Monrovia — The opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) has issued a stern warning to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration, accusing state safety forces of unleashing what it describes as “state terror” towards peaceable protesters in the course of the December 17, 2025 STAND-organized protest in Monrovia.
In a strongly worded assertion launched Thursday from its momentary nationwide headquarters in Plumkor, Sinkor, the CDC condemned what it known as “brutal and premeditated violence” by safety forces, insisting that the actions witnessed weren’t official crowd management however a calculated assault on residents’ constitutional rights.
“What the Liberian folks and the world witnessed was not crowd management. It was state terror,” the assertion declared, including that the fitting to peaceable meeting and protest is explicitly assured underneath the Liberian Structure and guarded by worldwide human rights regulation.
The social gathering alleged that the violence was provoked not by demonstrators however by people throwing stones from inside the secured perimeter of the Capitol Constructing. Based on the CDC, these people had been reportedly led by staffers linked to the Workplace of Vice President Jeremiah Kpan Koung. The social gathering claimed the alleged provocation was then used as justification for a forceful police crackdown on unarmed civilians.
“That is an unmistakable sample: manufacture chaos, then unleash repression,” the CDC asserted.
Warning to President, Police Management
The CDC issued what it termed a “direct and unambiguous warning” to President Boakai and Inspector Basic of Police Gregory Coleman, cautioning that each can be held “personally and institutionally accountable” ought to Liberia descend into repression, worry, and state violence.
“Historical past has taught this nation painful classes,” the social gathering mentioned. “When a authorities abandons restraint, weaponizes the police, and treats peaceable protest as an enemy, the nation doesn’t transfer ahead—it disintegrates.”
Calls for and Defiance
The opposition social gathering demanded the instant and unconditional launch of all protesters arrested or detained in reference to the December 17 demonstration.
Regardless of the crackdown, the CDC insisted it might not be silenced. “The CDC won’t give up its ethical authority, its constitutional rights, or be intimidated into silence,” the assertion declared.
Attraction to Worldwide Group
The social gathering additionally appealed to the worldwide neighborhood to intently monitor what it described as a “harmful trajectory” unfolding in Liberia, warning towards the normalization of violence and repression.
“Liberia belongs to all its residents, to not batons, bullets, or worry,” the assertion mentioned, concluding with a defiant message: “The Liberian folks won’t kneel.”
The assertion was signed by CDC Nationwide Chairman Janga A. Kowo, Sr.
As of press time, the federal government and the Liberia Nationwide Police had not issued an official response to the CDC’s allegations.
