MOJA Cautions Govt., Protesters

The Movement of Justice in Africa (MOJA) calls on both the government and the organizers of the December 30 protest to maintain respect for human rights and the rule of law, in the same manner as they did during the Bring Back Our Money Campaign last year September.
The Bring Back Our Money Campaign manifested an unprecedented display of maturity and self-restraint by the protesters and the government. The subsequent protest on June 7, 2019 built upon the historic precedent set by the Bring Back Our Money Campaign and the day went without an incident.
According to statement issued in Monrovia, MOJA says that both the Government and the organizers of the December 31, protest should build upon the precedent set by the Bring Back Our Money Campaign in the interest of maintaining the peace and stability of Liberia.
MOJA has therefore cautioned organizers of the December 3, protest and the Government to do nothing that will undermine the peace and stability of the Country.
MOJA notes that a citizen or group of citizens have a right to speak, write, assemble and move freely, doing so in keeping with law and respect for the rights of others and the government has an obligation to provide safety and protection for all citizens, including, those who oppose it, peacefully.
The statement noted that a call, including a call for a President to stay in power, to extend his or her term of office or to step down, may be accepted or rejected by other citizens or the President as they all lie within the logic realm of probabilities.
A call and its rejection are expression of thoughts and are entitled to equal respect and protection under the law. There should be no breakdown of law and order because of a call and its rejection.
It went further that no form of lawlessness or intolerance is justified in a country governed by the rule of law, adding, “MOJA, therefore, calls for reason to prevail, especially during these festive seasons.”
MOJA says that as a movement committed to promoting and protecting the interest of the working class of the African people, it supports the right of the people to speak truth to power about their welfare, the management of their economy and the need for better governance.
However, MOJA sees no quick-fix solution from the current level of mass suffering all over Liberia. While a protest is one means that a group of citizens could use to show their disapproval of the existing conditions in a country, MOJA proposes the holding of a national conference on the current state of affairs, similar to the one organized in 1998, as the best way forward.
Although, the report of that conference was never made public, it provided an opportunity for all Liberians at home and abroad to provide critical analysis of the problems facing Liberia and make suggestions on possible solutions.
Such conference should bring together representatives of all segments of the Liberian population, including the youths, women, elders, political leaders, specialists in economics, history, culture, engineering, environmental science and agriculture.
Others are forestry, tourism, anthropologists, land experts, entrepreneurship, law, peace studies, security sector experts, medical scientists, leading advocates of the way forward for Liberia, amongst others, for a sober reflection on how to make Liberia a better country than it is now.