The White Tuesday Protest on Capitol Hill to restore law and order at the House of Representatives turned out to be short but very bloody, with officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) using excess force: firing teargas and live bullets, and using batons to beat on individuals claimed to be disgruntled, leaving several individuals wounded and incarcerated.
White Tuesday, as the protest was called, was organized by the “Concerned Citizens for the Protection of our Constitution, Democracy and Rule of Law”, with former Grand Bassa Superintendent, Janjay Baikpeh, being the main face of the organizers. The protest was endorsed by several groups, including the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) Foot Soldiers and the Concerned Liberians Network Incorporated based in the United States.
Prominent figures, such as Representatives Frank Saah Foko, Yekeh Kolubah and Eugene Kollie, as well as Cllr. Pearl Brown-Bull, a signatory of the 1986 Constitution and a former Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and Sekou Kalasco Damaro, Special Aide to former President George M. Weah, were seen actively participating in the protest.
However, the protest was cut short when officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP) and the protestors engaged in a face-off, with the LNP using teargas to disperse the crowd. An old woman, believed to be in her 60s, went off from the teargas, and LNP officers had to help her out.
Resisting protestors were beaten mercilessly with batons, dragged to the LNP headquarters and incarcerated. Several individuals became victims of the police’s brutality, with Kalasco being one of those hand-cuffed and sent to prison.
Interestingly, while the protest was on-going, President Joseph N. Boakai surprisingly drove to the Capitol Building to sign the book of condolence of fallen former Representative John Gray without any prior notice. Also, members of the “majority bloc” of the House of Representatives and the Liberian Senate conducted session while the protest was on, as the protestors were denied entry into the yard of the National Legislature.
However, the Government of Liberia (GOL) has claimed that no live bullets were fired during the protest as is being reported.
“As far as the government is aware and based on briefings from the Joint Security, law enforcement forces employed only non-lethal force to disperse protesters who were blocking the free flow of vehicular traffic and movements, not heeding police instructions, on the Capitol Bye-pass main road, around the seat of the National Legislature,” an Information Ministry release stated.
But speaking during the protest, Montserrado County’s district #10 Representative, Yekeh Kolubah, said Liberians exercising their democratic right to assemble were met with violence, accusing President Boakai of giving the order. He accused the LNP of using teargas, batons and live bullets, which he said was unacceptable and demonstrates a dangerous disregard for the safety and freedom of Liberians.
Also speaking at the protest ground, Cllr. Pearl Browne-Bull called on members of the House of Representatives to respect the rule of law. According to her, the Speaker was elected for six years and representatives have the power to remove him by law, not force. She said the Supreme Court has ruled that the Speaker, Cllr. Fonati Koffa, is the Presiding Officer of the House of Representatives, and the lawmakers were wrong to act outside due process, and they need to stop because without the law they cannot get the Speaker out.
Meanwhile, Montserrado County’s district #9 Representative, Frank Saah Foko, has disclosed that, in light of these violations, he has taken immediate steps to seek justice on behalf of the affected citizens, and has already reached out to the court system to initiate legal actions against all individuals and institutions responsible for the unlawful actions taken against the protestors, including those who were unlawfully imprisoned.
