Liberian opposition has defied and challenged the Liberian Senate if that body initiate any punitive action against the Chief of Staff of Bong County Senior Senator Jewel Howard Taylor, Mr. Darius Dillon.
Senator Ballout
Mr. Dillon has been given 72 hours by the Liberian Senate to retract his statement made against Maryland Senior Senator John Ballout for what his complaint to the Senate considers receiving insult from Darius Dillon at a local community forum in Paynesville where both officials spoke at the P. Benllington Forum. According Senator Ballout’s complaint to the Liberian Senate stated the Bong County Chief of Staff disrespected him. The Senate in its letter to Mr. Dillon’s boss insist he retract his statement within 72 hours or the senate will take the appropriate action against him.
The opposition, through two of its executive, Eugene Nagbe of CDC and ISreal Akinsanyadleaders of the Liberty Party, said Darius Dillon version of what transpired between him and Senator John Ballout when they both spoke at a local community forum is, the Senator in his presentation characterized the opposition as a set of “dangerous people, whom, when given political power, by Liberians, would further destroy Liberia and wash away the many gains made in the reconstruction of the country”. They continued, it was against the Senator’s condescending description of the opposition that h Mr. Dillon then described Senator Ballout as a wicked man who lacks the moral grounds to question the intent of the opposition.
A dispatch from our correspondent at the press conference described members of the opposition as “dangerous people, whom, when given political power, by Liberians, would further destroy Liberia and wash away the many gains made in the reconstruction of the country”. The Liberty and CDC Parties joint press conference held at the Monrovia City Hall says the Secretary General of the CDC, Eugene Nagbe and Chairman of the Liberty Party, Isreal Akinsanya said Mr. Dillon was right in his characterization in return to call Senator Ballout a “wicked man who does not have the moral grounds to challenge the integrity of the opposition”.
The two party executives said if Senator Ballout could had gone on the rampage and used incendiary statement against the opposition, Mr Dillon was just right in kind to called his loose and salty statement against the opposition and challenges the Senate to institute any punitive action against the Senate Chief of Staff and they will what will happen. The opposition vows to deplore all legal means available to counter any action saying, “Dillon remains untouchable to the leadership of the Senate. We challenge them to touch him or penalize him and see what will happen. Gone are those days when people are jailed for free speech.”
The opposition executives said Senator Ballout was not at the forum as a Senator nor attending an official Senate function but was there as a representative of the Unity Party as Mr. Dillon was there as a representative as of opposition.
For his part, the Senate Chief of Staff says he will not retract his statement because as far as he is concerned, he did nothing wrong but was following suit just as the Senator believes he can characterize the opposition to anything of his liking so does the opposition has the right of the same freedom of speech protected by the constitution to characterize the Senator to anything of their liking too. The opposition says the Senate has nothing to do with what happened at the local community forum.
I whole heartedly support Mr. Dillion’s position in this matter. The Liberian Senate have no business in this matter and should not be involved. Mr. Dillion or any other Liberian citizen has the right under the law to state what ever is on their mind.
If Mr. Ballout has any complaint against Mr. Dillion, he should take his case to court, not the Senate.
As a Liberian, I wondered what gain is Mr. Baillout talked about in his remarks at that program? The only gain under this UP Government is felt by those intrusted with state power. These few elites in our society are the ones who continued to lived in enormous wealth at the expense of the Liberian people, while 99.9 percent of our ppopulation lived in abject poverty. These few elites have managed to loot every penny coming to the Liberian people for themselves and continued to mortgaged our resources with impunity. Liberians have resolved to boot this corrupt administration out of power this coming National Elections in 2011.
Thanks for you space and have a nice day until total economic and political liberation is acheived.
Tony Leewaye