Justice Minister on Liberia’s peace

Justice Minister and Attorney General Cllr. Frederick D. Cherue says if Liberians wanted peace, they will follow rules set by the National Elections Commission (NEC) for a process free of violence and tension, in addition to security forces’ role of protecting these elections.

“And that is why we are asking them today that they should help the security forces and all our international partners so that this peace we enjoy will be sustained and maintained,” he said Wednesday, 6 September at the Police Academy in Paynesville.

Cllr. Cherue reminds electorate that elections will come and go, but Liberians will remain here and the country will continue to sail smoothly if the citizenry realize that violence will not take the country forward.

He proffers measures that can be put in place to reduce tension and violence caused by election activities, such as working together as Liberians and believing that violence is not the solution to the nation’s problem.

By applying these measures, he believes that Liberia can succeed in holding a free, fair and transparent election.  Within a little over a month, he says Liberians will go to the polls to choose their leaders inclusive of president, vice president and members of the House of Representatives.

“We will sail the ship or sink [it] for the next six years to come,” he cautions Liberian electorate ahead of the 10 October polls contested by some 20 presidential candidates and 986 candidates for 73 seats at the House of Representatives.

Cllr. Cherue reveals that he got some reports on his desk so far conveying appreciative messages from political parties for the conduct of the Liberia National Police (LNP) after holding their programs in the course of the ongoing electoral process.

“… I got some reports on my desk every time you perform when the political parties are having their programs, and after that program they write the Ministry of Justice, telling the Ministry of Justice thank you for the conduct of the police,” he says.

The Liberian Attorney General expresses thanks to LNP Inspector General Col. Gregory Coleman and his deputies for the performance so far, urging them to continue the work.

Having cautioned officers that in most times elections exercises come with a lot of problems, tensions and sometimes violence, he says government’s key concern is a well-balanced security force with better training and education.

By Winston W. Parley