SUP “Flies July 26’ Violence Victim Abroad” For Advanced Treatment, Launches Fund Raising Campaign
MONROVIA – The vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP) of the University of Liberia has announced it has flown student Christopher Walter Sisulu Sivili out of the country for advanced medical treatment.
Sivili was badly beaten, tortured and humiliated by pro-government protesters led by an auxiliary of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change called the CDC-Council of Patriots (CDC-COP).
Few days later, he was seen all-bandaged and lying in critical condition at a local clinic in Monrovia.
Making the disclosure to K-news, the Spokesperson of SUP, Mohammed Shabazz Jalloh says, with the intervention of the Party’s veteran community, Sivili has been flown out of the country for advanced treatment as his condition was deteriorating faster.
“Comrade Walter [Sivili] is not in the country currently. This happened thanks to the decisive intervention of the veteran community [of SUP]. He has been taking to a place where we are hoping that he gets the rightful medication to recover,” said Jalloh, who fell short of disclosing the exact location he was taken to; citing security reasons.
Continuing, he said “The hope of the Student Unification Party is that Comrade Sisulu recovers very soon because the party continues to work out proper means and modalities in ensuring that he recovers very well and return to continue the debate – the debate to fix the country. This struggle continues and we hope to meet Walter Sisulu soon to continue the struggle to ensure the Government works in the interest of the Liberian people.”
No Arrest Yet
The Liberia National Police (LNP) continues to come under fire for its “lukewarm approach” in investigating the incident. With almost a week since the incident, the LNP is yet to arrest any of the perpetrators of the ‘July 26’ Violence. This is happening despite several videos making rounds on social media platforms visibly showing Sisulu’s tormentors as he was being mobbed and tortured, while he begged for mercy.
LNP spokesperson Moses Carter, while announcing that the Police have launched an investigation into the incident said, it would be prudent for officials of both parties – CDC-COP and SUP to report for questioning since they both are claiming their members were victimized.
He said: “The Student Unification Party expects the police as a responsible institution to make decisive intervention in ensuring that the perpetrators are properly investigated and prosecuted. The Student Unification Party expects the Police to muster the same courage it mustered to subject one of her officers to an investigation because he was seen in the video tape laughing while the student was mercilessly brutalized by the thugs and hooligans that were leashed on him by the regime.”
“The party expects the police to be rational enough to arrest all of those that were involved into that disgusting act. You cannot arrest a police man who was laughing while the action was being perpetrated against Sisulu and you allowed those who committed the act to be masquerading around as if they are above the law.”
The Dissociations
The campaign to raise fund is being held as President George Weah, speaking about the incident for the first time, condemned the COP-CDC, saying it is not part of the his party.
He called on the Ministry of Justice to launch an investigation and prosecute all those behind it. He also called on the Ministry of Health to provide free medical treatment to the victims.
SUP is yet to respond to the President’s latest address.
Prior to the President Weah’s condemnation of the CDC-COP, the group distanced itself from those that committed the violent act against Sisulu and other victims.
In an interview with K-news, the Spokesperson of the CDC-COP, Aaron Kofa said those that perpetrated the violence are not members of the CDC-COP.
Kofa identified one of the individuals captured in the video inflicting wounds on Sisulu as Pukar Roberts. According to him, Roberts was expelled from the CDC-COP more than a year ago – and as such, his action cannot be associated with the group.
Said Kofa: “The only person who came out in that video and who was not part of the protest was Pukar Roberts. Pukar Roberts has since been expelled from the movement since last year… Pukar Roberts is not a member of the CDC-Council of Patriots, he has been expelled before even I joined the CDC-Council of Patriots, and I joined over a year ago. He did not march with us. He met us on UL campus.”
Asked why he allowed Roberts to join the CDC-COP’s protest when he was no longer a member, Kofa said several groups including university students and ordinary citizens joined them for their pro-government March. And apparently, Roberts may have been a members of these groups.
“Pukar Roberts had no clue to information concerning our gathering. He joined us and we can’t stop him from joining us. We can’t tell him go home. And besides, we can’t assume that he came to join us because there were too many organizations that endorsed our gathering. You see Barrie from AME University, and lot of groups were there. We were more than four groups there.”
Human Rights Defenders Hold Gov’t to Task
The July 26 Independence Day violence continues to be greeted by widespread condemnations from the public sphere. The latest is the Liberian Civil Society, especially human rights defenders, who expressed concerned over ‘The increasing wave of human rights abuse and violations occurring on a daily basis in Liberia, allegedly perpetrated by paramilitary groups under the banner of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, (CDC)/Council of Patriots.”
“The CSOs said the situation is posing a greater security threat amongst citizens, pro-democracy groups and human rights defenders, calling on the government of Liberia as a state party to regional and international human rights instruments to ensure the full protection of all fundamental rights of people living in Liberia,” the group said, through the Secretary General of the Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform of Liberia, Adama K. Dempster.
