A deep-rooted problem of Firestone’s alleged violation of the rights of citizens living in Owensgrove, Grand Bassa County and parts adjacent is fast becoming overbearing. The row between the people and largest rubber company in Liberia has metamorphosed over time. State police stationed at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) have been accused of aiding and abetting the multibillion dollar rubber company. Citizens in the area say Firestone’s Plant Protection Force (PPF) is meting out unprovoked brutality against them and the government is doing nothing to stop the aggression. As Gibson W. Jerue reports it appears the police at RIA are embroiled in the matter of detaining the chairman of the Concerned Citizens Movement who had gone to complain about the excesses of the PPF.

Momo Dablah, 12, has a bad feeling about Firestone. The lad sees the company and the Plant Protection Force as “evil forces.” Momo is growing up with anger and hatred that his forefathers have harbored for years against Firestone. He described Firestone in few crude words: “Firestone people are bad.”

Bu Momo is not alone in his opinion. Felicial Boakai is 13 and also carries the same notion that Firestone is cruel. She does not understand the issue quite well but she told the Public Agenda, “Firestone big canoe wants to kill people in the water.”

Long before Momo and Felicial were born, their parents were already in the situation some of the adults described as “Firestone’s mess.” The problems residents and citizens of Owensgrove have with Firestone encompasses the pollution of the Farmington River, the offensive smell of the chemicals and unprocessed latex, and the alleged brutalization of young men by PPF officers.

The multinational multibillion dollar company has so far failed to entice the people into silence. The company has also been accused of trying to use unorthodox means and police power to cow them into submission or silence but to no avail.

Last Thursday, June 21, was another dramatic day for citizens of Owensgrove. They told journalists and heads of the Green Advocates, Foundation for International Dignity (FIND) and the Center for Democratic Empowerment (CEDE) that the personnel of the PPF “raged hell” with them.

According to the people, the PPF officers, about six of them, in their speedboat sailed passed the ferry-canoe with several persons, including men, women and children. “The ferry nearly capsized,” a lady told the Public Agenda.

The Chairman of the Concerned Citizens Movement, Henry Bweh, said he saw the PPF boat zoom by with a terrific speed that threatened the occupants of the ferry.

“I saw the boat coming with a heavy speed. It passed by the ferry canoe and the tide from the boat nearly capsized the canoe. The women and children were scared and yelling,” Mr. Bweh told journalists and human rights advocates.

He said the boat returned and made a cycle four times around another canoe with two boys in it. The canoe capsized and one of boys, Samson Toomey, 29, was arrested by the PPF and the other escaped.

Samson told the Public Agenda that one of the PPF officers, only identified as Harry and his colleagues were throwing at him something that made him surrender to them.

“They wanted me to drown. They grabbed my foot and cuffed me. They were stepping and blowing me while I was drinking in the water. One police man who was with them told me ‘you are lucky, we were going to kill you if it were in the night’,” Samson alleged.

Mr. Toomey also alleged that the PPF seized one of their canoes, caused two to sink, leaving the community with five of the eight canoes.

It is said the PPF’s is arresting and beating residents because they “collect Firestone’s wasted rubber that floats on the Farmington River”.

Samson’s testimony corroborated Mr. Bweh, but when latter took the complaint to the police detachment at RIA on Thursday, he said the police did not investigate the matter.

Bweh said on Friday, June 22, he held a meeting with the township officials and the police, but he said he was surprised the police commander, identified as Susanna Blackie ordered his detention last Monday without further investigating the case.

He said he stayed two days in jail without food, except the one taken there by his wife. He was not tortured. But all along, Bweh said he did not know his charge until Wednesday.

On Wednesday, human right lawyer and advocate Atty. Alfred Brownell, together with CEDE Executive Director Ezekiel Pajibo and representative of FIND went to the Bondiway Magisterial Court, presided over by Magistrate Morris M. Nicol, to secure the release of the Mr. Bweh.

It was while talking with court officers and the Magistrate that a court officer called Mr. Bweh outside of the courtroom to serve him a writ of the arrest. Before then Bweh was already placed in the dock as if under the jurisdiction of the court when he was served a writ of arrest, lest to mention a charge sheet.

The Chairman of the Concerned Citizens Movement, commonly known as “Concern”, was released to the human right advocates to reappear in court next Tuesday.

There is no charge sheet yet, but the writ of arrest charge Bweh with “Giving False Information to Law Enforcement Officials”.

Meanwhile, when contacted the police could not comment on the issue. An officer, who claimed to be the deputy commander declined to comment on grounds that his commander, Susanna Blackie was in Monrovia. “Even if I have the record of that case I will not show it to you unless my commander tells me to do so,” the deputy commander told curious journalists.

This is not first time Firestone’s speedboat has caused problems for the residents of Owensgrove who use the Farmington River for various reasons.

The boat-riders and the villagers clashed some time ago. The villagers’ contention and anger against the officers was twofold: they spoke of Firestone’s alleged intimidation of villagers intended to subdue their passive resistance against Firestone’s pollution of the river, which they say is their source of livelihood, and also the terrific speed with which the boat-riders move on the river causing strong currents that rock smaller canoes used by the villagers to cross from Owensgrove to Harbel.

Firestone irrigated eight waste outlets emptying into the Farmington River just directly opposite a few communities lining the bank of the river on the other side.

The residents, through the Green Advocates, an activist organization of environmental lawyers in Liberia, have reportedly regularly alarmed about hazards resulting from the pollution of the river and its health impact on the population and aquatic economy in their communities.

When contacted, Firestone Public Affairs Manager Rufus Karmorh said his management was still investigating the incident. “I do not have the detail yet, but as soon as we investigate we will make our position known,” he said.