The Liberty Party (LP) in its reaction to the violent acts meted against members of the Student Unification Party (SUP) has called on the government to immediately clarify its relationship, if any, with the group calling itself “CDC Council of Patriots (COP), as such linkage does not bode well for the sense of national security and peace and has also condemned “the senseless criminal acts” against peaceful students whose only offense was expressing their grievances against the government on a number of issues being raised in compliance with the constitution of the land. The party has also called on the Government to launch an immediate investigation into the matter and get to the bottom of what occurred, arrest the responsible culprits, and put measures into place to ensure that this never happens again.
“Any action, or inaction, on the part of the Government will be tantamount to acquiescence of these acts. LP also calls on the ruling administration to immediately clarify its relationship, if any, with the group calling itself “CDC Council of Patriots (COP)”, as such linkage does not bode well for the sense of national security and peace. To the persons who sustained injuries, our prayers are with you and we wish you a speedy recovery”, the party said.
Addressing itself to the incident, LP in a press release issued yesterday, Thursday, July 28, 2022 under the signatures of Messrs Martin S. Kollah and Musa Hassan Bility, Secretary General and National Chairman respectively, said that the videos it has seen showed clear images of the faces of the perpetrators and therefore identifying these individuals should not be a difficult task, if there is the will to do so.
“Any action, or inaction, on the part of the Government will be tantamount to acquiescence of these acts. LP also calls on the ruling administration to immediately clarify its relationship, if any, with the group calling itself “CDC Council of Patriots (COP)”, as such linkage does not bode well for the sense of national security and peace. To the persons who sustained injuries, our prayers are with you and we wish you a speedy recovery”, the party said.
“The Liberty Party (LP) has witnessed, with horror, the senseless criminal acts meted against Student Unification Party (SUP) protesters, under the banner “Fix The Country”, on July 26, 2022” and condemns these actions. We have seen video recordings on social media in which violent mobs of, as yet, unidentified persons, violently beat and disrobe participants of the SUP protest. In some of the videos, Liberia National Police personnel are seen walking by the attacks and doing nothing to stop it. We have learned that several persons were critically injured as a result of these attacks and, as of yesterday July 27, the whereabouts of one person was still unknown. We have also seen a press conference by persons identifying as “CDC Council of Patriots (COP)”, who were involved in clashes with the SUP protesters, describing themselves as supporters of the ruling CDC administration”, the party said.
The party further said there was an urgent need to condemn all political violence, regardless of ideological differences or political party, adding that the right to peaceful protest is one that is Constitutionally granted and it is the responsible of the Government to ensure that all of its citizens are able to exercise this right, under the protection of national security apparatus, without being harmed. It also said there are persons in this country who continue to believe that violence against others who do not share their ideology, or who are members of other political parties, is acceptable and that belief stems from the inaction and unwillingness of the Government to investigate and prosecute these instances of violence.
“We must, as a nation, have respect and tolerance for freedom of expression of all rights, and law and order must be at the forefront of ensuring this. This sort of politically motivated violence is totally unacceptable and that message needs to be sent loud and clear to would-be disruptors of peace in our country. These acts are unlawful and have the propensity to extend to innocent bystanders and, if not curtailed, could lead to loss of lives”, LP said.
LP noted that as the country heads into election season, it is critical to take immediate action as acknowledging this violence without taking measures to prevent it, will be seen as condoning the act by the Government, rather than condemnation. “The only way these violent extremists’ attacks will stop is if there are swift punitive measures, including prosecution and jail time, put in place to discourage such actions”, the release said.
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