Reckless Talk

User Rating:  / 0

Defense Minister Brownie Samukai has bitterly described as “reckless and crap” claims by some members of the National Legislature that soldiers of the Armed Forces of Liberia did not reach the Liberian-Cote d’Ivoire border for deployment.

Rep. Zoe Pennoh (Grand Gedeh) was quoted during a 45-minute talk show on ELBC radio as saying, “instead of being in the barracks, they (soldiers) are here harassing innocent citizens; I said this on July 3 before I left for Asia and I am repeating myself.”

But in a reaction on the Truth Breakfast show Monday, Defense Minister Samukai said, “it is a reckless accusation.”

“When you have bureaucrats sitting down in their offices and talk pile of crap, that’s unacceptable. That’s unpatriotic,” he said in an angry tone.

“I question their patriotism. When you question what the soldier does, when you question the sacrifices of what the soldiers are doing…”

He stressed, “You’ve got soldiers making sacrifices, you’ve got police making sacrifices, you’ve got immigration people making sacrifices in the most difficult situations in such an environment and we sit in the bureaucracy of our offices and make these kinds of accusations, baseless.”

“Show me a country including Germany, France the United States of America, Ghana and Nigeria where their lawmakers sit down and criticize their soldiers on the frontline?” he challenged his detractors.

“They don’t know the road condition from Zwedru to Zia Town. They do not know the road condition from Zwedru to Tienpo border, I am dismissing the information.

“I challenge anybody from any branch of the government to provide any iota of evidence from anywhere that puts my credibility on the line, Mr. Samukai threw the gauntlet.

After the joint-Legislative Security delegation including Rep. Pennoh received US$25,000 in allowance to assess the security situation in Grand Gedeh and River Gee Counties, he refused to go and instead chose to travel to Asia.

He accused Liberian security personnel of harassing citizens in Zwedru.