The Economic Community of West African States office in Monrovia has disclosed the arrival of 20 Observers to monitor the June 7 protest to be staged by a group under the banner ‘ Council of Patriots’.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday to reporters in Monrovia, the Special Assistant to the ECOWAS Ambassador accredited to Liberia, Mr. Lola Osunlalu said some of the Observers are Liberians, but the rest will be picked from other ECOWAS member states to ensure strict adherence to the rule of law by both the Government of Liberia and the protest organizers.
He disclosed that ECOWAS had earlier engaged the Council of Patriots, organizers of the protest for a round-table discussion, but that it appears that the CoP had already made up its mind to take to the streets on Friday, June 7; so the only option left for ECOWAS is to
monitor the protest to ensure that it is peaceful.
Mr. Osunlalu assued Liberiansthat the protest will be peaceful, pointing out that both leaders of CoP and the government have promised ECOWAS, the United Nations and African Union that the protest will be civil, and that President George Manneh Weah has also assured
international and regional partners and foreign missions of providing security for protesters and the rest of the country.
He stressed that Liberia has come a long way in keeping the peace and stability, and that nobody will want to see the ugly past resurfacing in the country.
He urged the protesters to be peaceful by following the laws of the country in discharging their constitutional rights as provided by the 1986 Constitution.
The protesters are citing the extreme hardship that has engulfed the country since the ascendancy to power of President George Weah’s Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC),
TSS/abj/APA