The Solidarity and Trust for a New Day (STAND) has expressed utmost disgust at what it described as the callous cowardice and glaring weakness of the Liberian government for allegedly failing in its sworn duty to defend Liberia’s sovereignty now being brazenly encroached upon by Guinea.
In a release issued April 6, 2026 and signed by its Chairman, Mulbah K. Morlu, Jr., STAND said, “While the government may be unwilling to project military strength, it has no justification for the weakness and indecision it has put on display, revealing a profound failure of resolve and courage. Most notably, it has deliberately failed to invoke Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), which gives Liberia the sovereign right to declare the Guinean Ambassador persona non grata and expel him in response to his country’s unlawful incursion onto Liberian soil.”
According to STAND, even at the lowest threshold of diplomatic response, the government has failed. At a minimum, the group argued, it should have recalled Liberia’s Ambassador to Guinea as a formal and immediate expression of protest against Guinea’s blatant provocation.
“STAND identifies the 2024 Ibrahima Khalil Cherif scandal as the trigger that emboldened Guinea’s junta-style regime to violate Liberia’s sovereignty. Cherif’s arbitrary handover by the Boakai-led government, in blatant defiance of judicial authority, fueled Guinea’s aggression and exposed Liberia’s institutional weakness, turning the transfer into the foundation of impunity that has fueled escalating incursions and the erosion of Liberia’s sovereignty and rule of law. Alarmingly, this illegal act was allegedly rewarded with six pickup trucks loaded with arms and ammunition, handed by Guinean proxies to the Liberia National Police—the very agency that orchestrated the criminal transfer.
“It is both alarming and disgraceful that the government remains hesitant and subdued in the face of clear violations of Liberia’s territorial integrity. This posture reflects a pattern of cowardice by a government that is quick to unleash excessive force against peaceful domestic protesters, yet retreats into weakness when confronted with the aggression of a foreign adversary occupying sovereign Liberian territory,” STAND observed.
“It is our firm and considered position that any government unwilling to deploy established international legal mechanisms to defend its national interests fundamentally undermines its legitimacy and calls into serious question its fitness to govern.
“Therefore, we call on the current government under President Boakai to summon the courage it has thus far lacked by immediately expelling the Guinean Ambassador to Liberia as a definitive and unmistakable signal of Liberia’s rejection of Guinea’s unlawful provocation and encroachment.
“Finally, STAND, in collaboration with civil society and community-based institutions, issues a clear warning: decisive civic actions will be announced shortly in defense of fundamental rights, justice, the rule of law, and the full protection of Liberia’s sovereign territory. Liberia’s sovereignty is not negotiable, and the people will not stand by while it is undermined by foreign encroachment and government inaction,” the STAND release added.
