Monrovia – Ahead of the December 8 special senatorial elections, US-based Liberian Bill Rogers, winner of the 2020 Nelson Mandela Freedom Award, is urging Liberians to exercise restraints and be peaceful during and after the elections.
Rogers said despite the political differences, affiliations and ideologies, Liberians should not allow politics to divide them.
“We should not allow politics to divide us. You have to stand up but speak your mind, be like a man but don’t take it in heart.”
Rogers continued: “Let us work together and be a true leader like Nelson Mandela. This is the time that the country needs us the most. We can build Liberia if we stand up together positively but when we speak negatively about Liberia, everybody will be afraid.”
Rogers made the statement at a press conference in Monrovia on Wednesday, December 2, 2020.
Ambassador Bill Rogers won the Nelson Mandela Freedom Award in the United States in July of this year for his stance against poverty and the brutal Liberian civil war and went on to lift the Liberian flag high in the world through athletics.
He disclosed that the celebration of the award will take place today, Thursday, December 3, at the Providence Island in Monrovia beginning at 10am.
“The event is not about just about Bill Rogers, it’s about all the young people of Liberia and all those who have humanitarian organizations thinking about quitting because nothing good is in Liberia, I say this award belongs to us. I am asking all Liberians to come and celebrate peace, unity and reconciliation,” he said.
At the same time, Ambassador Rogers is also calling for the establishment of a world crimes court to prosecute perpetrators of the Liberian civil war.
“When people commit crime, they need to face the consequences. We like for justice to prevail, for the law to take care of that.”
He added: “I will not be the judge to settle the case if you commit crime. Whatever you do, we will pass it over to the law to deal with it.”