-Holds Political Rally On Campus
By Jackson C. Clay, Jr.
Few days following the announcement by authorities of the University of Liberia suspending all political activities on the campuses of the University of Liberia, the campus based political movement, the Student Unification Party (SUP) has staged a political gathering on the main campus of the UL detesting the university’s decision.
It can be recalled that on Friday, January 11, 2019, the University of Liberia announced the immediate suspension of all student political activities on the campuses of the UL.
According to a UL release signed by its Vice President for UL Relations, Atty. Norris Tweah, no political group shall assemble or hold meetings or engage in any political-related activities on any of the University of Liberia campuses during this period of suspension.
The release further said the suspension affects political/solidarity marches, political gatherings, the wearing of symbols and emblems depicting and promoting campus-based political groups, student protests, among others.
“Any student who is involved in any activity that disrupts normal university activity shall be expelled,” the release warned.
On Wednesday, January 16, 2019, members of the Student Unification Party (SUP) were dressed up in their regular khakie regalia parading the main campus of the University of Liberia on Capitol Hill.
Following their parade, the students then issued a statement denouncing the ban on student political activities by the university and called on the UL authorities to immediately revoke the pronouncement.
“With outright discontent and disillusionment, SUP vehemently cautions and calls on authorities of UL to immediately reverse or revoke its unlawful decision to suspend political activities at the state-run University of Liberia,” SUP noted in its statement
SUP indicated in its statement that the move by the university to suspend student politics is not only a rush, unwarranted and ill-informed decision, but also crackdown on those cherished ideas of the country’s nourishing democracy.
SUP asserted that this move by the UL was allegedly influenced by the national Government of Liberia under the Coalition of Democratic Change (CDC) headed by President George Manneh Weah.
“SUP considers such unjustifiable action, which was mainly influenced and engineered by the government and pro-regime stooges as thoughtless, undemocratic and a provocation for mass civil disobedience and uproar across Liberia,” the statement stressed.
The campus- based political movement indicated that Liberia’s striving democracy is under complete attack and those democratic gains so far are fast diminishing under President Weah, thus, accusing him of violating the Constitution of Liberia within one year.
Meanwhile, SUP is calling on the Board of Trustees of the UL, the Legislature, the Liberia Council of Churches, National Muslim Council, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice to step in before; according to SUP the situation goes out of hand.
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