Liberia: 'We Are Hunting Without Noise'

Dillon speaks of LP crisis

Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon says the Liberty Party (LP) faction battling against embattled chairman Musa Bility has met with the latter quietly like a hunter.

Speaking in an interview with this paper over the weekend, the Liberty Party Vice Chairman on Political Affairs explained, however, that they did not have any long and fruitful conversation in the meeting with Mr. Bility.

"You are asking me if Chairman Bility met with me in a meeting, yes we did. But, right now, we are acting like the hunter who is hunting. And in order to successfully catch, don't make noise in the bush," said Senator Dillon.

He said if animals hear noise from a hunter in the bush, they will run away. As such, Dillon said this strategy is being applied in the party's meeting with Mr. Bility to ensure it has a successful outcome.

Liberty Party has been through a prolong internal political crisis that has split the party into two factions.

One LP faction is loyal to the political leader and Grand Bassa County Senator Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, while another faction is loyal to Mr. Bility.

Karnga-Lawrence and Dillon seem to support former Vice President Joseph Nyumah Boakai's 2023 presidential bid, while Bility glaringly supports the presidential bid of Mr. Alexander B. Cummings who seeks to run on the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and Collaborating Political Parties (CPP) ticket.

In the interview, Dillon appreciated the media for always seeking to hear from both sides, saying it's good.

However, the opposition lawmaker said right now they are in the process of talking and at the same time they have a matter pending before the court which they look forward to with great optimizing that the right thing will be done.

Billity recently disclosed that he has begun holding peace talks with Senator Dillon appealing for a complete cease fire in the party.

He said he wants the party to return to status quo for a peaceful reconciliation of the party's conflict.

"In the last two weeks, we have engaged our fellow partisans to try to reconcile the party. I have had two meetings with Montserrado County Senator Abraham Darius Dillon, assuring him and our partisans that we are prepared to sit with them and reconcile our party," Bility stated during a press conference.

He indicated that their condition in reconciling the party has been and will always be that they must do such thing within the confines of the law.

"There are decisions that we took together even before the crisis came. However, [those] decisions can't be a subject of reconciliation because it's not necessary," he argued.

Bility continued to raise a contention that to the best of his knowledge and according to the National Elections Commission, for a member to withdraw from collaboration, the chairman of the party will have to communicate a decision signed by two-thirds majorities or majority of its executive committee authorizing such withdrawal.

"As chairman of LP, I have not done so, neither have I been asked by my executive committee to do so. The second decision which can't be a subject of discussion in this reconciliation is the fact that LP again collectively decided that for the 2023 election, we will not put a presidential candidate for the presidency," Mr. Bility argued.

But responding to Bility's argument, Senator Dillon pointed out that they are seeking the truth first and then later they will look at the issues.

"We want truth and reconciliation ... They say truth before reconciliation, right? Sometimes you know that truth can bring about reconciliation. Therefore, we are seeking the truth first and later we will reconcile," said Dillon.

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