President Weah Defends UNGA Speech as He Arrives to Rousing Welcome
Monrovia, Liberia - The President of the Republic, H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah, says his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was a realistic reflection of the issues affecting the country and its people.
The President said there was no denying that the country is faced with serious economic challenges and that the people of Liberia have been clamoring for the establishment of a war crimes court, instead of galvanizing their energy to fix mounting social and economic problems.
Hundreds of Liberians turned out Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at the RIA to welcome the Liberian leader from the United States—the second time he successfully represented the country at the UNGA.
Before departing the airport, the President spoke to reporters who were concerned, amongst other things, about misinterpretations in some quarters about the speech he had delivered a week earlier at the 74th Session of UN General Assembly.
He told the reporters that he was under obligation to use his speech to explain the state of the country to the international community and to ask them for support.
“I don’t think any Liberian should have mixed feelings when I informed the United Nations about what is happening in the country,” the Liberian head of state asserted. “And I told them that we have economic issues.”
“Don’t we?” he quipped in response to a reporter’s question. “We were all here when Liberia prevailed on the international community for debt relief and other assistance. And for twelve years, the international community came to our aid. I wonder why people didn’t have mixed feelings then.”
He said: “We spoke to our partners about some of the issues we are facing, and we asked them to join us to help us achieve some of the things we are trying to put in place. Liberia has a long history of going to the UN, the international community, to ask for help. My time is not the first.”
Regarding war crimes court, the President wondered: “I don’t understand what the Liberian people want. You have been calling for a war crimes court. I told the international community what Liberians have bee saying. I am only asking, ‘Why now?’”
He said he has got no choice but to ask the National Legislature to make a determination on the way forward.
