Roosevelt Johnson
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David Roosevelt Johnson (died October 23, 2004) was a
Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...
n military officer and warlord who led the ULIMO rebel group during the
First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War was the first of Second Liberian Civil War, two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread Political cor ...
. He was not a member of the Krahn ethnic group that he fought for; however, his wife was of that ethnic group.


Biography

A former teacher, Johnson joined the rebel group United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO) soon after the war began. ULIMO split into two factions in 1994: United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy-Kromah faction (ULIMO-K) led by Alhaji G.V. Kromah and the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy-Johnson faction (ULIMO-J), which was led by Johnson. Johnson had 6 sons in Liberia. Jotham, his eldest, would take care of the rest of his brothers while Johnson had been on rebel missions. Nigel, Justin, Rob, Hye and Igor had lived without knowing much about their father, as Johnson had hardly been home to care for them. Fighters loyal to Johnson triggered the first major violation of the Abuja Accord in December 1995, resisting ECOMOG deployment around the
diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
mines near Tubmanburg. He was dismissed from the ULIMO-J leadership in early 1996. Like many involved in the Liberian civil war, Johnson was known to use mercenary fighters to further his causes. One notable example was his funding of Joshua Milton Blahyi, commonly known as General Butt Naked. The General commanded a brigade of drunken or otherwise intoxicated young teenage boys who would fight naked or in women's clothing because of a belief that it would protect them from bullets. In September 1998, Taylor's government accused Johnson of plotting a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
. Johnson's faction in Monrovia was attacked by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Charles Taylor's security forces, resulting in brutal clashes that saw most of his followers being killed. He managed to flee to the American
embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...
and Taylor demanded that the Americans turn him over for what he guarantees will be a fair trial. But Washington said the assault at the embassy gate made that promise unreliable. Another shootout occurred as Taylor's fighters attempted to prevent him from finding sanctuary on the embassy grounds. Johnson, his son, and his few surviving followers were allowed into the embassy, however, where they were protected by U.S. guards until being evacuated to
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
. He eventually relocated to
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. He was charged with
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
and convicted in absentia, in April 1999. He died in 2004 in Nigeria, following a protracted period of illness.


References


Bibliography

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External links


Articles at the New York Times

with Roosevelt Johnson
by Stephen McKiernan, Binghamton University Libraries Center for the Study of the 1960s {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Roosevelt 2004 deaths Krahn people Liberian expatriates in Nigeria Liberian rebels 20th-century Liberian people 21st-century Liberian people Year of birth missing Place of birth missing