The Liberian People’s Party (LPP) Standard-Bearer, Tiawon Saye Gongloe, has distanced himself from reports linking him to some conflict groups, and at the same time, has rendered an apology to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU), United Nations (UN), Mano River Union (MRU), among others, that have helped in restoring peace and stability to Liberia.
He said, among many things, that being one of those envoys of the erstwhile Interim Government of National Unity (IGNU) who worked with these bodies in bringing peace and stability to the country, he could never denounce them on grounds there were lots of them who got killed here during the course of the civil war.
Gongloe’s apology comes following a damning statement issued in Monrovia last week by a group named and styled, Gongloe Youth Movement (GYM) against ECOWAS, UA and other international bodies that sacrificed for the restoration of peace and stability to Liberia. It stated that it does not trust the credibility of ECOWAS to protect the Liberian people.
GYM described ECOWAS as of being a political club of corrupt West African elites who are prepared to defend their fellow thieves against the will of the struggling masses, therefore, ECOWAS cannot be trusted as a serious body for electoral transparency and integrity in Liberia.
The group went further by calling on all opposition political parties, youth leagues, and all well-meaning Liberians to consolidate their efforts against President George Weah and the CDC to resist his plan to allegedly rig the October polls.
However, the LPP torchbearer did not only condemn the statement issued by the Movement, he has also distanced himself from it, describing it as meaningless, misleading, and falsehood that is not worth listening to by the public.
He stated that the statement did not meet his approval, therefore, he is calling on the Movement to retract same without delay. “Let it be known and let the word go forth to all Liberians to recognize the effort and sacrifices made here by the international community led by ECOWAS in the restoration of peace here,” Gongloe said.
Gongloe also stated that had it not been for ECOWAS rallying the support of these international bodies, there could have been no peace in Liberia for a long time. As such, he or anyone or any group associated to him would never denounce ECOWAS’ effort in the country.
In an attempt to end the bloody civil war in Liberia, in August 1990, a group of West African nations under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), took the unprecedented step of sending a peacekeeping force into Monrovia.
This force was known as the Economic Community Cease-Fire Monitoring Group, (ECOMOG)
The ECOMOG intervention succeeded in temporarily stopping the bloodshed and ethnic killing, and is therefore regarded by many as a model of regional conflict resolution. However, ECOMOG has not integrated human rights protection and promotion into its activities, and this has proved to be a serious shortcoming.
