April 6, 1996 is down in the annals of Liberian history for the infamous insurgence that engulfed Monrovia on that day and lasted for several months, claiming the lives of over 3,000 persons and displacing close to 80,000 others.
Today, April 6, 2023 is exactly twenty-seven years since that memorable incident, and the need to maintain peace and stability amidst widespread news of pre-electoral violence cannot be over-emphasized.
The youth, especially those at 30 years and below, have little or no remembrance of the frenzy of looting, lawlessness and killing that characterized the day, but may have been told or read about the violence and horror that followed afterward.
The fighting erupted when a murder was allegedly orchestrated, and majority of the Six-Man Council accused soldiers loyal to Roosevelt Johnson, who was the leader of ULIMO-J, and requested that Johnson arrest and turn over the individual in order for him to face the full weight of the law. Johnson allegedly insisted that the murder was not carried out by his forces and, therefore, refused to execute the arrest order. This allegedly prompted the leader of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), Charles G. Taylor, and the leader of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO)-K, Alhaji G.V. Kromah, to request that Roosevelt Johnson himself be arrested. They allegedly marched on Camp Johnson Road to execute their plan.
The day did not go as planned, and the fighting escalated among the factions, leaving Monrovia bloody and ransacked. The rest is history.
It is approximately twenty years since the nation realized sustained peace, conducting three successful presidential elections and holding a successful presidential turn-over ceremony. However, all these achievements occurred when the peace of the country was being monitored and protected by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
Now that the country heads to its first presidential election since the security of the country was turned over to Liberian security forces, the burden to protect the Liberian territory is in the hands of all Liberians, who are the main stakeholders to the nation’s democracy.
Pre-electoral violence has been reported in Montserrado and Grand Cape Mount counties, with properties worth thousands of United States dollars damaged during the riot. The police say they have made some arrest on individuals involved in the riot, and the situations have been calmed.
On Tuesday, political parties participating in the October elections agreed to affix their signatures to the 2023 Farmington River Declaration, which demands for a violent-free, peaceful and credible elections. The framework emphasized the need to uphold the tenets of democracy and the sustenance of peace and stability in the country.
All these efforts sum up to the fact that peace is better than war, and all hands need to be on deck in ensuring that peace is maintained.