-As House Plenary downplays issue
By Mark N. Mengonfia
Montserrado County District #13 Representative Saah Joseph of the CDC has strongly protested against what he says is the action of his colleagues to downplay the issue related to the recent torturing of a man at the Sime Darby oil palm plantation outside Monrovia.
Video recording shows the man being subjected to physical torture by Sime Darby security, something the company’s management had since admitted to.
The plenary of the House of Representatives on Thursday trashed a motion for reconsideration request made by Montserrado County District #13 Lawmaker, Joseph, who said torture is a grave act and a crime against humanity.
The motion for reconsideration of the Montserrado County lawmaker was denied after Lofa County District #4 Representative Mariamu B. Fofana raised a motion requesting for the Rep. Joseph’s request to be denied.
The motion tested with 14 lawmakers voting for the motion to be disposed of while 6 lawmakers voted against it.
Representative Saah Joseph in his motion said told his colleagues that in his opinion the decision they reached during the hearing of the Contempt Charges levied against Sime Darby management runs contrary to the constitution of Liberia, the United Nations Convention against Torture as well as other international legal instruments insofar of the dehumanization treatment perpetrated against John Davis.
The Montserrado County Lawmaker justified in his motion ,which was denied by majority of his colleagues that Article 21 e of the 1986 constitution states that “no person charged, arrested, restricted, detained or otherwise held in confinement shall be subject to torture or inhumane treatment”.
According to Rep. Joseph, the issue that led the House of Representatives to have invited the management of Sime Darby was because of what he called video of a savagery life-threatening treatment John Davis suffered.
Speaking in an angry tone to legislative reporters, Saah Joseph said he has been receiving calls from many of his fellow lawmakers who asked him to let go his request for the motion of reconsideration in the Sime Darby case, the request from his friends he said he will never accept.
He said “I will not compromise my quest to ensure that justice for the torture Liberian is achieved”.
He went on to say that he will not stop until the Sime Darby takes the victim John Davis for expert medical attention beyond Liberia to restore both physical and mental health, that he (Davis) be duly compensated financially for the emotional and physical abuses he suffered according to international best practices.
Representative Joseph said to render decision in the matter and leaving John Davis’ plight untouched will be a mockery to justice.
It can be recall that the House of Representatives constituted a Specialized Legislative Investigative Committee headed by Margibi County District #1 Representative, Tebelrosa S. Tarponweh and in its recommendation among other things said that Sime Darby head of Operations Alhaji Alikamar be recalled and replaced by the management of the company, the Human Resource manager position be exclusively set aside and occupy by a citizen of Liberia.
The report recommended that the company complies with provisions of the concession Agreement within a specified period of time, and if established that non-compliance is deliberate and willful, acceptable recourse must be taken to deter future infection.
But the committee work did not capture the welfare of the tortured victim, something that caused Representative Saah Joseph to file a motion for reconsideration.