Salone News

MPs react to Kono violence

17 December 2007 at 22:32 | 644 views

By Abdulai Bayraytay,Freetown.

Members of Parliament from Kono district have angrily reacted to the recent skirmishes between youth demanding compensation for the ecological devastation caused by the mining activities of the diamond multinational corporation, Koidu Holdings Company, which left four youth dead.

In a press statement issued December 17, 2007, the members of parliament commended the government for its timely intervention and the setting up of an investigative committee into the violence.

It however condemned what it referred to as the “heavy handed action taken in quelling down the riot...which could have been settled through negotiations”. The MPs further called on government to expedite the investigation into the riot that led to the loss of the lives of innocent civilians and the destruction of properties worth millions of leones.

In an exclusive interview, the secretary-general of the Kono Members of Parliament, Philip Tetema Tondoneh further confirmed support of government’s action but was quick to call for a specialized investigation into the operations of Koidu Holdings Company.

“ This is a gross violation of human rights and an insult to the sovereignty of Sierra Leone for a foreign company to unleash violence on innocent and unsuspecting civilians because of asserting their rights through nonviolent protest”, the one time student activist maintained.

“This is not the first time Koidu Holdings has inflicted pain on our people. Their guards have beaten up our elders and youth on several occasions, bragging that the government is in their pockets”, a local chief who preferred anonymity said.

As at press time, President Ernest Bai Koroma is reported to be meeting with a cross-section of paramount chiefs from Kono district as a way of finding diplomatic means in resolving the conflict.

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