Monrovia – The Chairman of the Student Unification Party of the University of Liberia, Carlos Tingbah has warned the government of Liberia against any form of violence during the start of the planned June 7, Save-the-State protest.
Report by Alline Dunbar, [email protected]
Speaking Wednesday on the main campus of the University of Liberia, Mr. Tingbah said the student body has reliably gathered that the government has hired and brought into the country mercenaries combined with former rebel generals with a mandate to go after critical voices.
Said Tingbah: “We strongly condemn this devilish move by Mr. Weah and his government and see it as the reincarnation of the dark days under arm-carrying dictators like Master-Sergeant Samuel K. Doe and a War Crimes Convict and the husband of Weah’s vice President, Charles Taylor,” referring to VP Jewel Howard-Taylor.
The student leader added that the party has also been informed that, the president intends to declare a state of emergency as a means of preventing Liberians from exercising their constitutional right of civil disobedience which is guarantee under Article 17 of the constitution. “While SUP treats this as a rumor, we warn President Weah that an attempt to declare anything called state of emergency will be an abuse of Article 86b of our constitution which clearly states “a state of emergency may be declared only when there is a threat or outbreak of war or where there is civil unrest affecting the existence, security or well-being of the Republic amounting to clear and present danger.” he warned.
Meanwhile SUP is also calling on the Council of Patriots to conduct as they put it “an uncompromising mass stakeholders’ meeting” with all of the key organizers of the June 7, save the state protest, to mitigate ways and strategies in conducting a violence free protest because according to them “some ruthless elements of the Weah’s regime plan to instigate violence.”
“We call on the Council of Patriots to with immediate effect present th anti-violence strategy for the June 7, save the state protest.”
The party is however cautioning the government of Liberia that going after critical voices is not the solution to the living condition of the Liberians but rather the government should be able to take Liberians from the spectator seat of the economy.
“We demand an immediate end to the mass looting of state resources; we demand an end to the flagrant violation of the rule of law in the state and we demand accountability and transparency.”