MONROVIA – The Embassy of the United States in Monrovia has issued an alert, warning its citizens and U.S. government personnel to stay away from protest sites.
The alert warned that the protest which is organized by ‘The Council of Patriots’ will start during the morning hours of June 7 and might continue till the following day.
“U.S. government personnel have been advised to avoid the area, including rescheduling flights in or out of Roberts International Airport on June 7 and 8, as traffic jams may affect travel to and from the airport,” the Embassy warned.
The U.S. government through its Embassy advised it citizens to exercise caution when unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings or protest.
The protest, according to the Council of Patriots, is intended to demand President George Weah and his government to adhere to the rule of law, abide by the Constitution of the Liberia, fight corruption and provide basic social services for citizens.
The international community including ECOWAS, UN and the AU have all held mediation talks with between the Liberian government and the members of the Council of Patriots.
Recently, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa, expressed concerns over the capacity of the security apparatus in Liberia to contain the June 7 protest, if it should last for more than a day.
“I have mentioned that state capacity is a genuine issue here; Liberia is only rebuilding its security forces after the civil war in the past 12-13 years, that’s a very short time. So, any protest of a long duration will task the effort of the security forces and they may not have the means to effectively police and ensure the safety of protestors for a long duration. It’s just a logistical issue. Nothing to do with whether they want to do it or not,” he said in an FPA exclusive interview during his recent visit to Liberia.
Dr. Chambas expressed optimism that the protestors would come out on June 7, express their discontent and present their petition to the government in a very peaceful manner. This, he said, is the most acceptable way of conducting protest.
A monthly Thematic Governance Report by the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS foresees the June 7 Save-the-State Protest in Liberia to be the largest since the administration of George Manneh Weah took office last January.
“If the protest hold, it would be the largest since President George Weah came to power in January 2018, though recent dialogue between the Government and the COP have gone a long way in dousing fears of violence during the protests,” said the report made public Saturday.
The report comes as the head of the ECOWAS Commission Mr. Jean Claude Kassi Brou completed a three-day visit to Monrovia in a bid to mediate between President Weah’s government and the organizers of this week’s protest.
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