IPNEWS: Last week, Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung, came under public examination for his quaintness and reluctance to quarrel ongoing protest in his home county of Nimba home to the largest multilateral investment in the country.
Many wounder why is VP Koung condoning his closed allies Grace Barrie, and Alvin Toaloe, Vice Chair for Cultural Affairs of the Traditional People of NIMBA to intensify tenstion and mobilized against the decision reached by the communities, traditional leaders, and chief “zoes” of Nimba by deploying men to block roads leading to the concession areas of ArcelorMittal Liberia.
The protesters mobilized by Grace remain defiant up to Sunday, May 14 to vacated the mines preventing AML staff from accessing Mount Blei and Detton, thus keeping AML’s operations shutdown. To the alarm of many, Madam Grace boastfully confirmed the rumors that Vice President Koung was aware of the protest and the decision of the protesters to keep AML’s operations shutdown, while she was on a talk show on Radio Nimba on Friday.
Grace Barrie who campaigned for Koung in all parts of Nimba is on record mobilizing dozens of citizens from the AML host communities and transported them to Monrovia on Monday of last week to protest purposely against the ratification AML’s 3rd amended MDA.
After the protest at the Capitol Building, Grace moved the group to the Vice President’s residence along the Monrovia-RIA highway before the VP Koung even notified Representatives of Districts where the protesters hailed from, a situation condemned by the lawmakers.
Report has emerged that Grace has been collaborating with one Alvin Toaloe, another staunch supporter of VP Koung, who is the Vice Chair for Cultural Affairs of the Traditional People of Nimba.
VP Koung has not visited Nimba since his inauguration in January 2024, however, his continued silence over the ongoing lawlessness in his home county Nimba, has widen skepticism among ordinary people, especially when he was actively involved in the settling recent impasse between the Liberia National Police and motorcyclist over enforcement of a ‘no go zone’.
Sources tell IPNEWS that Alvin and traditional men seized the three AML mines, and he collected keys to all offices at the mines and placed them in a bag, which he took to the meeting with Minister Nyumalin on Friday.
While on a radio talk show on Radio Kerhgamehn in Ganta on Friday, Alvin informed the host that he was in consultation with the Vice President over all their actions.
Since the start of the protest in VP Koung’s home county, he has made no effort to intervene, as he did during the AFL women’s protest, the youth protest against Aqua Life, and the motorcyclist ban, which he intervened and reversed. To the shock of observers, in the protest at AML’s mining sites, Koung appears to be playing hands off, for reason many could not understand. While his clear motivation for keeping distant is yet unknown, circumstances around the protest points directly to his back-scene actions to orchestrate and fuel the protesters’ actions.
Even more interestingly, the Vice President has planned a three-district tour of Nimba County beginning May 15-18 without a remote mention of the ongoing unrest at AML which has seen operations shutdown for more than one week; a situation with significant implications on Liberia’s revenue and investment confidence.
Now, Vice President Koung is calling on Liberians to champion the cause of unity, maintain peaceful coexistence, and prioritize national interest over individual interests.
VP Koung made this statement Tuesday, May 24, while serving as the Orator of the 64th Anniversary of National Unification and Integration in Monrovia.
In his address, Vice President Koung emphasized the significance of unity and integration as catalyst for fostering peace and sustainable development in Liberia, highlighting the country’s journey from the struggles for independence to integration of Indigenous Liberians alongside the transiting into a multi-party democracy verses the devastating civil war in the late 1990s.
Koung reflection on the past diversity between “Americo-Liberians” and “Indigenous Liberians,” VP Koung stressed the government’s responsibility to change those negative narratives and celebrate Liberia’s progress towards representative democracy, emphasizing the importance of inclusiveness and respect for individual rights regardless of ethnicity.
He applauded stakeholders for their sacrifices in maintaining peace and stability, acknowledging Liberia’s emergence as a post-conflict success story. He urged continued efforts to unify the nation, citing this year’s theme of “Healing the past, Uniting the Present and Embracing the future through Arts and Culture” as a pathway to achieve national unity.
Koung urged civility against destructive criticisms that could undermine peace and democracy. He emphasized the importance of tolerating opposing views and incorporating diverse perspectives to foster national unity.
The Liberia Vice President expressed gratitude to international partners for their continued support to Liberia’s democratic process and development agenda, in affirming Liberia’s commitment to building a better nation.
He called on all Liberians to prioritize national interest over individual interests, emphasizing that unity and integration are achievable through collective sacrifice, especially as Liberia commemorates National Unification and Integration Day.
SEE FULL STATEMENT DELIVERED BY HONORABLE JEREMIAH KPAN KOUNG
VICE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA
AT THE 64TH NATIONAL UNIFICATION AND INTEGRATION DAY ANNIVERSARY
HELD ON MAY 14, 2024.
The Honorable Speaker and Members of the National Legislature
Her Honor the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court
The Dean and Members of the Cabinet
The Doyen and Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Our Religious and Traditional Leaders
International Partners and Friends
Members of the 4th Estate
My Fellow Liberians
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
For more than six (6) decades, successive Liberian Presidents have made proclamations declaring today, May 14, as National Unification and Integration Day. The rationale behind today’s celebration is to arouse our national consciousness on the importance of unity and integration for the maintenance of peace and the attainment of sustainable development of Liberia. I am therefore honored to represent His Excellency Joseph Nyumah Boakai, Sr, President of the Republic of Liberia and to speak directly to the hearts and minds of the Liberian people.
We have come a long way on a journey replete with challenges, ranging from the struggle for national independence, to the integration of Indigenous Liberians into society, to the struggle for establishment of multi-party democracy and cumulating with a bloody civil war which tore the fabric of our nation. Throughout these years and in spite of the multitude of challenges, you, the Liberian people, have continued to demonstrate your resilience in the quest for National Unity. Today, we have come not only to celebrate the 64th Anniversary of National Unification and Integration, but to also salute our people for keeping our Nation peaceful, irrespective of our political, ethnic, and religious differences.
Let it be known that the bonds which tie us together as a people are much stronger than the elements which intend to divide us. Although our history informs us about the long-standing divides between “Americo-Liberians” and “Indigenous Liberians”, which contributed to a fourteen (14) year civil war, our government has a responsibility to change these negative narratives. Today, Liberia enjoys a representative democracy, in which the voices of all Liberians are heard through the ballot process. It is with a sense of pride that I can today report that Liberians live in a society where the exclusions and deprivation of basic individuals’ rights suffered by people based on their ethnicity are a thing of the past. There are no “Americo-Liberians” or “Indigenous Liberians”; we are one people with one common patrimony, striving to achieve a shared destiny, a better Liberia for our children to inherit.
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my conviction that we have come of age, our experiences have taught us that Unity is the umbrella which protects us from external threats and serves as the most essential requirement for peaceful coexistence. The generations before us did their outmost best to keep our Country alive, but certainly fell short of the responsibility to keep our people united. It is now our task to champion the cause for a united people and maintain our growing peaceful coexistence.
Let me at this juncture applaud all stakeholders who continue to make immense sacrifices to keep this nation peaceful and stable; I believe that Liberia is gradually emerging as a post-conflict success story, because we continue to make significant progress in unifying our people at all levels of society. Yes, we have more work to do, but as we take stock of what we have achieved thus far, we must remain aware of the past mistakes which plunged us into our darkest times.
This year’s National Unification and Integration Day theme: “Healing the past, Uniting the Present and Embracing the future through Arts and Culture”, presents a clear pathway to enable us achieve National Unity. Across the 15 counties of Liberia, there are similarities in the culture and arts of our people, which upholds a sense of a shared African identity, and which could be employed foster unity. The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism along with our Cultural Ambassador must be more intentional in designing and executing programs which promote our sense of shared Liberian cultural identity. Despite the challenges of the past, our shared Liberian cultural identity demands respect for our elders and traditions, compassion to the needy, especially strangers, and an endearing connection to Mama Liberia. We have a sacred duty to amplify these values to the next generation of Liberians, so as to guarantee that the mistakes of the past which divided our beloved Nation are never repeated.
My fellow Liberians, on this National Unification and Integration Day, I want to commend all of you, including those of you in the diaspora, for keeping our political discourse civil and peaceful. Even when we disagree, we must do so, bearing in mind that we all share in the glory when this nation makes progress, and we will all collectively bear the consequences if we go backwards.
While we have received many commendations from friendly nations across the world on the improvement of our democratic credentials, we must exercise caution on destructive criticisms and refrain from acts which undermine our peace and democracy.
I am aware that our political landscape is divided on strong social-economic and political lines; however, we must remain vigilant to ensure that our political disagreements do not divide us but that we create an environment conducive for the exchange of opposing ideas to improve our system of governance, which will in turn uplift the lives of our people.
Let me emphasize that there is no Green, Red, Yellow, or Blue Liberia; instead, it is the Republic of Liberia consisting of people with different political persuasions. To you, citizens and members of the opposition, we thank you for continuously keeping Our Government’s feet to the fire; it is your criticisms and suggestions which keeps us focused and determined to deliver on our promises to the Liberian people. We applaud your ideas and recommendations, because the inclusion and consideration of the views of those who may oppose us play a pivotal role in fostering national unity. The opportunity for all to be heard, in contrast to being silenced because of a disagreement of views, is the foundation of a united and fully integrated Liberia. A Liberia that we must aspire to cultivate and work diligently to bequeath to our future generations.
To us, members of the ruling Government, I encourage us to remain tolerant, accepting that criticisms are crucial ingredients of a functioning democracy. We must embrace the critical views of others in good faith and make the appropriate adjustments to our strategies for addressing the socio-economic needs of our people.
To you, our international partners and friends, we are grateful for your unwavering support for our democratic process, which secures our peace and consequently promotes national unity. Your support to our development agenda sends a clear signal that Liberia continues to get the necessary attention and support, as we seek to build a better Liberia.
The time is now! this generation must continue to exert all efforts to unite our people; we MUST sacrifice our individual interests for National interests, only then will the Unity and Integration we seek for Liberia be Possible!
Happy National Unification and Integration Day to you, my Fellow Liberians!
God Bless the Republic of Liberia and save the State.
I thank you.
