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WEEKS UP TO JUNE 7 “SAVE THE STATE” protest, emotions were at a boiling point for many Liberians as organizers of the protest, friendly governments, regional and international institutions, religious and traditional leaders, civil society organizations, and the entire country were put on edge. Dubbed by many as a violent nation with unpleasant history of violent protests and brutal civil wars, the absence of UNMIL, the limitations of the Liberian security apparatus, and reverberation of divisive politics that was characterized by hate and abrasive rhetoric from protestors, the Government and it’s supporters, the worse was assumed if concrete actions weren’t taken by all parties to protect the fragile peace of Liberia.
THE NATION SAW CONSOLIDATED EFFORTS from the US and other friendly governments, UN, AU, EU, ECOWAS, human rights organizations, religious and traditional leaders, local and international journalists, and professional Liberians at home and abroad providing conflict mediation including conflict analysis and recommendations to inform decisions of key actors – the Government of Liberia and organizers of the protest. This persistent engagement and pragmatic approach to the build up of the June 7 protest went a long way to contribute to the peaceful holding of the protest. Three days after the protest, the Management of Serving Humanity, after review of the build-up to, execution of, and aftermath of the June 7 protest, is pleased to provide this assessment of the protest with emphasis on the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our intention is that this will help us learn from experience as a nation in a way that contributes to the improvement and growth of our emerging democracy.
The Good:
THE GOOD THAT CAME OUT OF THE JUNE 7 PROTEST can be cited in the following: 1) The successful test of Liberia’s democracy – it is important to note that the entire world was focused on Liberia to see if Liberians can politically agree-to-disagree in a constructive manner, and Liberians, in general, passed the test with flying colors as protestors acted within the confines of the law, while the government and pro-government supporters respected the rights of protestors by according them a democratic space without any incidence of interference; 2) The successful show of maturity with respect to self-governance and self-security – the absence of UNMIL and the limited human capacity and inadequate logistical resources of the national security apparatus had given reasons for fear, but the effective use of professionalism by the security forces and civil discipline by protesters and pro-government supporters proved more valuable to the use of force and violence. Liberians, in general, demonstrated that love for country is a better defense against civil violence, abuse of basic human rights, and vandalism; 3) The successful and passionate involvement and sustained engagements of many Liberians at home and abroad into national politics with desire to support and advocate for what they believed was right for them within the framework of the constitution and the rule of law regardless which side of the political divide they found themselves; and 4) The unwavering support, strong commitment, and sustained contributions of friendly governments, regional and international partners and national stakeholders to ensure the protection of the peace and stability of Liberia were positive indicators that Liberia has dependable partners in progress. It is to the successes mentioned above that we can boast of a successful and peaceful protest on June 7. It is left to the nation to learn from these experiences and use them as lessons learned for reference in the future.
The Bad:
THE BAD THAT CAME OUT OF JUNE 7 PROTEST can be capture in few key mistakes as listed below: 1) The failure of President Dr. George M. Weah to have found a way to personally meet the protestors and take delivery of the petition was a technical error. It would have been a political victory for him, rather than a show of weakness, had he maneuver the challenges to take delivery of the petition. Though by doing that would have given a sense of importance and victory to the protest organizers in the short term, he would have won a bigger victory in the long term of historical reflection, reaffirming his legacy as being there for Liberians in the worse times of the country’s history. His narrative would have been sample and the same as always – “My government didn’t make this mess, but as your President today I have to own it; and today I promise my people, together we can fix it and emerge stronger than ever”. However, it is not late for the government to review the June 7 protest and engage constructively with Liberians to address legitimate concerns for the betterment of the Liberian people, and refrain from the temptation of engaging in words of war with opposition elements as this will only serve to reignite tension. Instead, continue to engage in constructive dialogue; 2) The Council of Patriots (COP) failed the people of Liberia by missing out on two valuable opportunities on May 14 and June 7 to officially present the case of the Liberian people in a written petition when such times provided the appropriate fora and relevant recipients to have yielded far greater impact and respect for the COP. They also failed the Liberian people by developing a poorly articulated petition that falls short of the quality such a national petition should proffer. These failures represented signs of lack of adequate leadership, poor inter-grouping coordinations, failure to seek professional expertise on such a vital project, poor networking, and lack of global consensus, especially given the fact that they had sufficient time and resources to their disposal; and 3) Though the saying goes that “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” and that this concept can be used to engage in competitive social struggles, ordinary Liberians once again made a sad mistake by entrusting their destiny in the hands of questionable characters responsible for fundamental causes of their sufferings. They compromised their struggle for liberation by succumbing to individuals that have documented records of alleged violations of human rights, war crimes, economic crimes, as well as, to individuals equally corrupt and some of whom served as noncompliant government officials to state policies that make they direct offenders of very values the protest advocacy represented. This action sent a missed signal to the world as to what ordinary Liberians really want, the clarity of their vision for moving forward, undermining the validity of the protesting voices. Going forward, if “Save the State” will survive beyond June 7 and grow into a formidable and genuine movement for social justice and positive social change, there has to be a serious cleanup in the leadership of the protest regardless the lost in revenue to the cause.
The Ugly:
THE UGLY THAT CAME OUT OF THE JUNE 7 PROTEST can be captured in the following: 1) The hijacking of the people’s protest by opposition political institutions that turned the protest into a political campaign or political parties show off. There can be no denying that the June 7 “Save the State” protest that was supposed to have been the people’s struggle for social justice and social change for the betterment of the lives ordinary Liberians and for posterity was turned into a political campaign by Darius Dillon in view of the pending Montserrado senatorial election and for the involved political parties an opportunity to regain political capital. Those political parties included the All Liberians Party (ALP), Unity Party (UP), Liberty Party (LP) and the Alternative National Congress (ANC) – as was evident by their financial support, use of party headquarters, and through political speeches by their political leaders. The fact that the people’s petition was read at a political party headquarters and not at a City Hall, especially amid stubborn arguments by COP over who could and must receive the petition, compromised the voice (petition) of the people; and 2) Another ugly outcome of the June 7 protest was the government’s partial blocking of the cyberspace during the protest, thus violating the very rights of the citizens to freedom of speech and access to information that was being exercised at the protest. Any argument that said the action was done in the interest of national security is beside the point and only demonstrates that there is much to be desired in the strengthening of Liberia emerging democracy. All the above mentioned ugly outcome of the June 7 protest must be condemned by all well-meaning Liberians and partners.
Conclusion
There are no losers in the June 7 “Save the State” protest, and all parties to the protest must be commended for keeping the peace despite the aforementioned shortfalls. Instead of looking for blames to go around, the government of Liberia and protestors are to learn from lessons of this national exercise and then the Liberian people (protestors and pro-government supporters) who through this protest showed that Liberians can agree-to-disagree without violence and bloodshed. Thanks to the government and it’s functionaries for according it’s citizens their constitutional rights and for showing that African governing institutions do not necessarily have to be suppressive or brutal when citizens differ with their government. Thanks to the Liberian media, local civil society observers, friendly governments, international partners, the international press, national, regional and international mediation organizations and groups for standing by Liberians to ensure their success in building this emerging democratic space. Bravo to one and all. Finally, thanks to deserving members of the leadership of COP for committing to and delivery on highlighting the plight of the Liberian people despite the mistakes in the process – valuable lessons were learned.
CREDITS: Dr. Clarence R. Pearson, Sr
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