–Sen. Augustine Chea
By Edwood N. Dennis
Since the hammering of Liberian government officials with the Magnitsky sanctions, there has been divided opinions and concerns from many quarters of the Liberian populace, with some praising the United States Government for imposing sanctions on “corrupt” officials, and others condemning the U.S. One of those who condemned the sanctions is Senator Augustine Chea of Sinoe County. He has described the Magnitsky sanctioning of Liberian government officials as “evil intrusions”.
Sen. Chea is the Co-chair on the Liberian Senate Judiciary Committee. He seems disenchanted about the U. S’s latest actions in the Liberian political landscape. In a statement issued in Monrovia, Sen. Chea criticized the United States government for what he termed as Americans evil intrusion into Liberia’s national affairs without a little bit of respect and recognition of Liberia’s national interests.
In the last eight years, the US Treasury department has sanctioned about nine Liberian government officials for their various alleged acts of corruption, pay to play, stoking violence, among other reasons. Those sanctioned so far are Cllr. Varney Sherman, former Senator of Grand Cape Mount County; Sen. Prince Johnson of Nimba Count, Sen. Nathaniel McGill of Margibi County, who was sanctioned when he was Minister of State and Administrative Assistant to President George Weah, and Sen. Bill Twehway, who was sanctioned when he was Managing Director of the Liberian National Port Authority (NPA).
Others sanctioned are Finance and Development Minister Samuel Tweah, Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson Koijie, former Liberian Solicitor General, Cllr. Sayma Syrenius Cephus, former House Speaker Emmanuel Nuquay, and Senator Pro-Temp Albert Chie.
CLICK HERE FOR SANCTION DESIGNATION
DESIGNATION ON MCGILL & OTHERS
The US government imposed the sanctions under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023. The Act highlights the U.S. commitment to combating corruption on a global scale.
According to Sen. Chea, there are several national and international issues that the U.S government has approached with its own national interest thereby costing other nations’ sovereignty. He emphasized that all countries, including the U.S., have the right to protect their national interests, which are strictly defined as their goals, values, and objectives that are critical to their existence and the wellbeing of their citizens.
Specifically, Sen. Chea cited recent sanctions against Finance Minister Samuel Tweah, President Pro Tempore Albert Chie, and Senator Emmanuel Nuquay as examples of what he described as the “U.S.’s unjust interference that are intended to subject the Liberian government into submission and position government officials in a state of mind to work and operate at the will and pleasure of the US government.”
The Sinoe Senator says, he challenges the U.S. Department of Treasury to prove all its allegations against the top four government officials and every other government official of Liberia who has fallen prey to the US government action.
He accused the U.S of sanctioning the Liberians for the American Government’s interests and benefits in the areas of Liberia’s mining concessions and a local rubber production factory that has been constructed in Liberia in last one year. Sen. Chea noted that Liberians do consider the US as a longstanding traditional ally that needed to show some level of respect to the Liberian state and its people.
