A much anticipated conference designed to foster peace and cohesion has commenced in Freetown on Thursday.
The ‘National Peace Conference’, dubbed ‘Bintumani 3’, is being organized by the government of Sierra Leone which said it is organizing the conference as part of efforts to reunite a country sharply divided along political, ethnic and regional lines. Officials say the conference is also a precursor to the planned establishment of a peace commission, a proposal of President Julius Maada Bio.
The conference is being held at the Bintumani Conference Center in Aberdeen. But the conference has been marred by boycotts by the two largest opposition parties: the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) and the Coalition for Change (C4C), who, among other reasons, say the preparation for the conference wasn’t inclusive.
High profile guests from across Africa are in attendance, including a delegation from the UN and Ecowas. The head of the UN West Africa office, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas arrived Freetown Wednesday night alongside two senior ECOWAS officials, Aderemi Ajibewa, Director Political Affairs and Ebenezer Asiedu, Head of Mediation.
KC/abj/APA