MONROVIA: As it was expected that opinions were to be divided on the issues of the establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia, Representative Musa Hassan Bility gives reasons why he Abstained during the signing of the resolution sanctioning the court, claiming that there was no enough time given to allow the lawmakers to make an informed decision based on consultation with their constituents.
“Considering that we received the Resolution just 18 hours before the vote, I sought the indulgence of Plenary to delay the vote for a week to enable us to review the proposal in order to ensure that the Courts to be established would not conflict with existing laws/rulings of the TRC Report and conduct consultations with our constituents and legal experts. After failing to obtain this indulgence, I was constrained to abstain on this historic vote.
“While I fully support the quest for justice for the victims of our civil crisis and for accountability for our country’s finances, I found it difficult to understand why the Sponsors of the Resolution would not allow us to thoroughly review the proposal and/or provide informed input”, the District #7, Nimba County Representative said.
By abstaining from the vote, Bility will be joining other colleagues, especially from his native Nimba County who were opposed to the WECC.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media recently prior to the signing of the resolution by the House of Representatives on the establishment of war crime court, Hon. Musa Hassan Bility, said he will support the signing of the resolution when it is backed by the laws of land which will ensure that the rule of law is not short changed by any illegal arrangement.
Rep. Bility spoke when he served as a guest on the popular OK 99.5 FM talk show hosted by Julius Jeh. He asserted that the issue of a war and economic crimes court for Liberia has dominated the discourse for a very long time though with distinct school of thoughts, which according to him was normal but “what should concern our people is the process should be followed by the laws of the land”
“If you ask me about the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, I will tell you straight to the point that I support justice and to have this process resonating to what I subscribe to, it has to be guided by due process with reference to our laws so that no one gets victimized through fallacies and rumors”, he said.
Bility maintained that no nation makes progress without the legal process being followed and urged those who are agitating for the establishment of the war and economic crimes court should ensure that every aspect of the due process is followed. He said it was obvious that opinions could differ on the WECC, but added what matters most is that the “law is the law” and respect should be given to due process.
“No doubt there are differences in the quest for the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court. But what should be the over-riding thought is to ensure that the laws of the land should guide us and bind our differences by picking the right path,” he said.
Rep. Bility restate that as every Liberian talks about the establishment of the war and economic crimes court, our reliance should be the laws of the land”, Bility said.
When asked further what will be his position when the agitation for the WECC is brought before him as a lawmaker, Bility said his position “has not changed and will not change so easily that the due process should be followed”.
Representative Bility spoke against the background that there was already a resolution in the House of Representatives for the establishment of WECC which the legislators will have voted on and later send to the Senate for concurrence.
“We are hoping that our colleagues should look beyond just viewing documents; but the sense in the documents inscribed on the papers for the benefit of our people; our people must look at the legal side of everything” Bility said.
Bility used the occasion to speak about his stewardship in District #7, Nimba county which according to him “is dear to me and I will ensure the mandate given me by my people is not compromised.
“The country is way back and it is further back than you could imagine. You cannot run the journey a half of the day, I am just running to catch up and not to even pass by anybody.
Comments are closed.