APC’s faulty DNA will never change
Austin Thomas
20 September 2011
APC's
founding father - Siaka Stevens
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It was the late Siaka Stevens who once
said that "only God and fools do not
change". That is indeed true, because
the God we serve is the same yesterday,
today and forever. And a fool is just
the same, only that he is the opposite
of God.
Sierra Leone’s governing party - APC,
will never change its identity,
philosophy, ideas, policies and programs
with respect to violence and thuggery.
It’s in their DNA. |
Despite some fifty years of existence, APC’s violent
past and trade mark have not changed. The Berlin
Wall has come down, man has been to the moon, and
the Soviet Union has fallen. Today, APC’s Internal
Affairs Minister is ordering the shooting of his
boss the vice president. Is this not the same APC of
Siaka Stevens fame?
It was not a surprise then, that even in the
opposition SLPP’s stronghold - Bo; APC had the guts
to attack their presidential candidate - Maada Bio
and his supporters. It’s in their DNA. Is it not?
According to the dictionary, a fool is: 'One who is
deficient in judgment, sense, or understanding’; or
'One who acts unwisely on a given occasion'. APC’s
identity and trade mark do seem to match those
definitions quite well. Since its formation, APC has
based its policies, ideas and legitimacy on
violence.
Election violence was common place in the 70’s
and 80’s when APC was in power, as they fought
amongst themselves and their opponents. Many lives
were lost, houses burnt, women raped, and properties
looted.
There were many instances that one can recall:
Radomatic machine vs. Alex Stevens in Freetown West
2; Timbo and Eddie Turay in Bombali; Fofana vs.
Saccoh again in the Bombali area. During those
violent APC confrontations, blood was spilt,
livestock and properties were destroyed.
The ousting of Momoh’s APC in 1992, should have
spelt the end of the APC, but lo and behold, we the
people of Sierra Leone did the unimaginable and
brought them back into power.
It was in 2007 that I really come to believe that
Sierra Leoneans can be so forgetful. APC was simply
waiting to emerge once again with their signature
tune: violence and thuggery. And now they have truly
shown that they are still the same – just as long as
the name APC remains. It’s in their DNA.
The elections conducted by the military NPRC in 1996
were relatively peaceful, only for a few rebel
attacks in some areas of the provinces. But violence
very largely took a back seat. SLPP won the
elections and power was transferred peacefully to a
democratically elected government.
In 2002 and 2007, the governing SLPP conducted
two general elections. Both elections were largely
peaceful with lots of party rallies all over the
country. Ernest Koroma travelled the length and
breadth of Sierra Leone and he was never attacked,
contrary to rumours and propaganda of him being
attacked or ambushed.
The reason was because SLPP’s DNA is characterised
by non-violence, tranquillity, respect, democratic
values and brotherly love.
Although SLPP lost the 2007 elections, due largely
to the controversial and unlawful nullification of
hundreds of thousands of SLPP ballots by the NEC,
yet they peacefully handed power over to the
opposition APC. Everything went well and even Ernest
Koroma has praised Kabbah and Berewa for such a
smooth transition.
But immediately the results was announced and Ernest
Koroma declared the winner, APC unleashed their
reign of terror on SLPP, which resulted in the
burning of SLPP’s head quarters, raping and beating
of women, and waging of violence against innocent
men and children.
This unbridled violence continued until today.
Since APC took over in 2007, almost all the local
elections they have conducted have been violent -
from Kono to Kailahun and Makeni to Pujehun.
Violence is in APC’s DNA. No one can change that -
whether they have Ernest as leader or not. APC
cannot rule or legitimize their power without
violence. The party is now preparing the way for
rigging the 2012 elections once again, in order to
return the country to a one party state, as many are
fearing.
We hear about the political concept of 'unopposed'
whenever APC is in power. How is it possible that
APC can contest an election in any part of the
country without a single opposition?
For the past four years they have been very angry
with the opposition SLPP, especially with the
latter’s staging of their monthly press briefing.
They even went to the extent of telling the SLPP
chairman - John Benjamin that only the elected SLPP
Parliamentarians should speak for the party.
No sooner Emmerson released his album 'Yesterday
betteh pass tiday', did the government paid a local
musician - millions of Leones, to counter Emerson’s
songs, which the APC believes to be anti-government.
Emmerson recently made the revelation that he
respects former SLPP president Kabbah for his
democratic principles, compared to APC’s hostility
towards any form of dissent.
It was not a surprise when members of APC attacked
Maada Bio and pelted him and his convoy with stones.
As always the police did not defend the SLPP leader
and his supporters from the attack. Instead, it is
now likely that SLPP supporters will be arrested and
accused of perpetrating the violence that took place
in Bo.
We need to remember that it was the APC, under Siaka
Stevens that created the notorious and brutal OSD
security force, which was originally called ISU and
then SSD.
The OSD special security force was created to
protect APC’s rule - by any means necessary, and
have been doing so since SLPP lost the elections in
2007. They will no doubt be at the forefront in 2012
to make sure that APC retains power.
Their intentions for the coming elections are indeed
worrying for many of us. Will 2012 elections be
peaceful? Only the Almighty God can answer this
question.
Since Maada Bio won the SLPP party elections, APC
has engaged in a nasty personality assassination
campaign, with the help of some journalists to tear
his credibility apart.
That vicious negative campaign is not working, so
they have resorted to a new strategy aimed at
ensuring that Bio cannot not participate in the 2012
elections. It would also seem that they have decided
to either eliminate him now, or cause his party to
react in a manner that will give the international
community as well as Sierra Leoneans the chance to
lambast SLPP of thuggery.
But I say to SLPP: your party was founded by men and
women who were much respected in the country; they
were men and women of courage, understanding and
with democratic values.
So I therefore appeal to all SLPP supporters that
the reaction of burning down the APC office in Bo
was uncalled for and will be strongly condemned by
all, if the ongoing investigations commissioned by
the president proved as such.
Members and supporters of the SLPP must obey the law
and not take it into their own hands. Two wrongs
cannot make a right, and they should not drag the
party down the road of APC’s violence.
Let the supporters and members of SLPP be prepared
at all times for such violent attacks, and should
always try to protect their leadership and
supporters from retaliating or else they would be
blamed for violent misconduct.
We cannot afford to let Sierra Leone slip back into
war. If APC thinks they have done enough for the
people of Sierra Leone and should be given a second
chance, then they must allow the ballot box to do
its work.
Whether Maada Bio is a thief or a killer, let APC
allow the people of Sierra Leone to decide next
year. But for them to start attacking Bio and his
supporters, sends the wrong signal to us all that
they are afraid of being kicked out of office by the
people, because they have not done enough for them.
In four years they have turned the economy upside
down. They have succeeded in creating more
illiterates in the country. The average age of death
in Sierra Leone is now about 37 years, due largely
to stress and depression.
We Sierra Leoneans are tired of fighting. We want
development. We want to live in peace and happiness.
We want to live in an environment that is tranquil
so that we can raise our children in fear of God;
and to be better and respectable citizens. We are
tired of APC’s thuggery.
So the time has now come for us to think
positively as Sierra Leoneans, and to make sure that
we do not make the same mistake as we did in 2007.
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