June 7: A Double Faced Protest Inspired by Government’s Actions and Inactions

By: Aloysius Juwee Morris

What is the motive of the pending June 7, 2019, nationwide protest? What is the intent of the organizers of the protests (Council of Patriots), is it political or genuine? Given the preceding events and the actors involved in the organization of the protests leaves one to wonder about the motive of the protest. The organizers claim that the protest (‘most important mass action since the April 14, 1979 demonstration’) is the birth of change that the masses have always yearned for

In February 2019, a group of Four Political Parties announced they were collaborating to foster and deepen Liberia’s democracy; at this gathering there was Amb. Rufus Dio Neufville one of the brains behind the organization of the “Save the State” protest, also present were Senators Oscar Cooper and Sando D Johnson and Representative Yekeh Kolubah all of whom are organizers of the protest. Also present was Mr. Abe Darius Dillon, the Vice chair for Political Affairs of the Opposition Liberty Party, who is the chief spokesperson of the COP as well as Mohammed Ali, Deputy Secretary for the Unity Party and one of the hierarchies of the protest and one face that was absent but used his Root FM platform to promote the collaboration and the protest is another spokesperson and vocal critic of the George Weah Administration, Henry Costa.

Members of the COP, Organizers of June 7

Reasons for Protest and the case with Liberia

It is no doubt that the events that birthed the planning of the protest are genuine like in the case of many countries around Africa and the rest of the World. Notable amongst world events are the 2010 Arab Spring which led to the overthrow of regimes by the masses of the people, and the now raging Venezuelan Crisis among others.

The fundamental problem is that the June 7 protest has lost its civil essence and it’s now more political thus casting aspersion across the country as to the intent of the process. Across the world, most civil uprisings and or protests have been caused by harsh economic conditions, inequality and bad governance. These protests have been led by direct victims of economic inequalities and bad governance rather that politicians.

In 2010, 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi was getting ready to sell fruits and vegetables in the rural town of Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia as the breadwinner for his widowed mother and six siblings, but he didn't have a permit to sell the goods. When the police asked Bouazizi to hand over his wooden cart, he refused and a policewoman allegedly slapped him.

Angered after being publicly humiliated, Bouazizi marched in front of a government building and set himself on fire. His act of desperation resonated immediately with others in the town. Protests began that day in Sidi Bouzid, captured by cell phone cameras and shared on the Internet.

Within days, protests started popping up across the country, calling upon President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his regime to step down. About a month later, he fled.

In Venezuela, the people were protesting the Supreme Court’s takeover of the National Legislature and Hyperinflation according to Venezuelan Journalist Leonardo Bruzual. "We are protesting because we are in disagreement with the government of Nicolas Maduro. We are experiencing a serious crisis that is suffocating us”. Venezuela’s inflation figures have skyrocketed and spiralled out of control, it’s now put at more than 2000%.

These are just amongst a few of the worldwide crises that were precipitated by bad governance and harsh economic conditions. Sadly these are the truths about Liberia’s own situation. The country faces the worst economic nosedive in peace time since its founding; there have been accusations of the president ignoring the constitution and the reports of the infamous loss of the container full of money and the mop up exercise that failed miserably.

Opposition and civil society groups have claimed that the President's behaviour toward the reports that implied lapses on the part of the TMT headed by Finance and Development Planning Minister Tweah, a close confidant, has been largely one of a berserk.

According to the World Bank and other international development partners, Liberia’s growth has slowed; there is investment and donor fatigue and the prices of basic commodities on the Liberian market have skyrocketed so far especially our staple food, RICE. The COP and the Students Unification Party (SUP) at the University of Liberia believe most of the failures of the regime have been catalysed by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning and the Governor of the Central Bank of Liberia. Given the aforementioned, it can be clearly said that any protest at this time has a genuine basis.

Government’s share of the burden

H.E. Excellency George Manneh Weah, President of Liberia

The government, like in other situations as mentioned earlier, is responsible for the economic hardship and by extension any protest that may erupt. The economy is experiencing shocks from all sectors; the administration is depleting funds from donors’ account; the government is playing lip service and selective justice on the issues of corruption. There have been numerous allegations about the administration’s witch-hunt against officials of the past regime. The indictment of former president Sirleaf’s son and other CBL officials on the basis of the Kroll and PIT reports is a case in point. Charles Sirleaf and others were indicted and arraigned before a judge on allegation of printing additional bank notes outside legislative approval as per the Kroll and PIT findings. The two reports also indicated that the Technical Financial Management Team exhibited recklessness in the mop up exercise, but the administration refused to indict any members of the team instead, the presidency ordered the General Auditing Commission to conduct another finding on the report. The GAC report which was released last May again blamed the Technical Financial Management Team and the Central Bank for failing to do due diligence and other reckless financial practice.

Upon receipt of the GAC report, the government announced that it has instructed the LACC to commission another investigation as opposed to actions taken against Sirleaf and others. To further deepen the situation, the president in an address to the Nation announced that the Governor of the CBL, one of the culprits in the GAC Findings, would retire in 3 Months; and there are indications that he will be rewarded with a huge sum of 500,000 USD as a retirement package much to the dismay of the masses of the people.

The Politics of the Protest

The organisers of the protests who are largely opposition politicians were the very people who doubted the presidency of Weah and called his supporters names. The organisers of the protest have always and still think of Weah as being incapable to lead. They have galvanized into a collaboration to ensure Weah along his CDC is not re-elected at the next ballot. All of their actions have been a manifestation of their pre 2017 elections activities.

The protesters have not been able to categorically state their issues for which they want to protest. Up to the present, the government or the public is yet to receive a comprehensive listing of the issues that the protesters want to change. The issues for which the organizers want to protest can be solved by the government so why not let the government in on the issues? Perhaps it is not about economic hardship and bad governance but rather the political occupation

Sadly too, the government is not focused on the hard-core economic and governance issues, it is peddling in politics as well. The President and members of the ruling establishment have been undermining efforts by ECOWAS, AU and the United Nations to broker a dialogue with the protest planners. The President was at a political rally calling out the protesters for who they are barely twenty four hours after he had a meeting with them wanting dialogue. The President even seemed to have dispersed

any thought of economic hardship or bad governance as well. The Chairman of the Party is on record instructing Liberians to boycott LoneStar Cell MTN because of the involvement of Benoni Urey of the All Liberian Party, one of the organizers of the protest. The politics is well alive and at play.

As though these political underpinnings are not enough, the government has been busy trying to get Representative Yekeh Kolubah, one of the organizers, arrested. This tactic of the government has increased the tension and hype surrounding the protest. The government in concert with the University also moved to ban student politics amidst these unfolding events. Also, one of the major support groups of the protest, SUP, has come under attack from some of its veterans who are supporters and apologists of the regime. The recent attack against SUP was the arrest of its Chairman.

In conclusion, and given the issues outlined above, it can be clearly seen that June 7 is a double faced protest whose intent may be genuine but has now graduated to the level of a political protest inspired by the government. There are legitimate issues that warrant a protest but at the same time, the organizers are politicians striving for political glory. The government is also escaping the genuine and legitimate issues and trying to win the political contestation.

The government and the ruling party have now turned into the agent provocateur. instead of being the pacifier knowing that they have more to lose

The government and its apologists have embarked on propaganda to win them this contestation. They have branded the organizers as warmongers (rightly so, judging from the TRC report) but contradictorily as the President has shied away from every attempt to commit to the establishment of a war crime court in the country. They have heralded the message of violence being the underpinning of the protest with members of the security apparatus and justice sector enabling such propaganda. The protesters, on the other hand, are shielding their true intent with the visible economic hardship and reluctance of the President to holistically fight corruption and establish the war crimes court.

The issues for a protest are glaring but the government and the protesters have no intentions of speaking to them but focused on winning a political contest. The protest is indeed a double faced one.