The Ministry of Internal Affairs has submitted a crisis report to the President of Liberia concerning the deaths and destruction of property brought about by the dispute between the people of Wetchuken and Rocktown in Maryland County in Liberia. TWO OF SEVERAL DEAD IN CLASHES/MACHETES USED IN THE FIGHT In an email received by the BC from the superintendent of Maryland County, Sie - Teba Neufville and addressed to the Maryland county association in the US, the superintendent said, "We share with you our sincere condolence, and, through you, the rest of the membership of NAMCAL and MFP for this unfortunate and regrettable development in our county's history. We therefore wish to share with you and your institutions a copy of the report we made to the President of Liberia.
We definitely need your support and prayers. Many thanks for your concern. We shall keep you updated. In response to the superintendent's email, the NAMCAL president, Roberta Brown then noted that, "A call was received last night from Senator John Ballout who was in Rocktown to assure us that the crisis in Maryland County is calm as they begin to bring consolation to the families who lost loved ones and broker peace amongst both towns. Continuing, she wrote, "The senator said he spent Sunday night in Wartchuken with the families of the of the victims killed to appeal for peace and calm. He also visited the wounded at the hospital but were released yesterday. The Senator traveled to Rocktown yesterday to appeal to its citizens for unity and peace. He said, "I am hopeful out of this tragedy unity and peace will prevail which will make the County stronger." Senator Ballout has urged Superintendent Neufville to forward a copy of a detail report so we have an understanding on what has taken place in our County." The report sent describes the people of Wetchuken and Rocktown of having a long history of co-existence, and further goes on to describe the murderous incident as an isolated one. The report further encourages the president to carefully and promptly address the issue in order to maintain and improve the long standing relationship, or else the situation could fester or detiorate. The report provides a summary of what transpired on the days of May 8 and 9th between the two tribal groups. The dispute according to the crisis report is said to have emanated from the use of land and the payment of rent by one group. The report details how one tribal group had gone on a rampage of destruction of farm crops and then how the other group had gathered together to revenge, all due to the failure of rent paid for the use of land. The two groups which then briefly engaged each other in a wild frenzy of wielding machetes and use of single barrel guns, left a number of people dead and several injured. According to the report, the chief of Wetchuken had not provided leadership during the crisis and had knowingly led his people into carnage. The committee, which wrote up the report, then asked the president not to use the traditional process to resolve the issue but to assemble a committee to look into the conflict and provide a course of sustainable action. The report also mentioned some government officials who have been accused of fomenting trouble within the area to usurp the authority of the local government and make the area appear ungovernable. Those mentioned are Julley Howe, National Bureau of Investigation Regional Commander and Gen Samuel B Moore, Local Aide de Camp to the President. The Ministry’s recommendation to the president stated that the two officials mentioned above should either be relieved of their posts or transferred to different stations. The Ministry also recommends speedy trial of all those accused to ensure that peace and stability are not threatened, and to make sure that the government’s case is pressed against the perpetrators. The last recommendation to the president urged that the government hasten the land reform issues in several areas in Rock Town and Big Town, Fish Town and Nemiah of Grand Kru, Gbololu and Gbewein and Nemiah of Grand Kru, and Warteken and Dorrobo of Maryland county and Nyenebo of River Gee. Recently at an event in Liberia, The president of Liberia observed that the issue of land was becoming complicated to the extent that people are in the habit of selling the same parcel of land to more than one person. She said the sale of lands in this manner has been one of the major causes of land disputes. "That's one of the things the government is going to do to set this land business straight", she maintained. She assured that the government would adopt best practices from those that have undergone land reform from around the world to ensure that the process does not spark off controversy. Political analysts have noted that land reform and issues may serve as a trigger for the next war if sustainable actions are not taken to resolve issues like the one that occurred in Maryland. http://www.bushchicken.com/news.php?news_id=1018&start=0&category_id=4&parent_id=0&arcyear=&arcmonth= | 
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MARYLAND CRISIS REPORT PAINTS DEADLY PICTURE OF LAND DISPUTE IN LIBERIA by Stanford Peabody
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...I coming change it 