Buchanan, Grand Bassa – A prominent daughter of Grand Bassa County says she’s “greatly sadden by the emerging political conflict between the Liberian government and the June 7 ‘Save the State’ protest organizers and has called for a dialogue.
Report by Elton W. Tiah, Contributor
Madam Magdalene Harris told FrontPageAfrica that Liberians need not be reminded of the “long rooted political conflicts” that once engulfed the country.
“We all know that war greatly undermined the trajectory of development in our beloved country. We all watched the death of our people in the 1979 Rice Riot, we watched the death of 13 men who served this nation on the polls as the result of unresolved conflict, we watched the death of over 250,000 peaceful Liberian citizens,” Harris said.
She continued: “We saw our precious women and children raped and abused. We watched our children captured or recruited as child soldiers. Sadly, today we watch as thousands of our very children living in graveyards and bushes are called zogos because hope is gone. Today, we are still fighting to put the broken pieces together as our infrastructures are totally destroyed, and the economy ruined”.
Madam Harris said although history brings back bad memories, they play a major role in helping to direct a nation.
“We have a country because our African brothers who knew nothing about our long-rooted conflicts shed their blood and died to restore peace in this country. These are the underlining factors that should challenge us not to take for granted the opportunity and tremendous support we received from our sub-regional partners and the rest of the world to establish a peaceful and prosperous Liberia.”.
She said it is time for Liberians to lead their own peace effort, ensure good governance and economic stability.
She furthered, “We cannot perpetually depend on the international community to sustain our peace and promote our economic development. We must define our vision for Liberia as a nation and forge consistent pathway in the realization of our national aspirations
“We would strongly encourage the pathway of dialogue and respect for human dignity. It is our hope that the June 7 protesters and the Liberian government will understand where we have come from as a nation and do everything in their power not to derail the recovery process of the nation”.
She said while it is important to recognize and respect the rights of the June 7 protesters which is guaranteed under Article 17 of the Constitution, it also important to encourage the planners to exercise some leadership to ensure the process leads to dialogue.
Madam Harris then called on the government to realize that the maintenance of the country`s fragile peace squarely rests upon its shoulders.
“We also encourage our Lawmakers at both the Senate and legislative level to promote peace and avoid conflict, the Religious community and leaders to stand in courage to direct the spiritual path of our country, the elders, media, civil society and most importantly the young people of Liberia to guide against any act which has the propensity to undermine our peace as a nation,” Harris stressed.
Madam Magdalene Harris also wants the international community to be proactive in compelling Liberians to manage its peace effort, adding that “Liberia must move forward, we cannot afford to go back, therefore, all parties must ensure respect for the peace, the rule of law and human dignity as the way forward”.
She added: “We also want to encourage our mothers and sisters to remain steadfast in prayer for our nation to experience total peace and unity.”