Africa-Press – Liberia. SUP accused the UP-led government of using state security to intimidate political opponents.
The Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP) has accused the Unity Party-led government of drifting toward authoritarianism.
The group said the administration of President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and Vice President Jeremiah Koung is using state security to intimidate political opponents and suppress dissent.
SUP made the statement during a press conference held on Monday, June 9 in Monrovia.The group condemned the recent incarceration of former House Speaker J. Fonati Koffa and several lawmakers in connection with the December 2023 Capitol Building fire.
SUP also denounced the alleged assault on Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) Chairman Janga Kowo, claiming both incidents reflect growing political repression.
In a statement signed by Secretary-General Odecious Mulbah and approved by Chairman Sylvester Wheeler, the group called for the immediate dismissal and prosecution of Liberia National Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman.
SUP accused Coleman of enabling state violence and intimidation against opposition figures. “This regime is dangerously slipping into dictatorial authoritarianism,” Wheeler said.
He added that the Boakai administration is “weaponizing the state security apparatus to silence dissent, punish political opposition, and suppress the voices of the poor and marginalized.”
SUP described the Capitol Building fire investigation as a political smokescreen. The group questioned why some members of the majority bloc in the House of Representatives, who were allegedly involved in the incident, have not been charged.
SUP claimed the Boakai administration is selectively applying justice to target critics. Chairman Wheeler said the arrest of Koffa was a calculated attempt to intimidate political opponents.
He criticized the president for recognizing Richard Koon as Speaker of the House without what SUP described as a proper legislative process.
Wheeler also condemned President Boakai’s public statement labeling the Capitol fire as “hooliganism” before any investigation was concluded.
SUP described the alleged attack on CDC Chairman Janga Kowo as “vicious and inhumane.” The group said the incident highlights what it called a rise in “state-sponsored terrorism.”
In its list of demands, SUP called for the removal of Police Inspector General Gregory Coleman.
It also demanded an independent, citizen-led investigation into the Capitol fire.The group called for justice for Janga Kowo and other alleged victims of what it described as police brutality.
SUP further demanded an end to what it termed the administration’s “creeping dictatorship.”
The group also criticized human rights advocate and Unity Party official Samuel Kofi Woods, calling him a “sellout” for allegedly failing to speak out against recent abuses.
SUP warned of planned mass mobilizations to protest the government’s actions. It vowed to resist what it described as the rule of “elite looters and enablers of imperialism.”
“At a time when the people cry for food, jobs, education, and dignity, this regime responds with batons, tear gas, and iron fists,” Wheeler said.No amount of intimidation, no barrel of a gun, can break the iron will of a conscious revolutionary movement.”
SUP is Liberia’s oldest student political organization. It has a long history of activism and remains influential on the University of Liberia campus and among progressive youth groups.
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