Tyranny
without bullets. Will the Election Mean
an Extension of the Bryant Kleptocracy?
New
standard of living for the people
in the interior
As the election fever heats up and over
40 Liberians from all walks of life throw
their names into the ring, it is becoming
clear that there are only a few viable candidates.
If we're not careful, the clutter in this
field of candidates could easily lead to
victory for the preferred candidate of the
establishment and the extension of the Kleptocracy
of the NTGL cartel. Clearly the Bryant regime
has been more ruthless, thoughtless and
uncaring than any Liberia has ever seen.
Infact, the only change in the state of
Liberia from the tyranny of Mr. Taylor is
that we now have 15,000 armed men in the
country to protect Mr. Bryant from an armed
attack, shielding him from the distractions
experienced by Mr. Taylor, and enabling
him to concentrate on pillaging our nation's
resources with impunity.
In
its desire to maintain a corrupt grip on
the poor and destitute population, the NTGL
fellowship has begun its transition to the
Liberian Mafia. I was speaking to a close
friend in Liberia a few days ago, and was
stunned to learn that members of the fellowship
had begun to refer to Mr. Bryant with such
names as the Teflon Don, the Boss of Bosses
and that the fellowship is actively planning
on installing the KIPO, the next president
of Liberia. This KAPO will be responsible
for running the affairs of the country and
insuring that the old fellowship maintains
it strangling grips on the lifeblood of
our destroyed country. Should this coronation
of Mr. Bryant's hand-chosen successor materialize,
we can be assured that the nepotism, cronyism
and unabated graft that represent an integral
part of life in Liberia will continue. In
addition, we will see the implementation
of a fast track to allow Lebanese and other
non-Liberians to own land in Liberia and
secure an even stronger hold on the fragile
economy of our nation. Once this happens,
the plight of the average Liberian will
be exacerbated in astronomical terms as
the foreigners gobble up all of the prime
property and relegate the masses of our
citizenry to an even lower socio-economic
class than they currently hold. A typical
example of this scenario is the French holdings
in our neighbor, The Ivory Coast.
Recent
disclosure by a UN panel of experts revealed
the existence of secret mining deals between
the Bryant government and companies with
no mining experience, with an award of a
virtual monopoly on most of Liberia's gold
and diamond reserves. For a deposit of one
million US dollars in a secret offshore
account, these people are prepared to surrender
our entire gold and diamond reserve. Furthermore,
they have agreed to have a foreign concern
create its own militia to brutalize the
citizens of Liberia under the guise of security
for this illegal land grab and mining rights.
All of this is being done under the backdrop
of near starvation of the people of Nimba
County. What kinds of people are these?
These are evil and selfish men who do not
give a damn about the thousands of Liberians
currently being ravaged by disease and hunger.
They are only concerned with pillaging the
wealth of the country and using the loot
to purchase huge estates in the USA, in
the States of Maryland, Virginia and Georgia.
How
can we save our country from this unfolding
tragedy? Firstly, Liberians must realize
that the ball is finally in our court. This
is our chance to emerge as a people who
are vigilant, prepared, and committed to
take control of our destiny. Since the members
of the clan now control state power, the
population must be educated and galvanized,
and the numerous candidates must consider
the formation of a strategic alliance that
will be powerful enough to derail this wicked
ploy of the emerging Liberian Mafia. We
must elect a leader who is not, or will
not be, manipulated by the Clan.
Life
of our children
In
my last article "The Race to Mortgage
our Future" I outlined some of the
specific doings of this insidious bunch
of criminals. They have managed to exhibit
such high level of contempt without a mandate
from the people. Can you imagine what Life
would be like if a member of the Clan is
crowned with any thing that smells like
a mandate? Yes indeed, the future of our
country would be very bleak. The simmering
malcontent from the neglect would eventually
lead to another round of armed insurrection,
anarchy, senseless killing and destruction.
We may very well experience unimaginable
carnage and yet another round of total destruction
of Liberia's most precious commodity, "Our
children", who will officiate over
this carnage without any sense of guilt
or remorse.
The
choice we Liberians will have to make is
simple: are we going to accede to the old
cry, "He kill my Ma, He kill my Pa,
but I will still vote for him" or are
we going to vote for the one that is going
to arrest and prosecute those that killed
our mothers and fathers and fight to insure
that our kids grow up in a healthy and peaceful
environment with access to schools and food
to eat. Gankay, as he was affectionately
referred to by his Savage clansmen, was
a Tyrant who brutalized our people and presided
over 14 years of carnage. He left our beloved
Liberia in ruins. The current leaders are
Tyrants who, because of the current international
community intervention, do not have the
power to inflict physical savagery, but
in all of their actions have inflicted an
even more sinister brutality, a kind of
psychological tyranny that is perhaps more
brutal than that of Mr. Taylor. Are we prepared
to hand our lives to these silent killers
for six more years? Are we willing to cede
our Land and birth rights to the Lebanese?
If your answer is yes to any of these questions,
then vote for the one who will "KILL
YOUR MA, STEAL YOUR FOOD, KILL YOUR PA,
SELL YOU INTO SLAVERY, AND Give all of your
most fertile Land to the Lebanese. If no,
then vote for leaders who will show concern
for our disenfranchised; leaders who will
teach new behaviors, skills, and attitudes
through their own examples; leaders who
will assume full responsibility for their
actions, who will demonstrate the values
of democracy, and who will show that there
can be life without graft.
About
the Author: Stephen O Adams is a Telecommunication/Computer
Systems expert currently residing in the
US. He is also a coconscious Liberian who
cares deeply about the sufferings masses
in the country. Steve has written several
articles on the corruption and incompetence
of the current government. He can be contacted
at soadams@mindspring.com.
