US Embassy warns Liberians against divisive statements
Monrovia, Liberia (PANA) - The Embassy of the United States in Monrovia has expressed concern over recent comments made in various fora which could impede Liberia’s progress.
It has pointed to those who promote, through their words or deeds, a Congo-Country divide, noting that they “do not have Liberia's best interests or that of their constituents at heart, but rather appear motivated by personal ambitions or fears.”
The ‘Congo’ refers to freed slaves from the United States who settled in this part of Africa in the 1820s and later named it Liberia, while the ‘Country’ is reference to the aborigines the settlers met on the shore when their ship docked along the coast.
Internecine conflicts that ensued saw the indigenous people subdued by a more sophisticated gun and mortar-carrying minority settlers, who were also armed with knowledge of government, that later ruled the land for over 130 years.
The indigenous first taste of power was when Master Sergeant Samuel K. Doe of the Krahn tribe staged a coup d’etat in 1980 that toppled the Americo-Liberian rule and saw the execution of over a dozen officials of government, primarily of the ruling class.
The bad blood has since flowed.
But in its statement published in local dailies on Tuesday, the US Embassy said it is unacceptable for Senator Prince Y. Johnson and Representative Yekeh Kolubah, “ex-generals” or other former actors in Liberia's civil wars “to incite unlawful acts through ill-considered rhetoric that could jeopardize Liberia’s hard-won peace and security.”
Senator Johnson carried a ‘General’ rank as head of his Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) during the war, while Kolubah was labelled ‘General’ for his top level role in Charles Taylor’s rebel National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL).
Ironically, the two men, despite their confessed murderous roles in the war, were elected to the Liberian parliament in the post-war democratic dispensation.
The US Embassy, in its tough-talking statement, lashed out that it was “equally irresponsible” for people within leadership positions in government or the ruling party to promote such division, citing Deputy Information Minister Eugene Fahngon’s outburst on social media.
Liberian President George Weah later suspended the Deputy Minister for time indefinite, warning that his Government remains committed to a “one country, one people” policy with zero tolerance on divisive politicking or tribalism.
Touching on Fahngon’s position, the US diplomatic mission said: “To take such a public stance and suggest it is a private opinion or a personal right reflects a misunderstanding of the nature of public service in a democracy.”
It added: “As Liberians look to National Unification Day next week (May 14), we encourage all Liberians to reflect on their role in constructively contributing to development and sustaining the peace.”
Created by an Act of Parliament in 1960, National Unification Day is intended to douse the animosity and dislike generated by the oppressive leadership against the majority indigenous people for over a century.
-0- PANA PTK/AR 7May2019
