MONROVIA-Grand Cape Mount County Senator Siemon Taylor has blamed Chief Zanzan Kiawor, head of the National Traditional Chiefs and Elders Council of Liberia for Monday’s clash between officers of the Liberia national police and some citizens of Bea Mountain in Kinjor District.
Monday, January 10, 2022, citizens in continuation of their protestation over the alleged failure of Bea Mountain Concession Company to live up to the terms and conditions stipulated within its mineral development agreement, had a clash with officers of LNP who have gone to calm the situation.
The incident according to report, led one person fear dead after police allegedly used liter force (fired arm) to disburse protesters from the scene.
Speaking less than 24 hours after the incident, Senator Taylor said effort in negotiating with authority of LNP to handle the situation was dashed by chief Kiawor, something which caused the matter to go the way it went.
“Chief Zanzan Kiawor instructed the police to move on the people while I was still negotiating with Inspector Patrick Sudue to have the matter properly settle,” the county senator alleged.
Senator Taylor wants the citizens to be engaged constructively on grounds that they (citizens) are seriously angry over the actions of the company not to meet up with its promises to the county and people.
“The people are somehow right, if the company was doing the right things, my people would not have gotten angry, since the people are not doing the right things and my people are angry let us engaged them constructively to resolve the issues we cannot use dirty force on them,” Senator Taylor indicated.
Meanwhile, Senator Taylor has vowed to continue his engagement with the people in other to have the matter put under proper control.
January 10, 2022, Dozens of citizens angrily protested against the company for alleged replacing Liberians with Turkish.
It was reported that the Liberia National Police fired live bullets and teargas to restore calm at concession sites in Kinjor.
The citizen’s protest came as a result of the alleged failure of the company to live up to its Corporate Social Responsibilities and as well as parts of the Concession agreement.
Due to the protest, two cars were set ablaze by angry protesters, while a three month old baby was allegedly teargased along with the mother.
The company called the Police for support in order to calm the tension raised by citizens of the area against the concession.
The Bea Mountain Concession area in Kinjor, WeaJue, and Gold Camp in Grand Cape Mount County remain underdeveloped as reported by Citizens.
In a related development, LNP has denied using fire arm in Cape Mount Protest.
The Liberia National Police has denied ever using liter weapon (firing gun) to disbursed citizens protesting against the failure of Bea Mountain Company to meet up with its mineral development agreement to the people of Grand Cape Mount County.
Contrary to media report that there was a firing of gun by the Liberia national police to disbursed angry protesters in Kinjor during the Monday incident, Police Spokesperson, Moses Carter said the police used non-liter weapon (teargas) to calm the situation which is internationally accepted in the event where protesters refuse to negotiate or found a common ground.
Carter noted that all efforts to dialogue with the protesters failed as such, the only means apportion to the response team headed by Police Inspector General Col. Patrick Sudue was to fire teargas to calm the situation and disburse the crowd who went out to protest.
He disclosed that the whole information of a gun being fired is as a result of a false alarm raised by the Chief Zoe of the County who was later arrested and turned over to the traditional leaders of the County.
Carter claimed that the Chief Zoe did apologize and said upon hearing the sound of the teargas fired, he (Zoe) concluded that would sustained by his niece was as a result of a gun fired by the LNP Response Team without verifying.
“When the teargas was fired, the Chief Zoe little niece was running and sustained body wounds at which time he assumed it was bullet,” Carter furthered.
According to him, “he later apologized after we arrested and turned him over to the tradition leaders.”
Carter disclosed that the January 10, 2022 protest also led to LNP inspector general car being damaged and another vehicle belonging to the company burned by the rioters in the area.
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