The Parliamentary Leadership of the main opposition All People Congress (APC) has come out with it position on the August 10 Violence Protest that claimed the lives of Sierra Leone both Police and civilians.
Reading a Press Statement, Hon Chernoh Maju Bah condemned violence of any form, noting that there are much more progressive and constructive approaches to communicate their concerns including peaceful protest.
“I would reiterate that in any democratic dispensation, citizens have the right to use protest to demonstrate their concerns as long as those protests are peaceful and are within the confines of the law,” he maintained.
He pointed out that the events leading to and which unfilded on 10 August provided a clear indication that there has been an erosion in the gains made in streghtenning reconciliation, social cohesion and peace building in post-war Sierra Leone, adding that the events further point to the fact that Sierra Leone has not succeeded in using constructive means of dialogue to maintain peace, stability, social cohesion and security.
“More than ever before there is the need for us to reverse this trend by reflecting on where we have gone wrong and what we can do to ensure that the gains made over the years to consolidate people are not lost,” he stated.
He called on the government to ensure that the number of people killed during and after the incident is made public with their corpses handed over to their families for diginified burial rites
That a record of all those incarcerated is provided to the public and their families granted access to them, noting that the government should ensure that their rights are protected through speedy and fair access to court of law and where they cannot afford legal representation, the state should provide one.
The Leader of Parliament also endorsed the call for an independent committee to speedily and conclusively investigate the August 10 demonstration and it aftermath, pointing out that the composition and conduct of the Committee is credible and non-partisan with the sole aim of providing truthful finding and proffer recommendations that will amongst other things help to provide redress for the families of victims.
He called on the international community to continue providing the required political support and inspire the much needed political will to overcome the challenges that the nation is currently contending with.
