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April 14 Rice Riot Commemorated, Baccus Wants 25 Years Put Behind

The NEWS (Monrovia)
NEWS
April 15, 2004
Posted to the web April 15, 2004

By Bobby Tapson
Monrovia
The former Chairman of the now divided United People's Party (UPP) G. Baccus
Matthews, says he sees a critical national problem and has declared that all
Liberians should seek to do something about it.
Baccus spoke at a news conference Wednesday and said the resumption today of
the disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration (DDRR)
program was a new day and that the era of the past 25 years should be behind
us.
Baccus spoke on the topic, "My Role in the Past, My Historical Obligation in
the Present" to mark the 25th anniversary of the infamous April 14, 1979 rice
riot.
He admonished Liberians that they must look forward and "not be like a cat
which comes out of a bag moving backward".
He said after many years of war and disorder, Liberia needs to be cleaned up.
"The country is polluted by evil, lawlessness, corruption, dangerous drugs,
sexual exploitation, deviant behavior, the abuse of women and children etc", he
said.
Today, according to him, Liberia is a rat race, and only the rats are winning.
"Here, there is no angle, and the cleanup campaign must spread across the board
(entire country) from anyone to everyone."
Baccus maintained that rules must be respected. Discipline and order must be
restored and system control must be established.
The former UPP Presidential candidate, recalling his role in Liberian politics
since the 1970s, said it would be meaningless to attempt building anything
constructive on what is obtaining on the ground.
The ground he said has to be weeded "it has to be cleaned up as if it were a
farm, any good seed planted here and now would simply be stifled by wild
grass."
But such a clean up campaign requires cleaners who are themselves clean.
Baccuas observed that over the years, progressive elements of Liberian society
could be called upon to be in the vanguard of mobilizing the citizenry for the
achievement of a national purpose.
Today, however, he said what has happened to all of us, and the country at
large, there is a well-founded reservation in calling on the progressives to
lead the process of national renewal.
"Yet, we should not lose hope because Paul was once Saul and political
redemption is possible", he said.
Baccus then encouraged the progressives, old and new, to meet in a few days to
work out a road-map towards national cleansing and readiness for public duty.
The one time Foreign Minister further called on progressive forces who, for one
reason or the other, got caught up in factional fighting, to begin their
cleansing process by surrendering their weapons to the United Nations forces.
He also appealed to all other Liberians bearing arms to also surrender their
weapons.
"We are calling on all of them to cooperate fully and avail themselves of
whatever opportunities may be offered towards their rehabilitation", Baccus
stated.
It can be recalled that 25 years ago yesterday, Baccus and his group of
progressive followers rejected Government's rice price increment, leading to a
demonstration which turned into a riot when security forces were sent in to
quell the situation. In the process however, arrests were made, scores of
individuals were injured, some reportedly killed with several properties
damaged.
The then William R. Tolbert regime later called in the Guinean military to help
stabilize the situation. By then, Baccus and few others were put behind bars
until the 1980 coup of Samuel Doe which gave them an automatic freedom.

   

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