Since the death of the late president William R Tolbert of Liberia in 1980, which brought to end the rule of freed slaves from the United State to Africa, many who are believed to be descendents of those freed slaves and members of the ruling class have remained silent on issues in the country for years. Though some were alleged to have supported the turmoil that brought Liberia to its present stage, never before have Liberians had the opportunity to hear directly from the only surviving Vice President from such era.
Former Liberian VP Bennie Warner, Miss Black USA, President Sinoe and Chairman Hayes
On July 29, 2006, The Organization of Liberians in Minnesota (OLM) under the leadership of Mrs. Martha T Sinoe had as keynote speaker, former Vice President Bennie D Warner at the celebration of Liberia 159th Independence. Though the speech was mostly entertaining and delivered to a much smaller audience, it has sparked debate in various Liberian political and social quarters.
Since the speech, many have argued that, the speech was mostly divisive. However, there are those who argued that the former Vice President provided a historical account that Liberians and historians need to take into consideration. The debate is expected to continue as Liberians quest to find the truth and unity moves on.
Like in the words of Mr. Kamaty Diahn, Chairman of the July 26 celebrations, "The former Vice President has provided Liberians the opportunity to know his stand on issues in Liberia."
Due to the nature of the debate, Bush Chicken obtained an unedited copy of the speech and decided to publish it.
Please read and make your comments on the forum.
Do you have a burning forum question about this story? Say it now at http://www.bushchicken.com/forum.php
No comments:
Post a Comment