‘Grateful’

-CDC Youth League Pays Tribute To The Late Kofi Annan

By Reuben Sei Waylaun

The revolutionary Youth League of the governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) has expressed total gratitude to the falling former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan for his countless contributions to the peace of Liberia.

Kofi Annan died on Saturday August 18, 2018 in Bern, Switzerland at the age of 80. It was during his regime as Secretary General of the UN that the organization deployed the largest numbers of peacekeepers to Liberia in 2003 that restored peace to the country. Since then, the country has had three successive democratic elections and just celebrated fifteen years of actual peace.

His passing has hit everyone including the Youth League of the CDC. In a condolence message delivered at the Pan African Plaza, the National Headquarters of the UN in Liberia Monday, the youth league expressed profound sorrow and genuine condolences to the United Nations and specifically the people of Ghana on the loss of a patriot and the light to conflict resolution in Africa and the world.

“Our nation owes its gratitude to Kofi Annan, most especially the young people of this country. Kofi Annan was indeed a great son, he has left with us a clear path to resolve our problems, he is in our bloodstreams as we know peace, in a marrow of our bones as we realized the importance of living. He makes up the very flesh and muscles of our hearts. He is mixed up in our souls,” the Revolutionary Youth League said in a statement.

The youth league recounted that the late Annan went to the extreme to ensure the largest peacekeeping force ever assembled in the world came to Liberia during his two terms as UN Secretary General from 1997 to 2003.

“When the United Nations mission was established in September 2003, our country was in turmoil, oversupplied in armed mercenaries and with no functioning countrywide authorities. Since then, with the UN assistance, tens of thousands of gunmen have been disarmed and reintegrated into society, hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (IPDs) have returned safely to their homes and the country’s destroyed infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, health facilities and police stations are being restored gradually,” the Youth League added.

For his part, Yacoub El Hillo, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Liberia commended the Youth League for being in solidarity with the UN over the sad passing of the former Secretary General and recounting his numerous contributions to the peace in the country.

However, El Hillo urged the young people of the country through the Youth League to follow the indelible legacy of Kofi Annan for his peaceful and humble spirit during his days on earth.

“To the leadership of the CDC Youth League, we thank you very much for this noble initiative and coming to the UN Headquarters for submitting this. We are thankful for his legacy. He was a man of peace and live for peace. He worked for the UN for over four decades. With his passing, there is absolutely no doubt in our minds because he was not just a leader, he was a mentor. A proud son of Africa and believed in everything and connected every part of the world,” he said.

The UN Resident Coordinator also lauded President George Weah when he spoke warmly about the lifestyle of Kofi Annan following his demise on Saturday August 18, 2018.

“We all have the responsibility to live on the legacy of Kofi Annan because you have a big responsibility on your shoulders to ensure that unnecessary conflicts, disputes are resolved. Let’s live the legacy of Kofi Annan because he was confronted with so many issues, but never gave up but tackled them with the force of logic and not logic of force. We owed to it Kofi Annan that Liberia is peaceful,” he added.

 

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