A Constitutional Course Correction
By Tarty Teh

Someone has asked, ‘‘What does the ‘Teh Model’ say about children?’’ Well, maybe it is only fair to seek clarification by asking other questions: How does the plan harm our children? And why would anyone require a private citizen like me to write a prescription for protecting our children? I simply conceived a plan by which we can get rid of President Charles Taylor and connect, as quickly as possible, to the Liberian Constitution and all the protection it prescribes. Why do I then have to write a separate prescription for protecting our children?

Take a look at the U.S. Constitution. It is seven inches long and five inches wide. The original Constitution covered only 15 pages when it was put in place in 1776. There was no attempt made then to mention every possible human conduct that might threaten peace and tranquility and thereby hamper American citizens’ pursuit of happiness. More provisions were added as time went on and as the American civic culture evolved. And so in nearly two and a quarter centuries, the American Congress has added only 26 amendments to their Constitution. The last amendment I believe was in 1971, nearly 30 years ago. Yet the pamphlet is only 28 pages long.

The Constitution is only a guideline for writing prescriptions. So, in response to a malfunction that got the Liberian nation off course, I proposed what is now referred to as the ‘‘Teh Model,’’ as a way of getting back to the Constitution. The process of doing so is covered by a provision of the Constitution which says that the people have a right to remove a president who behaves in ways that adversely affect the general wellbeing of the citizens. I can’t tell which provision of the Constitution contains this proviso. But even if the Constitution didn’t say anything, there would still be a need to do something because, as humans, we have a limit for taking abuses before we do something spontaneous and very likely more dangerous than what prompted the action.

Since making the proposal called the ‘‘Teh Model,’’ I have clarified, in response to other questions, that for the plan to work, we need a vice president. Unfortunately, the vice president we had when the plan was put forth was killed. But we have since gotten another one. I did not conceive the plan with Vice President Enoch Dogolea in mind, although I mentioned his name. And that’s because, in fact, he was the vice president at the time.

The question was, and remains, how to remove President Charles Taylor. Again, there are means within the Liberian Constitution for doing just that. But for not being a constitutional scholar, I feel that I am being towed into deeper constitutional waters. If the Liberian Legislature were completely or, in fact, somewhat independent of the Executive Branch of the Liberian government, this argument would have long since arisen in either the House or the Senate. It hasn’t.

However, while my proposal was being examined by independent Liberian minds, the group calling itself Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) showed up. Their goal, they say, is to remove President Charles Taylor. Well, that’s part of the answer to the problem Liberia faces, if they can remove Taylor. I am therefore trying to sell my plan to them. The plan is mostly intact despite Dogolea’s death because we have a vice president again. The plan does not depend on a particularly good vice president to function because it contemplates elections very shortly after we remove President Charles Taylor. I am thinking about three months maximum for making the transition to an elected president.

When you have a framework for pursuing a corrective course such as I think my plan is, you don’t want to tie yourself into so many details because there is always room for improvement. There should therefore be enough flexibility for new ideas and for adapting to new situations along the way.

I grant that this is a rare situation we are faced with in Liberia. Things are now so bad in Liberia that even predictable actions are difficult to take. Take the Vice President Dogolea autopsy report, for instance. First let’s start with the routine. A man dies; you ask for a death certificate or an autopsy, if the two are not the same. If the certificate gives you cause for further concern, you ask for comprehensive or independent autopsy. But this is not happening in Liberia.

You ask for an autopsy, you get a suspiciously long and unexcused pause. You persist and then you get a 15-man committee composed of the very people whose cooperation helped the accused to delay issuing a simple, routine report about the cause of death for our Vice President. The presumed independent commission contains Taylor’s party members, who are now in the Liberian Legislature, and some of his appointees in the Judiciary. As it is, I don’t know whether in the end the commission will vote like a jury, in which case it will take only one dissenting vote to gum this up for good. Or whether it is going to be an open report so that, if there are sufficient reasons to suspect foul play, indictments would be issued.

It is a mess. That is why we need a plan to remove President Taylor. That is the only way we will have the opportunity to conduct the affairs of Liberia in normal, predictable ways that will not require the formation of committees and other ad hoc bodies. In short, the ‘‘Teh Model’’ is a course correction, not a blueprint for how we should govern ourselves as a nation. – Tarty Teh

Copyrighted © Tarty Teh 2000
Washington, D.C. August 14, 2000

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