One does not need to be a rocket scientist to conclude that Wednesday’s incident during which unknown individuals violently dispersed anti-corruption campaigners led by Liberia People’s Party’s standard bearer and presidential hopeful, Cllr. Tiawan Saye Gongloe, was an early sign of the violence that may characterize the October 10, 2023 elections if the appropriate measures are not instituted to avert it.
The unknown individuals pelted the LPP political leader and his anti-corruption campaigners with stones that flew from every direction as they peacefully assembled near the Providence Baptist Church on Ashmun Street in a program that was intended to climax the campaign that had started with a parade through Broad Street in Central Monrovia.
Perhaps it was because of God’s divine intervention that the renowned human rights lawyer, his wife, running mate, Dr. Emmanuel Urey Yarkpawolo and other party officials escaped in their vehicles unharmed, while journalists and other ordinary citizens that turned out, ran helter-skelter for their lives.
Isn’t what happened to the LPP presidential aspirant and his anti-corruption campaigners on Wednesday a clear signal of the violence that may greet the pending Legislative and Presidential Elections? Of course, yes, it is.
The latest violent incident even brings back fresh memories of the July 26, 2022, incident during which protesting University of Liberia students were violently attacked with stones near the US Embassy in Monrovia by a group clearly associated with President George Weah’s Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC). The group describes themselves CDC Council of Patriots (COP).
Nothing has absolutely come out of the investigation because of the group’s association to the government.
From how we see it, security protection for all Liberians, no matter which political party or region one belongs to, is the only panacea for lasting peace and stability in this country that went through nearly 15 years of bloody, civil armed conflict.
As we approach the October 10, 2023, crucial Legislative and Presidential Elections, it is incumbent upon President George Weah and his Coalition-led Administration to provide security for all Liberians, including politicians whether for or against to save our nation from violence.
Today, it is Cllr. Gongloe and his LPP anti-corruption campaigners, who were the victims of Wednesday’s act of hooliganism.
Tomorrow, it could be someone else if the government sits supinely and does not ensure deterrence, because, after all, stones have no eyes, while no one person or group has a monopoly over violence. With less than three months to the pending elections, the Government must act now before it gets too late, because the sooner, the better.
