VIEWPOINT Honouring Col. Ghaddaffi... Mr. Speaker, Hon. Members of Sierra Leone Parliament We Are Disappointed Posted by on Jan 6, 2009, 21:41

 “Col. Ghaddaffi said that he was impressed by the warm reception accorded to him during his visit to Sierra Leone” (source CTN News and other networks) .That was a sincere statement from the Libyan Head of State, whose activities to this country some years back has refused to heal, but for the type of representatives we have voted for in the legislative house this same individual whose name was a taboo has been uplifted and unconstitutionally awarded an “honorary Membership of Parliament”.

The issue of the award would be looked into as this piece of writing continues, and the argument about reconciliation and forgiveness should be silent at the moment. This is because forgiveness is possible when one repents, confesses his/her wrongdoing to God and the servants of the lord. In the case of Col. Ghaddaffi he has not asked for forgiveness or repents his deeds when the crown of a Member of Parliament was worn on him and happily he left faster than he came, making mockery of the people and their representatives in Sierra Leone. He may be saying to himself with my money I can get everything on earth, but not the gift of God which is life. This is because money cannot buy life; if it does the poor will continue to die while the rich will live forever. Ghaddaffi would have been one of the few to enjoy permanent stay on planet earth.

It is not known what went into the heads of those who thought that the Libyan Head of State should enter our legislative house, let alone be awarded a honourary title which is not part of our constitutional makeup. When listened to some of the speakers who sang songs of praises for Ghaddaffi one is not only left in disappointment, but asked who else can we trust? The war that took place in Sierra Leone that lasted for eleven years caused untold suffering and hardship, destroyed families and left a number of innocent Sierra Leoneans limping, some without fore and hind limbs and the individual who contributed to their present state of predicament is the same individual that our politicians of the 21^st century democracy have hailed as their saviour and redeemer.

One would refuse to imagine how a murderer or the late Foday Sankoh’s sponsor could be giving so much honour. The APC government on the other hand has refused to explain Ghaddaffi’s mission to Sierra Leone neglecting the right of the people to know and as a government it is their responsibility to explain to the people who voted them into political office. In 2007, prior to the General Election several opposing voices were heard criticizing Col. Ghaddaffi when he paid an initial visit to this country. The press including the Standard Times Newspaper called on the then SLPP government to demand compensation for the lives lost and property destroyed during the war which every Sierra Leoneans and non Sierra Leoneans believed Col. Ghaddaffi sponsored.

The leader of the PMDC Lawyer Charles Margai vehemently opposed his presence and said he should not be allowed in the country. The APC Secretary General Victor Foe was heard over the United Nations radio, Radio Democracy and other networks reminding the people about the atrocities caused by the Revolutionary United Front who were been sponsored by Col. Ghaddaffi and Blaise Campaore and how people had suffered. The rice, tractors, fuel donated by this same Libyan leader were criticized by members of then opposition parties. They poisoned their minds and made mockery of the situation.

During the tenure of one of the opposition parties (APC) the same Col. Ghaddaffi sneaked into the country with about five hundred men and women to serve as his security apparatus and all the ruling party could do was to award him with the unconstitutional title of honorary Member of Parliament. Whether the thought and act were done by the Speaker and Members of Parliament is not the focus, but the thought and act which are not only inappropriate but should not be accorded to such an individual whose wealth, money and influence had left many minds weeping.

It is unfortunate to see those who had criticized Col. Ghaddaffi in the past to participate in his ceremony and even blessed it at the detriment of those who suffered during the eleven-year war in the country. Charles Margai was present; other members of the public who were very vocal in the past were there seated and listening to long speeches delivered by Col. Ghaddaffi and other speakers talking about African Unity. The question the public was expecting from the Members of Parliament was why he sponsored Foday Sankoh to destroy his people and Sierra Leone?

But, no! Nobody had the gut to ask; instead they honoured him with an unconstitutional title as honorary Member of Parliament. Is that the reason for voting these people as our representatives for them to betray the confidence of the people? The war touched every nook and corner of this country, from Kailahun to Freetown and every home suffered either directly or indirectly. Some people may argue that it was ex-President Kabbah who initially invited him to Sierra Leone, but neither Kabbah nor the past Members of Parliament took him to the legislative house and crowned him. It is a disappointment that was least expected, considering the suffering, humiliation, destruction that we went through for eleven years innocently.

Regarding the title accorded to him which is not part of any of our constitution, be it 1961,1985,1991,1994 it was just a mockery of the legislative house. Though, some Members of Parliament may argue that parliament has the constitutional right to regulate itself, similar argument can be advanced that parliament has no constitutional right to bless illegality or subscribe to unconstitutionality.

It is however not too late now that Col. Ghaddaffi is honorary Member of Parliament in Sierra Leone that the issue of reparation as recommended by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee should be put to him for the crimes he indirectly committed through the late Foday Sankoh against the people of this nation…..My Speaker, Hon. Members we the people of this country are disappointed with the recent development.