Death threats sent to Liberia TRC

**Members of Liberia’s truth commission have received phone death threats since recommending President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf be barred from office.**The BBC’s Jonathan Paye-Layleh says some of them have gone into hiding and turned off their mobile telephones.

In a report, the commission recommended a 30-year ban for senior politicians for their role in the civil war.

“Thanks for your report; but death awaits you,” a text to commission chairman Jerome Verdier said.

“Your report has damaged our future,” it continued.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up by President Johnson-Sirleaf after she was sworn into office in 2006.

She has admitted that she had backed former warlord Charles Taylor’s rebellion 20 years ago, but a government spokesman said she would not resign.

“She is not going to resign. The president and the rest of us are reading the report. What I can tell you, is that President Sirleaf has tried to reconcile the country for the last two years,” Laurence Bropleh told the AFP news agency.

Read your comments about the commission’s recommendations