By Grace Q. Bryant
The House of Representatives has unanimously voted to request the Executive to hastily withdraw all armed personnel and national security apparatus at concession areas across the country.
Plenary wants all State security apparatus, including the Armed Forces of Liberia, to immediately withdraw from all concessionaires, especially at Bea Mountain, China Union, Arcelor Mittal, among others.
The body believes the act of deployment of the National Army at concession areas is unconstitutional and counterproductive to the peace.
The decision for the withdrawal of the armed personnel followed a communication from Grand Cape Mount District 2 Rep., Mohammed Dosii.
According to Rep. Dosii’s communication, “Upon my visitations and community engagements in my constituency over the weekend, at the Bea Mountain in Kinjor, Gola Konneh District, I took a keen note of a number of officers of the Armed Forces of Liberia and the Emergency Response Unit of the Liberia National Police personnel deployed at the company’s facilities.”
He furthered that on February 14, a group of peaceful citizens constellation at the company’s gate to peacefully express their disappointment in the company’s management, concerning the company’s continued bad labor habit or pattern.
“Unfortunately, on the said day, our people were belabored by the personnel of the Armed Forces of Liberia and the Emergency Response Unit,” he expressed.
He added, “I write to request the indulgence of this honorable body for the immediate pullback of the Army and the ERU personnel from the company’s facilities and the community, Kinjor, because our people need free movement and the Army needs to be in the barracks and not among civilians.”
He called on the plenary to invite the Head of Management of the company and the Armed Forces of Liberia, along with the Liberia National Police (LNP), to familiarize the House with their demeanor against the people and to tell them the reason (s) for the presence of their officers or unit assigned at the Kinjor, Bea Mountain facilities.
After the reading of the communication, it was open for plenary discussion, which Rep. Musa Bility noted that the Army’s internal capabilities are limited and require legislative consent.
“Thus, we must address this issue. Moreover, most concessions across the country face similar problems, which is a legacy issue,” he added.
“Our people are suffering at various concession sites in the country, and it is our duty to defend them. As a leader, it is crucial to ensure that they feel protected. If not, they might take the law into their hands, which is not ideal,” he explained.
While Rep. Dixon Seboe added, “I strongly believe that with our authority and consideration for the pain of those affected, we can make a difference and reverse the deployment of officers in certain areas.”
He furthered that some concessions involve explosives that require military expertise to handle. When investing or setting expectations, it is crucial to have the necessary human resources for the job.
