*PRESS RELEASE FROM AMBASSADOR OMRIE GOLLEY’S MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS TEAM*
Sunday 29th September 2024:
*RE: RESPONSE TO SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO STATEMENT MADE BY HONOURABLE ABDUL KARIM KAMARA ON THE ROLE PLAYED BY AMBASSADOR OMRIE GOLLEY IN THE NATIONAL UNITY DIALOGUE ON THE 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS*
The Media and Public Relations team of Ambassador Omrie Golley have received the social media video shared by the Minority Chief Whip of the All Peoples Congress (APC) Party in Parliament in which the Honourable Abdul Karim Kamara from Kambia District, requested clarification on the role played by Ambassador Omrie Golley during the National Dialogue setup to chart ways on addressing the stalemate which ensued after the June 2023 general election.
The Media and Public Relations team admire the tenet of free speech which is enshrined in Section 25 (1)of our 1991 Constitution, and we are also cognizant of the provision in Section 25 (2) which alternates the right with an obligation in the interest of the rights and reputations of others in the society.
Consequently, therefore, we are making clarifications on the issues raised relating to Ambassador Omrie Golley specifically. The Clarifications are thus:
1. Ambassador Omrie Golley was not appointed and/or nominated to the negotiations committees of either the Dialogue for National Unity or the Tripartite Committee. It is worth noting that the Dialogue for National Unity and the actual tripartite negotiations were two separate events. Ambassador Golley was not involved in either as a negotiator. The Dialogue for National Unity was a precursor to the Tripartite Committee negotiations and subsequent Agreement.
2. Ambassador Omrie Golley was however a member of the Technical Advisory Committee on the Dialogue which preceded the Agreement for National Unity. Therefore the thrust of this Statement can only deal with what the Ambassador was involved with – giving technical advice on the dialogue on national unity.
3. The operations of the committees setup for Dialogue on National Unity were divided into two operations, with distinctively diversified roles. The Technical Team were set up to give advice to the Negotiation Team which advocated on behalf of the party This in turn meant that the role of Ambassador Golley was only limited to advise the APC negotiators on how they should proceed with the negotiation at the Dialogue on National Unity.
4. Ambassador Golley as Part of the technical Team in the Dialogue for National Unity, raised pertinent issues relating to the Term of Reference of the Dialogue, which had not been clarified to the APC Party even as the dialogue commenced. The International Community headed by Haja Fatoumata C.M. Jallow Tambajang, subsequently, in response to the concerns raised by Ambassador Golley, stated that her team was not here in Sierra Leone to compel the ECSL to publish disaggregated data neither were they in the country to order for a rerun of the 2023 election.
5. As a result, being a technical committee member, Ambassador Golley advised the APC Party to Pull out of the Dialogue, in order for the whole team to report to the grassroots of the Party. His position was predicated on his fundamental belief that the grassroots would never get justice from the dialogue. Infact, for that reason, he withdrew his further participation from the dialogue. He maintains this position.
It is worth noting that Ambassador Omrie Golley is a man of peace and has always projected and aligned himself with the ideals of the APC Party at every level. That was why he was extremely delighted to serve the APC Party even though with his vast experience in peace negotiations spanning decades, he was on this occasion limited to a technical advisory role during the dialogue of national unity. He stood firm for the ideals of the Party.
He remains committed to advancing the cause of Peace and Unity within the Party.
Long live the APC.
Signed:
Abdul Malik Bangura Esq
For and on behalf of the Media and Public Relations Team for Ambassador Omrie Golley.
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