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The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) has warned that they may be forced to execute their ‘constitutional duties’ to police the country’s hard-won peace if the Liberia National Police is unable.
According to AFL Chief of Staff, Major-General Prince Charles Johnson, III, the army will not preempt by going ahead of the police but, when the situation escalates and the police can no longer handle it, they will step in to restore law and order.
Johnson referenced the 2008 New Defense Act, which he claimed gives the military the right to support joint security efforts aimed at ensuring there is peace and that the rule of law is respected, followed and obeyed.
“The caveat is just simple. The Constitution, Article 85, and if you go to the 2008 National Defense Act that repealed the 1959 Act of the military, chapter 2 Section 2.3 (E) states the duties of the Armed Forces to support National Security,” Johnson stated in a live video.
“A caveat for whosoever may feel or is disenchanted as we approach the 2023 elections to use the court system as was seen in the 2017 Presidential and 2020 midterm Senatorial elections,” he said.
The AFL Chief Staff further warned, “If you decide to take the law into your own hands (disregarding the rule of law), regardless of your current or past status or affiliation, and if the LNP can’t control your actions and/or is overwhelmed, we will execute our constitutional duties. We will not allow anyone or a group of people to obstruct our hard-earned Peace and Democracy. We will support the LNP and relevant agencies to protect key installations where necessary.”
However, the warning by the AFL Chief of Staff was made upon his disclosure that he has received multiple text messages from people at home and abroad, asking him to stage a coup since President George Weah is out of the country.
According to him, the requests come from people in Liberia and the United States, inciting him to stage a coup, though he has denied those suggestions.“Rest assured that the army under my command will not engage in acts that will derail the peace and democracy of Liberia,” he vowed.
Meanwhile, the Army Chief of Staff at the same time added that the army will not sit and watch the country’s hard-earned peace and democracy be obstructed; as such, they will be forced to come in and police it.
Johnson, however, noted that the army will not revert to what happened in 1980 when men enlisted in the army overthrew an elected government. He assured Liberians that this would not happen under this leadership.
“That is to say we allow democracy to prevail and that should be through the ballot box or we use the Constitution through the courts. The Army will not revert to what happened in 1980. That will not happen under this leadership,” he said.
“We support peaceful assembly or rally. That is provided for under the Constitution. We will not allow anyone or a group of people to obstruct our hard-earned Peace and Democracy and we will support the LNP and relevant agencies to protect key installations where necessary.”
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