Monrovia – The ruling Unity Party (UP) has strongly reacted to the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) coffin parade Saturday in Monrovia.
Report by Edwin Genoway, Jr – [email protected]
The UP through its National Assistant Secretary General for Press, Publicity and Outreach Mohammed Ali described the act by the CDC as un-Liberian and intended to remind Liberians of the ugly past.
“I think it is untraditional and un-Liberian and people did that in the past and we know it didn’t end up well,” he said.
The CDC on Saturday paraded the streets of Monrovia with two coffins symbolizing the end of the UP regime.
With the coffins on their heads, the men in black chanted: ‘Corrupt officials must be buried in this casket”; “It’s our time; go, go Ellen go, go with your big, big lie.”
The procession with the coffin was received rousingly at the party’s headquarters where citizens are gathered in anticipation of knowing who would be George Weah’s running mate.
But Assistant National Secretary General of the Unity Party Ali said his party was not bothered by what the CDC says or do.
“First let me say we respect the rights of the CDC to parade with coffins in Monrovia and say whatever they want to say.”
“It really does not bother us but Liberia is a traditional African country and we all know that the caskets symbolize death,” he told FPA in an interview Sunday.
Ali said, “So when you parade with two caskets saying it is the caskets of the Vice President who is the standard bearer of the UP and the former standard bearer of our party, the President of Liberia, it means that you are wishing them death, it means that you are wishing the nation death,” he said.
He said traditionally that’s uncalled for, noting “that is unprecedented but again people argue it’s their right,” he expressed.
He said that political parties seeking state power shouldn’t allow their partisans to carry out such act.
“We don’t think that political institutions asking the Liberian people for state power should allow its partisans to engage into such act, the act exhibited will define the CDC, those are thing the public will look at and make judgement,” he noted.
He recalled the early 90s when students of the University of Liberia paraded the streets with coffins crying that it was President Doe’s coffin and the consequence of such action.
“We know in the past UL students paraded with caskets crying saying it was president Doe coffin.”
“We know how it ended with military men going campuses and to some instances resulted to death,” he said.
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