{"id":28317,"date":"2022-12-13T17:15:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T17:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat"},"modified":"2022-12-13T17:55:37","modified_gmt":"2022-12-13T17:55:37","slug":"liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat","title":{"rendered":"Liberia: Defense Ministry Backs Army Chief\u2019s Controversial \u2018Caveat\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>The \u201ccaveat\u201d from the Chief of Staff of the Army Force of Liberia, which warned political actors in the country to behave, is \u201cin no way a threat and misapplication of authority,\u201d the Ministry of National Defense has said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ministry of National Defense\/Armed Forces of Liberia wishes to clarify [that] the statement on the need to observe the rule of law as citizens of Liberia and a reminder of the Constitutional Roles of the Armed Forces of Liberia as inscribed in the 2008 National Defense Act specifically Chapter 2, Section 2.3 (\u2018… the AFL shall intervene as a last resort when the threat exceeds the capacity of the law enforcement agencies\u2019) was in no way a threat and misapplication of authority,\u201d the Ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The Ministry\u2019s defense comes as AFL Chief of Staff, Major-General Prince Charles Johnson, III, faces criticism for saying that the army may be forced to execute its \u2018constitutional duties\u2019 to police the country if the Liberia National Police is overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

According to the AFL Chief of Staff, 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.<\/p>\n

However, the remark sent shockwaves across Liberia, with many panicking with reflections on the brutal roles the army has played in the country\u2019s history, especially the bloody military coup d\u2019e\u0301tat of 1980 that took the lives of President William R. Tolbert and scores of his top officials.<\/p>\n

The Elections Coordinating Committee described the AFL leader\u2019s caveats as military interference in civil matters, saying that the utterances were meant to instill fear and intimidate the civilian population.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe statement is completely out of order and a form of the military interfering in civil matters by instilling fear and intimidation of citizens who wish to exercise their Constitutional rights to assemble as guaranteed by Article 17 of the Liberian Constitution,’\u201d Oscar Bloh, the ECC Chairperson said, while also expressing deep concern over the future of freedom of political expression and participation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis caveat risks closing the civil space for political participation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Maj\/Gen Johnson\u2019s statement came on the heels of an attack by unknown men on opposition leader Lewis Brown, during an appearance at a local radio station the night of December 5. The attackers are believed to be apologists of the government.<\/p>\n

Brown, a former Minister of Information, is planning a rally to be staged on December 17, but the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) party said that the rally is intended to cause chaos in the country, a view many believe provoked the caveat from the army chief.<\/p>\n

Chapter 2, Section 2.3 of the 2008 National Defense Act, which the Ministry quoted earlier, stresses that the AFL at no time during peacetime engages in law enforcement, as such function is the prerogative of the police and other law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n

It is also noted that the army can help in restoring order domestically when civil law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed, but said request must come from the President.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AFL shall intervene only as a last resort when the threat exceeds the capacity of the law enforcement agencies to respond,\u201d the Defense Act says.<\/p>\n

The Ministry however assured Liberians that the constitutional rights of all will be respected at all times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no need to panic or query the apolitical standing of the current Armed Forces of Liberia,\u201d the statement said. \u201cThe AFL remains a Force for Good and will at no time compromise such standing and constitutional responsibilities.<\/p>\n

The Ministry also said that the Armed Forces has instituted several measures and training into its setup to enhance its roles and professionalism before, during, and after the 2023 General Elections, as was instituted in past elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AFL will subsequently support paramilitary institutions and other agencies of the National Government if necessary. It is important to note that sustaining democracy, peace, and tranquility is supreme to our mission,\u201d the Ministry said.<\/p>\n

Yet, many have called for the army to stay out of civil matters in order to avoid the unexpected.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. The \u201ccaveat\u201d from the Chief of Staff of the Army Force of Liberia, which warned political actors in the country to behave, is \u201cin no way a threat and misapplication of authority,\u201d the Ministry of National Defense has said. \u201cThe Ministry of National Defense\/Armed Forces of Liberia wishes to clarify [that] the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":28316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,237,2594,234,2593,2595],"class_list":["post-28317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-armed-forces-of-liberia","tag-liberia","tag-ministry-of-national-defense","tag-prince-c-johnson"],"yoast_head":"\nLiberia: Defense Ministry Backs Army Chief\u2019s Controversial \u2018Caveat\u2019 - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The \u201ccaveat\u201d from the Chief of Staff of the Army Force of Liberia, which warned political actors in the country to behav ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Liberia: Defense Ministry Backs Army Chief\u2019s Controversial \u2018Caveat\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The \u201ccaveat\u201d from the Chief of Staff of the Army Force of Liberia, which warned political actors in the country to behav ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-13T17:15:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-13T17:55:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1670939126.80.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Liberia: Defense Ministry Backs Army Chief\u2019s Controversial \u2018Caveat\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-13T17:15:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-13T17:55:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat\"},\"wordCount\":708,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/liberia-defense-ministry-backs-army-chiefs-controversial-caveat#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1670939126.80.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Liberia\",\"Armed Forces of Liberia\",\"Liberia\",\"Ministry of National Defense\",\"Prince C. 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