For eight hours in Monrovia Tuesday, all roads leading to central town witnessed a standstill of huge traffic as hundreds of Gio town residents in Oldest Congo town took to the street and set road blocks on the main route from the ELWA junction to central Monrovia.

The protest began around 7:30 am Tuesday morning and ended with residents threatening government with a three-day ultimatum to address their plight or they would return to the streets for a repeat blockade action.

The aggrieved residents were victims of the July 17, 2013 Supreme Court-backed eviction that saw the demolition of dozens of homes, leaving hundreds of people homeless.

The demonstrators, comprising women and children took along with them sleeping comforts and other domestic utensils they have been using for sheltering for the past weeks after the demolition exercise.

Some protesters told FrontPage Africa that their protest was a final decision reached to draw the attention of government and the international community to their homelessness and the continued refusal of government to compensate them in a bid to secure a new shelter.

Appearing before the House Committee on Budget last week, Dr. Randolph McClain President and CEO of the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) revealed that the company spent US$700,000.00(Seven Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) to purchase eight acres of land from a former Montserrado County Senator Grace Minor in a country where an average lot of land cost between US$1,000 to 5,000 depending on where it is situated.

NOCAL's purchase of the land saw a court order in favor of the Minor and subsequent eviction of the residents of Gio town in Congo in Oldest Congo town.

The former Senate Pro-Tempore, Minor last weekend refuted media reports that she sold eight acres of land to the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), indicating that she has had no discussion with NOCAL pertaining to the sale of land. Said Minor: "I wish to state in this public manner that I have never had any dealings with NOCAL regarding the sale or lease of any land. I have never sold any land to NOCAL or received any payment from NOCAL."

According to Minor, the land in question is a family property and is not eight acres, but a mere two acres. Minor averred that the court ruled that those occupying their land had no legal rights to the property and that they were threaten by violence and physical harm if they reclaimed the land: "No one should expect us to simply and freely give away our property," she asserted.

Elizabeth Kollie, who along with her children sat in the middle of the road on Tuesday, told FrontPage Africa that they were never notified by the court or any other agency of government prior to the demolition of their but only saw a barrage of heavily armed police officers of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) accompanied by Sheriffs of the Supreme Court asking them to exit their homes. She said just about an hour later, bulldozers began breaking down their hard-earned homes.

Said Kollie: "Even if somebody is renting in your house and their time expires, you have to give them notice before talking them off. But there was nothing like that done. We just got up one morning and saw sheriffs from the court with bulldozers and started scattering our things. We need justice from the government of Liberia. I want Madam Sirleaf to come and find out why Grace Minor destroyed our things and left us in the streets.

Kollie says since July 17, 2013, they have been in the streets without any access to shelter and food. Kollie explained that failure of government to respond to their plight in the next two days will lead to more road block to the Congo town back road thus preventing any vehicle from the ELWA end from entering central Monrovia.

District #10 representative Julius Berrian's arrival on the scene failed to calm down the tension but in fact witnessed the fainting of an elderly woman who was quickly rushed at the JFK hospital for medication.

Addressing his constituents, Berrian said his people have not been treated fairly and were cheated in an unjust manner throughout the entire land saga. He said he will stand by his kinsmen until proper redress is accorded to them.

Mr. John T. Medrics, Community chairman of Gio Town, told FrontPage Africa that hundreds of his community members are being displaced in the rain and government remains mute in addressing their plight since they were forcibly evicted.

He said they purchased and lived on the land for over twenty five years and doubts the land ownership claims of Minor.

Said Medrics: "This is the best way we are going. There are two kinds of justice. Justice from the court and justice from the public. We got every document to show to the public that we own this land."

Mulbah Morlu, the National Vice Chairman for Operations of the opposition Congress for Democratic Change (CDC), who came to sympathize with the victims called on every Liberian to condemn the action by the government to evict the people of Gio town. He said the government must rapidly intervene by compensating the victims of the demolition exercise in order for them to get new homes.

"Government must intervene by giving them money to build a new homes. We are disappointed that while these people were in the rain we had Madam Sirleaf and Varney Sherman flamboyant celebration of our Independence Day in Tubmanburg. Is time for government to act to alleviate the suffering of these people in Congo town. The time for rhetoric has expire.

At about 1: 30 PM, Mr. Abraham Kromah, Deputy Director of Police for Operations, arrived with heavily armed battalion of the Police Support Unit of the Liberia National Police to have the situation under control. But despite the police intervention, residents held their own as some verbally engaged Director Kromah bitterly.

Addressing journalists at the scene, Kromah said he had come to warn protesting parents to let their kids off the streets as it is a violation of their human rights.

He said the failure of the demonstrators to get off the road will force the police to use its own measure to clear them off.

Kromah's comments quickly prompted the crowd to chant slogans like: "We Want Justice, No Home No Road, No Work."

Director Kromah's attempt to persuade the demonstrators to leave the road did not materialize as protesters went on to set up more blockades.

After several hours of standoff, Nelson Freeman of the LNP managed to persuade protesters to abandon their cause and allow the free flow of traffic. Freeman's advice was debated for several minutes among the demonstrators with some agreeing while others disagreed.

Following numerous consultations, the protesters finally agreed to clear the blockades but sounding out a three-day ultimatum to the government to adequately address their plight or they would return to the streets with more blockades

Liberia, especially its capital Monrovia, has witness several painful demolition exercises that has produce no development in the aftermath. Recent demolitions in the ELWA community, HLP and the Ducor Place Hotel were followed by a very little action by government or owners of the properties to develop.

Heading a delegation to Liberia recently, a United Nations Security Council official urged the Government of Liberia to legislate laws that would protect land matters in Liberia in a bid to curb land disputes.

His Excellency Adullah Hussain Haroon, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said the Council has noticed that land title issues and small weapons are major threats to peace in Liberia and that if the issues of land disputes and small weapons are not addressed properly, there would be problems for the UN and the people of Liberia.

Adullah Hussain Haroon said the Liberian Legislature could be helpful by legislating laws in addressing land disputes in Liberia, stressing that that there are overwhelming feelings being expressed by Liberians over the drawdown of United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

It is not clear whether Tuesday's roadblock action by the Congo town eviction victims and subsequent three-day ultimatum will press government to boost its effort in reducing land conflicts in Liberia. But observers believe the call by the Gio town residents is a warning sign to government to take appropriate measures to prevent future land disputes.