By Prince J Musa in Kenema
The Civil Society Consortium on Community Accountability and Service Delivery has added its voice to growing condemnation of hate speech and violent rhetoric which has been rising over the last few weeks.
In a press conference in Kenema over the weekend, the consortium expressed fears that hate speech spread by extremist supporters of rival political parties constituted a threat to national security.
“Those hate messages has implication on state security, which is bad for the country and citizens,” William Sao Lamin, National Coordinator of the consortium, said at the press conference held at the Youth Sport Club on Monday, August 31.
He added: “This advocacy platform was established with the objectives of ensuring peace, stability and enhancing legitimate governance.”
Two prominent names associated with the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) and the main opposition All Peoples Congress (APC) have been cited as responsible for recording and sharing insightful contents on social media.
“As a civil society consortium, we condemn the act of inciting voice clips that will lead to violence in this country. We condemn the actions of Sahr Johnny and Adebayo absolutely,” Lamin said.
The consortium had already held a press conference on the same issue in Freetown last week. The activists said they were taking their message to the provinces to ensure that everyone understood what is at stake.
Fallah Bockarie, a local civil society leader in the district, said the prevailing concerns were linked to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission findings.
“The TRC report mentioned all those negative things that led to the outbreak of the war and we need to put a stop to it,” he said.
Whiles calling for the responsible use of social media, Bockarie said CSOs have also been a good partner to past and current government.
“We as CSOs will support government on issues that are beneficial to the citizens, not things that hinder the development of the country,” he said.
”CSOs supported the former President [Earnest Bai Koroma] on the need for the free health care because it was essential for the people. We also give full support to the Free Quality Education for the nation, as it has helped a lot of children to return to school,” he added.
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