It is an act of national conscience. It is a moment to acknowledge historical wrongs and to reaffirm collective commitment to the truth, justice and reconciliation," President Boakai said.
A grave dug for the funeral was left empty and unsealed, in case any of their remains are ever found.
The 12 April 1980 coup, in which 28-year-old Sgt Samuel Doe took power, ended well over a century of political dominance by the minority Americo-Liberians, the descendants of freed black slaves who had come from the US in the 1800s.
Tolbert's nine-year presidency was marked by growing dissatisfaction with the ethnic inequalities.
His overthrow came at the start of a period of instability in Liberia, culminating in two devastating civil wars, that finally ended in 2003.
Doe himself met a violent death at the hands of rebels in 1990. His reburial in his home town last week was also ordered by the president.
Ten days after the president's killing, following trials by a kangaroo court, 13 of his cabinet were stripped, tied to stakes and then executed by a firing squad on a beach next to an army barracks in the capital, Monrovia.
None of the 14 corpses has been found but each man got a state funeral at a ceremony attended by President Joseph Boakai and other dignitaries.
The event was seen as an act of reconciliation and part of a process of the country coming to terms with its violent recent past.
"It is an act of national conscience. It is a moment to acknowledge historical wrongs and to reaffirm collective commitment to the truth, justice and reconciliation," President Boakai said.
A grave dug for the funeral was left empty and unsealed, in case any of their remains are ever found.
The 12 April 1980 coup, in which 28-year-old Sgt Samuel Doe took power, ended well over a century of political dominance by the minority Americo-Liberians, the descendants of freed black slaves who had come from the US in the 1800s.
Tolbert's nine-year presidency was marked by growing dissatisfaction with the ethnic inequalities.
His overthrow came at the start of a period of instability in Liberia, culminating in two devastating civil wars, that finally ended in 2003.
Source : graphiconline
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