The International Community in Liberia is encouraging all actors in the recent political violence to act responsibly and embrace the principles of tolerance, democracy and constitutionalism for an inclusive, transparent and peaceful election process in Liberia in 2023.
The international community in a statement released on Monday said that having learned with concern the serious violence committed in Monrovia on July 26, condemns without reservation such acts which occurred on the 175th anniversary of Independence.
“We urge a prompt and thorough investigation by the police that will bring to justice the instigators and perpetrators of these acts of violence,” the foreign partners with offices in Liberia stated.
They welcomed the swift condemnation by political, governmental, and civil society actors of the violent acts which occurred but encouraged all political leaders to act firmly in preventing and eliminating political intolerance and violence.
Liberia has a record of free, fair, and transparent elections over the last two decades, making this country an example of stability and democracy in the region and the international community stressed that violence is not the right way to resolve disputes because political differences should be resolved by dialogue.
The International Community’s concern is stemmed from the ruthless street fight which was intended to becloud the 175th Independence Day celebration when several members of SUP were being brutalized by thugs in the name of saving the state and the image of the CDC-led government.
The student-based group was organizing itself to stage a peacefully announced protest dubbed “Fix the Country” on the morning of Tuesday, July 26, 2022 before the US Embassy near Monrovia in order to proceed to the Centennial Memorial Pavilion where the indoor program was being held but that protest was greeted by resistance from the thugs.
According to the report, SUP was due to present a position statement to government authorities and foreign partners as a protest against all forms of bad governance, including corruption, poverty, insecurity, and the dire state of infrastructure under the CDC leadership when a group calling itself Council of Patriot, loyal to the ruling establishment, violently infiltrated the student group.
Video footage on social media showed a member of the student group, Christopher “Walter Sisulu” Sivili, stripped naked and dragged mercilessly; something which has drawn the attention of several Liberians including Civil Society actors.
However, after seven days since the bloody July 26 counter-protest, President George Weah has openly denounced the violence incident and has called on security apparatus to arrest all those involved in what was termed as vicious violence act meted against the peaceful students.
The act of violence that was displayed on social media among other things reversed Liberian memories of Liberia’s 14-year dark days here.
On July 26, a bloody protest clash existed between the Student Unification Party (SUP) and a group alleged to be sponsored by the governing party in the name of “CDC- Council of Patriots” seemingly injured over six students with one being placed on critical condition who is said to have been flown from Liberia to seek advanced medical attention due to the critical nature of his condition.
