlords that Liberia endured. They heard a great deal of testimony about the LPC. Testimony charged that Boley and his faction looted the Presidential Palace after Doe's 1980 coup. Other witnesses told of the LPC roasting prisoners alive on spits and the rape and massacre of 27 people in 1995.
Boley testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. His primary claim is that there must have been two groups calling themselves the LPC. He stated that his group was entirely peaceful and had nothing to do with any atrocities. He denied any knowledge of war crimes and atrocities.
Throughout the Liberian civil war, Boley traveled back and forth to the United States. Since the end of the fighting, he has continued to visit his homeland without apparent restriction. The current charges are puzzling considering the failure to prosecute in 2006 and the decades long record of his travels.
Published by Charles Simmins
Charles Simmins is a native Western New Yorker with nearly thirty years of experience at senior level accounting positions in non-profit and for profit organizations. He was a volunteer firefighter, and a vo... View profile
- Canadians Establishing Credit in the United StatesWant a US bank account? Are you a Canadian looking for a way to establish credit in the United States? This article will show some tips.
- How Many People Are in the United States?How many people are in the United States of America, with what the current population is and real-time clocks of figures, numbers, estimates, and projection of how many live and work in the U.S.
Why the United States Will Fall to Second-World Status in the Next 50 Ye...The United States is likely to fall to second-world status in the next 50 years if it can't get its social problems under control and here's why.
The Biggest Money Machine Ever, in World History, is the Government of t...John Maynard Keynes Said that in the long run we are all dead. In the long run the United States government will own all the property and wealth of it's citizens as the result...- Why is Soccer Not Popular in the United States?An in-depth look at why the sport of soccer is accepted around the world, but not in the United States of America.
- Gone Fishin': Independence Day in Liberia
- Liberia: A Primer
- Truth and Reconciliation: The Bush-Cheney Legacy
- United States Final Olympic Medal Count
- United States Women Advance to Gold Medal Match in Olympic Softball
- United States to Play for Gold Medal in Women's Soccer with Win Over Japan
- The Wasteland of the Great United States of America
1 Comments
Post a CommentI don't know how this information was obtained, but one thing I do know is that the information in this story is completely incorrect; 1980, Doe and is LPRC military government was in control after the overthrow of Tolbert and there was no such thing as LPC; Secondly, Taylor invaded the country and started killing a particular group of tribe, How could you consider this a crime if a man or group of people organize themselves to defend themselves against the brutal killings, raping and looting of Charles Taylor's NPFL rebels.