Liberia’s President George Manneh Weah says his Coalition for Democratic Change does not have any group within its ranks called “CDC-COP”. The CDC-COP is the “Coalition for Democratic Change Council of Patriots that comprises young people who deflected from the opposition Council of Patriotics after the infamous July 7, 2019 protest in Monrovia.
The group, on the sidelines of Liberia’s 175th Independence Day celebrations in Monrovia led a counter protest against anti-government protest by the campus based Students Unification Party (SUP) before the United States Embassy near Monrovia.
In a nationwide special statement delivered on the afternoon of August 1, 2022, the Liberian leader said the reason for his speech was to denounce “in the strongest terms, the violence which was perpetrated by some youth in the early hours of July 26, when Liberians at home and abroad were just preparing to celebrate such an important day for the country.”
President Weah emphasized that as founding father of the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), the ruling party does not have any CDC-COP within our organization.
Hours later, the group issued a statement welcoming President Weah’s stance against violence and indicated that the CDC-COP is an independent body that chose to support the government of Liberia based on their “unwavering love for country and the magnanimous transformation being implemented by the government under the leadership of President George Weah.
FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT WEAH SPEECH BELOW 👇👇👇
SPECIAL STATEMENT BY
HIS EXCELLENCY DR. GEORGE MANNEH WEAH
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA
August 1, 2022
My Fellow Citizens:
I want to first express my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all Liberians and friends of Liberia alike, for the beautiful celebration of the country’s 175th Independence Day on July 26, 2022.
I am also grateful to neighboring heads of state and other dignitaries who joined us to mark this very important milestone in our nation’s history including President Umaro Sissoco Embalo of Guinea Bissau, President Mohammadou Buhari of Nigeria, and President Adama Barrow of The Gambia.
I also seize this opportunity to thank the government and people of the United States of America for the historical gift of solidarity and to President Biden for his invitation to join him in Washington DC in December to discuss peace and development along with other African leaders.
Fellow Liberians, the main purpose of my address today, is to denounce in the strongest terms, the violence which was perpetrated by some youth in the early hours of July 26, when Liberians at home and abroad were just preparing to celebrate such an important day for the country.
Violence is totally unacceptable.
I have stressed in all my public engagements the need to maintain the hard-earned peace that we now enjoy. This is a cause for which I have lent personal sacrifice – as an Ambassador of peace.
So, if you claim to love me or follow my political ideology, you cannot do so with violence.
Anyone or group that has my image on a banner in support of me and my Government must be peaceful, respectful, and tolerant.
You cannot support a man of peace by being violent.
I also want to stress, as the founding father of the Congress for Democratic Change, now the Coalition for Democratic Change, that we do not have any CDC-COP within our organization.
When you come to join us, you become a CDC partisan of peace, democracy, and development.
Therefore, I have mandated the Ministry of Justice and the entire national security apparatus to immediately arrest all those involved in the violent incident on July 26, 2022 and ensure that they face the full weight of the law.
I have also instructed the Minister of Health to ensure that all those who sustained injuries during the violent attack be given the best medical treatment at the expense of the government.
Liberia remains a country of laws.
Despite our political differences, we are one nation, one people united under God’s command.
God Bless Liberia.
I thank you.
