Hassan Bility Speaks At The Rally For Aloysius Toe And Others
The Perspective
Atlanta, Georgia
When Aloysius Toe and others planned to demonstrate for the unconditional release of Hassan Bility and fellow detainees last year, little did he know that instead of the unconditional release of these folks, he too would be added on to them. He could not have imagined that he would still be held while Hassan Bility would be forced into exile. As if the reverse of the roles, Hassan Bility will be the keynote speaker at the demonstration tomorrow for Mr. Toe. The only difference is that while Mr. Toe was challenging the brutal Monrovia regime to participate in a demonstration, Bility does not have to fear any armed thugs as he speaks for a his friend who selflessly defended him and went to jail because of him.
It might have taken an extra amount of conviction and bravery on the part of Mr. Toe and others to defy the brutal regime with a plan to demonstrate. What Mr. Toe and his colleagues did is what all freedom loving Liberians are required to do. However, it is unfortunate that majority of our population is always indifferent to the plight of their fellow citizens.
As of now, we all have heard from Cllr. Tiawon Gonglo, Journalists Hassan Bility and Throble Suah about their terrifying experiences at the hands of the brutal security forces of the tyrannical regime in Monrovia. As we hear these horrifying stories, we all can imagine what Aloysius Toe, Sheik Sackor and others are going through right now. We have also heard that one of the detainees, Mohammed Dukuly, a journalist who used to be the host of the Mandingo program on ELBC, is slowly losing his sight as a result of the continuous torture. It seems to be there is no end in sight to their unfortunate sufferings.
Taking into consideration what all these fellow Liberians are going through and believing that there is something we all can do to let the world know about their plights, NCRM in coordination with other Liberian organizations is leading a peaceful march in Washington DC at the U.S. Capitol. The march is set for tomorrow, May 8, 2003. The central message of the demonstration is the unconditional release of the illegally detained Liberians and the general human rights condition of the country. It is our hope that all freedom loving Liberians will come out and add to the numbers tomorrow. We urge all Liberians to come out and show to Aloysius Toe that he was not alone when he planed to go ahead with a demonstration in Monrovia against all odds because he wanted to see Hassan Bility and others free. Let us come out to show that we are not indifferent to the unfortunate plights of our fellow human beings. While we are hoping that America and others will come to our aids, it is absolutely necessary that we contribute our fair shares to their efforts through this kind of non-violent civil action.
When we shall have gathered on the West Front Grass of the United States Capitol tomorrow, we will be repeating the history of a successful demonstration at the Liberian Embassy in Washington DC last year. It's important that we add on that success story of Liberians standing up for the freedom of their fellow citizens from illegal detention. Indeed, we will be telling the international community that while we are expecting them to end our nightmare, we are ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to see a free Liberia. That’s the message Hassan Bility, Tiawon Gonglo and many other Liberians will be spreading tomorrow as we hold hands in solidarity with our fellow human beings in illegal detention. We hope to see you tomorrow.
