Liberia: 'Completely Reckless, Premature'

8 December 2022
The New Dawn (Monrovia)
By Lincoln G. Peters

-Opposition replies AFL Chief of Staff

A stalwart of the opposition Alternative National Congress (ANC) Mr. Fobbie Henries has damned Liberia's military chief Maj. Gen. Prince Charles Johnson, III, for his caveat that if the police get overwhelmed, the military will respond.

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), Gen. Johnson warned this week against disturbing the peace.

His warning comes as the opposition plans a December 17 protest to denounce the alleged suffering that Liberians are enduring under the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) regime.

But many here like the ANC stalwart, have taken issues with the military chief for the statement, with some claiming that it's an attempt for the military to intimidate and allegedly interfere in civil matters.

Speaking in an exclusive telephone conversation with this paper Wednesday, 7 December 2022, Mr. Henries said Gen. Johnson's statement is a 'misspeak.'

Henries warned that the statement has the propensity to threaten the peace and stability of Liberia.

"I listened to Maj. Gen. Prince C. Johnson, III, quoting Chapter 2.3(e) as his constitutional reliance for AFL stepping into civil matters," said Mr. Henries.

"Gen. Johnson, go and read again! You cannot deploy AFL on the streets for any reason, even if you feel so! It has to be upon the expressed request of the Justice Ministry [which] is approved by the President before you can put out MPs to help! Know your limits and act accordingly," Mr. Henries warned.

He emphasized that Chapter 3.1 of the Constitution further tells Gen. Johnson that he is under the president's supervision and decision to deploy military forces is on the orders of the president, not the military chief's personal feelings.

The two-time defeated representative candidate called on the Legislature to take due note of the 'reckless statement' by the AFL Chief of Staff, and that the president should also be concerned.

"At no time should the AFL get involved with internal security matters, unless requested by the Ministry of Justice through the Ministry of Defense with the expressed approval of the President of Liberia," Henries stated.

He claimed that Gen. Johnson's statement is very childish because the matter at hand is civil and nobody has invited the AFL into it.

Read the original article on New Dawn.

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