The National Chairman of one of the largest opposition parties with eight parliamentary seats in the House of Parliament and two local council seats, the Coalition for Change (C for C) party, Tamba Sandi last Thursday 28th May, 2020 called on the Government President Julius Maada Bio to guarantee democratic freedom, release political detainees and focus on fighting the COVID19 pandemic.
Sandi made the appeal in an interview with Forum Newspaper at his party’s National Secretariat on Edward Late off Campbell Street, Freetown.
Chairman Sandi implored the president to tamper justice with mercy to release all political detainees either on the basis of nolle prosequi or on bail, to send a clear signal to the whole world out there that he is indeed ready for peace and national unity.
He said as an integral component of the Government, the C for C party observes with keen interests that since the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) set in as a Government, there has been no peaceful coexistence between the ruling party and the main opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party.
Sandi said there have been so many upheavals in the country as a result of the poor relationship between the two major political parties, due to the lack of political freedom, coupled with arbitrary arrests of opposition APC members and supporters.
He said even if opposition APC politicians are being arrested arbitrarily, they should be immediately charged to court for speedy trials, rather than unlawfully over detaining them in deplorable Police cells.
For such abuses he charged; “C for C frowns at the breakdown of the rule of law,” adding that it sends threats into the nerves of our fragile democracy and.”
He therefore urged Government to send the regulations of the continuing state of emergency to the House of Parliament for it to be passed into a law to be on the safe side, otherwise the Police will continue to enforce arbitrary arrests on orders from above and over detain political opponents on flimsy excuses.
The uneasy calm, he said culminated to the alleged prison break, Tombo and Lunsar riots which according to him warranted President Bio’s firmly worded statement to the nation, in which he condemned violence and hatefully labeled the main opposition APC party members and supporters as “terrorists”, for which the C for C party condemns President Bio.
Sandi said his party has already engaging moral guarantors including the international and diplomatic communities, the Government and the ruling party-SLPP, the APC the media and Civil Society Organizations to see how the C for C can bring both sides of the political divide together through constructive dialogue.
The C for C Chairman said the Government owes the greatest responsibilities pointing out; “we cannot shy away from that and if Government is open up enough then they should as well open their doors for constructive and fruitful dialogue for deliberations on ensuring the provision of the right political space for democratic freedom and peace in Sierra Leone.”
As for his party Sandi said the C for C is concerned about the nation and the people, adding that C for C stands for nation and its nation first.
Considering the national health challenge the country is embattled with, the opposition politician said; “we have COVID19 which should be our primary focus for now and not political wrangling.”
He therefore urged President Bio to rally round all political parties to ensure that COVID 19 pandemic is collectively contained, involving all political actors in the existing democratic dispensation.
“We don’t want to mix the COVID 19 containment efforts with political even though it requires active political will and leadership, yet opposition political parties should be fully involved in the social mobilization and community engagements aspect with strategic information as weapons to fight the pandemic like the last APC regime of former President Ernest Bai Koroma did in the eradication of the deadly Ebola virus disease in 2016, when he involved the then opposition leader now President Bio in the EVD battle,” he said.
Sandi observed that his party C for C and other opposition parties have not been involved in the COVID19 fight saying; “we are looking forward to further engagements with President Bio and the Government of the way forward for the collective elimination of the pandemic.”
