Artists for Peace (A4P), Sierra Leone Female Musicians Association (SFLEMA), and the Single Legged Amputee Sports Club (SLACS) today, launched the Violence-free Elections Campaign Freetown. The campaign, which is sponsored by the UNDP, replicates the successful ‘Go Vote, No Violence’ campaign that took messages of peace and political tolerance to their fans across the country through music, drama and other forms of entertainment.
The current campaign intends to increase participation of eligible voters, particularly youths, women and the physically challenged, in electoral activities, conflict prevention through music, drama and sports to educate, inform and persuade citizens from engaging in violence before, during and after the 2008 Local Council Elections. The campaign also aims at promoting a post-election reconciliation agenda that can overcome violence, through targeting issues including attitudinal change, food security and ethnic and political tolerance.
The ceremony was graced by Representatives of the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), and Center for the Coordination of Youth Activities (CCYA) and several other youths and women’s organizations. Participants welcomed the initiative and urged the artists to use their talents to promote peace messages in volatile areas where political violence have been reported over the past weeks such as Kono, Tongo Fields, Lumley etc.
Speaking on behalf of the Artists for Peace, Haroun Akim Dumbuya, alias Wahid, noted that the artists have committed themselves to working for sustainable peace in the country. “We will never be tired to do that because we are sure that the future of our democracy depends on the peace and unity of our nation”. Vicky Fornah, leader of the Sierra Leone Female Musicians Association, told the journalists that “we are aware that women candidates in this local council election are being intimidated to drop out of the race simply because they are women. Our role now is to go to these communities and assure these women that their right to participate in the electoral process is their human rights.” Mr. Jabati Mambu, President of Single Leg Amputees Sports Club (SLASC) noted that “most of us in the team are victims of the ugly war in this country and as victims who now bear the scars of that war, we are determined to more than before to maintain the peace that our country now enjoys that’s why we welcomed this initiative from UNDP”.
The Communications and External Relations Specialist of UNDP, Mr. Peter Ngu Tayong. thanked the artists for their commitment to peace in Sierra Leone. He acknowledged the contributions of the artists in the last successful Presidential and Parliamentary election in 2007 and affirmed the organisation’s continuous support to peace building initiatives in Sierra Leone.
