–Over AFL, Police Deployment At Weah’s Arrival
The House of Representatives has requested the appearances of authorities of the ministries of Defense and Justice, Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), National Security Advisor and the Commander of the AFL at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) on Thursday, July 18, 2024 to address the reported deployment of armed officers of the AFL at the airport upon the arrival of former President George Manneh Weah over the weekend.
The House of Representatives took the decision on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 based upon a communication from Montserrado County’s district #9 Representative, Frank Saah Foko, in which he cited the huge deployment of armed personnel of the AFL in the gathering of peaceful citizens who had gone to receive former President Weah at the RIA.
“Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, this very woeful scene brought to mind the fresh memory of our dark and ugly past as a country, where soldiers were unlawfully deployed to defend the state against rebels. The state of the nation is peaceful and has been seen as an example of true democracy in Africa. Liberia is not at war, neither are we in the state of turmoil or in a state of emergency, which by law should not authorize the military to terrorize peaceful citizens on account that they have gone to the RIA to warmly receive their political leader,” Representative Foko’s communication stated.
Representative Foko said Article 85 and 86 of the Constitution govern the deployment of the Liberian military in emergency period and, therefore, prohibit the use of lethal force against Liberian citizens in peacetime. He added that the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), in its National Defense Act of 2008, Section 2.1, mandates the army “to defend the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Liberia, including land, air and marine territory, against external aggressions, insurgency, terrorism, and encroachment. The AFL shall also respond to natural disasters and engage in other civic works as may be required or deem expedient and participate in international peacekeeping, peace enforcement and others in cooperation with all international institutions of which Liberia is a member of.”
The CDC lawmaker observed, “Hence, it is deeply worrisome, disturbing and a matter of concern to see the military deployed at the airport when there is neither threat of external aggression nor insurgency or any state of emergency, an action that instill fear in the minds of peaceful citizens at the airport just because they have gone to receive the former Liberian President.”
Representative Foko alleged that there was a scene created by the Executive under direct stern instruction of President Boakai, depriving the former President of traveling through the VIP lounge, a courtesy that should be accorded him as a VIP and a former head of state.
He claimed that the reported disrespect to the former President was an issue that was raised by His Excellency, Jibrin Ibrahim Barau, First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Commission at the First Ordinary Plenary in Nigeria, which is not a good example for Liberia.
But the Minister of Information, Jerolinmek Piah, in an attempt to justify the deployment, has said CDCians allegedly threatened to burn down the airport if they were not allowed to enter and welcome former President George Weah. The spokesman of the government said the crowd of supporters of the CDC allegedly attempted to force their way inside the airport on the runway to welcome Weah.
According to him, due to the threats from CDCIANS to burn down the airport, officers of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) assigned at the exit point of the airport, along with the police and ERU, decided to take siege of the situation.
However, in a communication to the House of Representatives, the AFL Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Davidson Fayiah Forleh, informed the House about immediate actions preceding the incident at the RIA on Saturday, July 13, 2024. He stated that the RIA’s security coordinator requested the AFL detachment commander at the RIA to support the airport security pending the arrival of the Liberian National Police (LNP).
The communication added that the decisive intervention of the AFL detachment commander was done without informing his appropriate superior commander, who would have notified the AFL High Command.
Meanwhile, authorities of the Ministry of Defense have recalled the AFL commander assigned at RIA based upon the circumstances surrounding the deployment of soldiers at Weah’s arrival, as he did so unauthorized.