The All-Liberian Conference on Dual Citizenship (ALCOD) has welcomed the much-publicized Bicentennial Celebration dubbed as “Year of the Diaspora Reunion.”
ALCOD represents more than 500,000 Liberians living in the diaspora, comprising ULAA, European Federation of Liberian Associations (EFLA) and Liberian Advocacy for Change (LAFC), the Federation of Liberia Communities in Australia (FLCA), United Liberian Association of Ghana (ULAG), Liberian Association of Canada (LAC), and Conference of Liberian Organizations in Southwestern United States of America (CLOSUSA).
Visitors as well as Liberians are expected to begin arriving this December and will continue coming throughout next year, 2022, the year marking Liberia’s 200 years of existence.
The Bicentennial celebration is going to be a ‘reunion’ in Liberia for thousands of blacks from all around the world including diaspora Liberians, some of whom have never been to the land of their forefathers and mothers.
The Year of the Diaspora Reunion 2021-2022, which is being organized in collaboration with the Government of Liberia’s Bicentennial commemoration aims to celebrate 200 years of that movement.
Agents of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which founded Liberia, purchased parcels of lands from indigenous kings in December of 1821, and freed black men and women, along with their families, began moving across the Atlantic in 1822 to what is today Liberia, formerly the ‘Grain Coast.’
The National president of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas (ULAA), J. Shiwoh Kamara, joined ALCOD’s eminent Chairperson, Emmanuel S. Wettee, to appeal to the Liberian Senate to concord with the House of Representatives on the passage of the Dual Citizenship Bill that was recently passed by the House.
The diaspora’s appeal to the Senate comes in wake of reports that the Liberian government, during the Year of the Diaspora Reunion, will be conferring Liberian citizenship on some of its guests.
“Restoring Liberian citizenship to natural born Liberians who have dual citizenship or nationality must start the Reunion,” Chairman Wettee applauded.
The bill specially seeks to repeal Part III, Chapter 20, Section 20.1; Chapter 21, Sections 21.30, 21.31, 21.51 & 21.52 and Chapter 22, Sections 22.1, 22.1 & 22.4 of the 1973 Aliens and Nationality Law of the Liberian Code of Law Revised, Vol. II.
Further in their appeal to the Senate, both diaspora Liberians’ leaders called on President George Manneh Weah to support the House’s Bill that was passed and is now in the Senate for concurrence.
“In the spirit of ‘Liberia-Bicentennial Celebration,’ diaspora leaders are appealing to President Weah to support the House’s Bill, repealing some sections of 1973 Aliens and Nationality Law, and ask the Senate to concur with the House.
“Mr. President, diaspora Liberians are returning home in recorded numbers for the Bicentennial Celebration and history shall remember you and each lawmaker if the Senate concurs with the House in passing the ‘Dual Citizenship’ bill as once a Liberian is always a Liberian,” ULAA President Kamara said.
“We do agree with those who think that amending the Constitution through a national referendum is the permanent solution to resolving the issue of dual citizenship. However, we also encourage that the repealing of the 1973 Aliens and Nationality Law has to do with citizenship and is no conflict with the Constitution of Liberia,” Eminent Wettee added.
Meanwhile, ALCOD has further lauded members of the House of Representatives for doing all to make some of their fellow Liberians in the diaspora, to still maintain their Liberian citizenship while at the same time extoled President Weah for backing their cause for the dual citizenship law to be passed.