New York Protest Against President Koroma’s moves
UNITED AFRICAN CONGRESS; GIVE THEM A HAND FOUNDATION; CONCERNED SIERRA LEONEANS USA; AND, CONCERNED CITIZENS
A coalition of Sierra Leonean and non- Sierra Leonean organizations and activists led by United African Congress and Give Them a Hand Foundation, will hold a Rally Ernest Bai Koroma to Protest the unconstitutional dismissal of the nation’s elected Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana by President Ernest Bai Koroma and the embezzlement of internationally-donated funds for fighting Ebola.
The April 27, Protest will begin at the Sierra Leone Mission to the UN, 245 East 49th Street (2nd/3rd Avenues) at 8:00 a.m., followed by a march at 9:30 from the Mission to the Rally venue, Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza, East 47th Street (1st/2nd Avenues). The Rally will begin at 10:00 a.m., end at 1:00 p.m. and will feature prominent speakers and activists from Sierra Leone and other countries.
Following the Rally, there will be a Post-Rally Forum on Sierra Leone, commencing at 2:00 p.m. The event will feature a panel discussion on the continuing constitutional crisis and its impact on democracy, peace and stability in the country. The venue is Salem United Methodist Church, 2190 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (128th /129th Streets).
This planned day of action represents the collective determination of Sierra Leoneans in the United States and their allies to bring urgent global attention to (i) the recent shocking violation of the Constitution by the President, when he unlawfully dismissed the nation’s elected Vice-President, (ii) pervasive corruption by Government functionaries, including the embezzlement of vital funding provided by the international donor communities and ordinary citizens to fight to end the Ebola epidemic and the call to lift the State of Emergency imposed to restrict the freedom of assembly of the people in Sierra Leone.
In particular, the Rally will strongly urge the country’s key development partners, including the United States, the United Nations, the African Union, the ECOWAS States, the World Bank and the European Union, to break their silence on the dangerous precedent that the President set when he unilaterally and illegally removed the elected Vice-President and replaced him with an individual not voted for into that pivotal position by a Sierra Leonean voter.
These events are being held on the 54th anniversary of Sierra Leone’s independence, a date the organizers believe is an appropriate time to reflect on the potential threat posed to the ongoing efforts to consolidate the peace and enhance our fragile democracy and the rule of law in the country and to also ensure that the Sierra Leone government is aware that Sierra Leoneans globally will not rest until it demonstrates with utmost urgency that it respects the supremacy of our Constitution. Nor will they allow the Government’s continued failures to ensure the immediate prosecution and punishment of those persons that have embezzled funds donated to help end the Ebola virus to go unnoticed.
Media Contacts:
Alfred Jamiru [email protected]
Ahmed D. Kargbo [email protected]
