Congress for Democratic Change Campaign Spokesman Cllr Kanio Bai Gbala Writes:

Congress for Democratic Change Campaign Spokesman Cllr Kanio Bai Gbala Writes:

"𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟕 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭

Liberia’s history bears the deep scars of public protests-many of which, while rooted in legitimate grievances, descended into violence and yielded few, if any, immediate political gains. From the infamous 1979 Rice Riots to the cascading unrests that followed throughout the 1980s and 1990s, mass demonstrations often resulted in tragic loss of life, widespread destruction of public and private property, and further hardship for ordinary Liberians, particularly the poor and vulnerable.

Far too often, these moments have disrupted our fragile economic progress and stifled the everyday functioning of the state without delivering the lasting reforms they sought.

Given this sobering context, we as political actors must now embrace more strategic, constructive tools to advance governance reforms. While protest remains a constitutional right and a vital form of democratic expression, we must ask: what genuinely moves the needle toward meaningful change? In my view, the path forward requires more than soundbites and street slogans-it demands disciplined, deliberate engagement.

𝐓𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟕 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡. 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥-𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡. 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡 𝐍. 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐤𝐚𝐢, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦.

I am aware that some may view this position as an attempt to dilute the right to dissent or may invoke the Unity Party's past support for similar protests. I understand those sentiments. However, emulating the missteps of the past does not legitimize them in the present. Our responsibility, particularly in this new democratic dispensation, is to chart a higher path-one of principled leadership and constructive engagement.

We must now begin to shape a Liberia where dissent is not only lawful but thoughtful; where action is not just forceful, but purposeful. Only then can we build the kind of democratic society our forebears envisioned and our children deserve".