Liberia Armed Forces Won’t Tolerate Any Chaos. – Chief of Staff Warns

According to Major General Johnson, “We (Armed Forces of Liberia) will carry out our constitutional obligations if you choose to take the law into your own hands (while disregarding the rule of law), regardless of your present or previous status or affiliation, and if the LNP is unable to control your actions or is overburdened,”

If the Liberia National Police is unable to maintain the nation’s hard-won peace, the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) have threatened to be obliged to carry out their “constitutional duty” to do so.

Major-General Prince Charles Johnson III, the chief of staff for the AFL, claims that rather than intervening before the police, the army will do so when the situation gets out of control and the police are unable to handle it.

Again, Major General Johnson highlighted the 2008 New Defense Act as giving the military the authority to support cooperative security initiatives meant to ensure that there is peace and that the rule of law is upheld, adhered to, and obeyed.

Notwithstanding, the warning is straightforward. The duties of the Armed Forces to support National Security are stated in the Constitution, Article 85, and the 2008 National Defense Act, which repealed the 1959 Act of the Military, chapter 2 Section 2.3 (E)…there, Johnson wrote on the Ministry of National Defense Facebook page.

He advised using the legal system, as was done in the 2017 Presidential and 2020 midterm Senatorial elections, for anyone who would feel or be disappointed as the 2023 elections approach. Regardless of your present or previous status or affiliation, if you choose to ignore the rule of law and the LNP is unable to manage your actions or becomes overburdened, we shall carry out our legal obligations. Nobody or any group of individuals will be able to undermine the peace and democracy we have worked so hard to achieve. When necessary, we will assist the LNP and pertinent organizations in protecting important installations.

The AFL Chief of Staff issued the caution after revealing that he had received several text messages, both domestically and internationally, pleading with him to organize a coup while President George Weah was away. Though he has disputed these claims, he claims that Liberians and Americans are making the requests and inspiring him to mount a coup.

You can “[rest] confident that the army I lead will not engage in conduct that will undermine Liberia’s peace and democracy,” he stated.

Johnson’s admissions came as the police said yesterday that they were looking into four people in relation to fighting that took place on the Capitol Bypass on December 5 between two opposing political parties.

A number of people gathered at the Voice of Liberia radio station to hurl insults at Lewis Brown, a representative of the Alternative National Congress, who had gone there to publicize an upcoming protest action against the George Weah administration. This is where the incident started. Violence broke out between the two opposing factions as a result of Brown’s supporters’ reprisals.

However, the police quickly stepped in to defuse the situation and led Brown to safety.

However, the government has denounced the act and made it clear that it will not tolerate any degree of intolerance, particularly in the run-up to the elections next year.