The Mano River Women’s Peace Network (MARWOPNET) has ended a one-day workshop with the armed forces’ wives on the role of consolidating peace in the country.
MARWOPNET’s vice president, Yasmin Fofanah, said the establishment of this organization was to ensure the sustenance of peace in the Mano River basin.
Mrs Fofanah said the importance of the armed forces wives’ association was the focal group in talking about security in the country, and so urged the wives to make the ‘Wilberforce Declaration” for peace and security.
In his statement the assistant chief of defence staff, Colonel Komba S. Mondeh, recalled how the Mano River Union was formed in 1975 and “has since been able to manage inter and intra state conflicts in the sub-region”.
Col. Mondeh expressed concerns on the economic standard of women in society, the protection of women, and how women were being marginalized. The Nigeria High Commissioner to Sierra Leone said, “MARWOPNET has continued to play the role of peace and development catalyst in the Mano River Union”.
He stressed that the fundamental issue was peace, citing that “peace that lacks justice is not peace, justice therefore is the prerequisite for sustainable peace.”
The president of the Armed Forces Wives’ Association, Gloria Nelson-Williams, stated that MARWOPNET took a bold step in bringing peace to the country, adding that as wives of services personnel they were partners in development.
Meanwhile, the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) had also commissioned the headquarters’ Forces Intelligence & Security Unit (FISU) at the Wilberforce Barracks, west of the capital.
Officially declaring the unit open the deputy minister of defence, Joe Blell, said the new facility would go some way in assisting the unit and encouraged them to make good use of it.
Mr Blell noted that, “the opening of this new building marks an important millstone in the development of not only the FISU, but for the military intelligence support to RSLAF generally”.
Giving a background to the facility the commanding officer FISU, Major Paul Koroma, said they decided to take this initiative due to the frequent relocations of the unit.
He went to explain that there their project would stand the test of time and so urged other units to follow their good example.
ADVERTISEMENT