FLASHBACK: One of the Images from the Fendall demolition in progress
MONROVIA LIBERIA- Following years of sustained fierce advocacy by the Liberia Media for democratic Initiatives (LMDI) against the wanton demolition of thousands of homes/houses of tens of thousands of people of the FENDALL community, the Liberian government has finally accepted official responsibility for wrongfully evicting its own people.
And the government has promised to resettle them and restore their dignity, lost to the massive demolition at FENDALL.
In the final official situation and resolution report dated January 28, 2021 but just released by the Liberian government, the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) said its investigation found out that 5, 800 acres of land was surveyed and demarcated for the expansion of the University of Liberia (U.L.).
But that such parcel of land was never deeded for the U.L. during the period it claims that land was given to it by the Government, according to a press statement from the Liberia Media for democratic Initiatives (LMDI) on Thursday, August 5, 2021.
LMDI, which is headed by Liberian Journalist John Kollie, is the only group that has led and run advocacy against the FENDALL DEMOLITION.
The U.L. under the administration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf claimed that the 5, 800 acres of land at the LOUISIANNA/ FENDALL horn of Montserrado County was surveyed and deeded to it in 1962 by president WILLIAM V.S. TUBMAN. But the Liberia Land Authority says it found out squarely the opposite; that the area was surveyed and demarcated but not deeded to the University and president Ellen Johnson only rather deeded the land after the demolition in 2018.
The University of Liberia on this claim, with the backing of former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on the alleged influence of Professor Weade Kobbah Wureh, now Boley, the U.L.’S former Vice President for administration, demolished nearly three thousand house/homes of tens of thousands people and wantonly displaced them since 2016 without any compensation to them.
In the report the Liberia Land Authority said it also uncovered that there were rather several negotiations between the Liberian government and aborigines of the FENDALL/LOUISIANNA enclave resembling a people to government cooperation and collaboration for the purpose of erecting the U.L. FENDALL campus and not a land purchase deal as be9ing portrayed by the U.L.
The LLA said for the last one and half years it has been trying to investigate and amicably adjust the demands of the FENDALL land demolition victims for the restoration of their dignity at the promise and request of President George Weah when he met more than 10 thousand of the victims in January of 2019. President George in January 2019 promised to dialogue with the FENDALL DEMILTION victims and to meet them half way into their demands.
The LLA report revealed that the FENDALL demolition victims’ original claim of U. S. 40 million dollars was negotiated and has now been put at U. S. Eight million dollars with due acceptance by the victims only now wanting a settlement to move on with their rather shattered lives.
The LLA now recommends the payment of payment of the agreed U.S. Eight Million Dollars in two or more installments because of what it calls financial constraints facing the Liberian government and suggests that the current government returns some of the land back to the victims and build estate units for the victims of towns and villages wantonly demolished.
Ambassador UCHENNA EMELONYE, the country representative of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights in Liberia said through a proxy on Monday October 28, 2019 at the presentation of a long awaited profiling report for the violent demolition carried out at he FENDELL campus of the UL that the Liberian government and the UL administration flagrantly disregarded all provisions and guidelines of forced eviction in keeping with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights UDHR, Article 25.1, hence successive Liberian governments must find ways to give adequate redress to the thousands of victims of the UL FENDELLL Campus demolition.
EMELONYE said then that it was unimaginable that such reckless human rights abuse could be committed under the watch of a Nobel Peace Laureate and a knowledgeable international law actor and beneficiary like president ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF. He rather praised president GEORGE WAH for accepting general governmental responsibility for such abuse against the people.
EMELONYE through his proxy on that day in 2019 verbally committed to give U. S. 10, 000.00 (U.S. Ten Thousand Dollars) in assistance to the long running advocacy, but such promise has never been fulfilled and so at a recent sitting of the LMDI DIALOGUE forum, the FENDALL DEMOLITION VICTIMS COMMITTEE accused Ambassador EMELONYE of lying to them.
With the release of the report, the Liberian government can be deemed duly obligated to the tens of thousands of the FENDALL demolition in 2016.
The Liberia Media for democratic Initiatives (LMDI), the only group that has led and run advocacy against the FENDALL DEMOLITION commends the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission and the Land Authority for what it calls a fair report for destroyed people.
Other details of the now released FENDELL demolition report and the way forward for redress of the people will follow in continuing subsequent details.
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