NRS’ exclusive interview with Brima Michael Turay of Arizona on the North America Branch Issue

After what seemed like a very controversial final decision by president Koroma in the matter between a cross-section of members of the APC North America branch and Ambassador Bockarie Stevens, I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Brima Michael Turay (BMT) of Arizona to get his opinions on this very thorny issue. I would like our worldwide readers to know that Mr. Turay is the Chief Editor of the New Rising Sun (NRS) and one who wrote the most articles on this subject.  

 

NRS – Thank you Mr. BM Turay for allowing me to interview you on this subject for the benefit of our worldwide readers.

 

BMT – Thank you Salieu for doing this interview with me. I also want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to help our worldwide readers understand why I was doing what I did in this unfortunate issue between the NA branch and the Ambassador.

 

NRS – How did you get involved in all of this, if I may ask?

 

BMT – Well, I have always tried to stay behind the scene ever since our Chapter, Arizona, became part of the North American branch. I have always admired the way the NA branch moved very swiftly to propel the APC to prominence in North America. To answer your question, I started becoming more and more interested in the branch’s affairs shortly after the first suspension of Chairman Osman Conteh by Mr. Victor Foh and Ambassador Stevens.

 

NRS – Well, what was it about Mr. Conteh’s suspension that drew your attention?

 

BMT – Immediately I heard about the suspension, I called my younger brother, Aziz Turay, who happens to be the president of the Arizona Chapter, and expressed my concerns over the issue. As Secretary General of my Chapter, I was able to obtain all the correspondences that went back and forth prior to the suspension. I read all of them and called around to get first hand information on the issue. I even called and spoke with certain people on the side of the Ambassador. I also read the bylaws over and over to make sure I was not missing anything. After everything that I was able to gather, I saw that the suspension was handed down in a very unfair manner. This was when I became interested and therefore wrote my first article on the subject to draw the attention of the Ambassador and those involved in the matter.

 

NRS – Could you be a little more specific about the things you call unfair?

 

BMT – Well, first of all Salieu, if two people are involved in a fight, regardless of what or who provoked the fight, you do not consequence one person and leave the other out. The matter, as I came to understand, started with an altercation between Rtd. Colonel Idriss Kamara and Chairman Osman Conteh. The Chapter presidents appointed an advisory committee to look into the altercation and to come up with a report/verdict. The committee did meet and concluded that both men acted inappropriately and therefore they should be fined $100 each. Chairman Conteh paid his fine but Idriss Kamara never did. To imagine that Mr. Foh and the Ambassador could decide to suspend Osman Conteh and leave Idriss Kamara out was something that I saw as very unfair, and therefore required my attention and intervention.

 

NRS – Why did you decide to step in, why didn’t you turn a blind eye to this matter?

 

BMT – I decided to step in as an attempt to protect our political organization in the Diaspora. I strongly believe that the NA branch is a very important partner of the APC in its endeavor to map out a new direction for our fragile Republic. In addition to that, if you ask those who know me very well, they will tell you that I have always stood up for the oppressed and defenseless. I am obsessed with people who use authority to victimize the less privileged. Therefore, I do not wait to be invited to step in and defend anyone whom I believe has been treated unfairly.

 

NRS – Some people may think that you are being propped up, in other words, instigated, by Chairman Conteh to send all these articles on his behalf. What can you say about that?

 

BMT – Well, Salieu when something happens, people have their own versions but to tell you the truth, I had not met Osman Conteh prior to this incident and have still not met him face-to-face to this today. I have only spoken with him on the phone from time to time. I was just wondering how I could be so passionate about keeping Osman in his position as Chairman to the point where I put my credibility on the line if I am not sure about what I am doing. But to answer your question, I did not do this for Osman. I could have done it for anyone else. My main concern is to see that no one uses his or her authority in such arbitrary manner like the Ambassador and Victor Foh did on both suspensions. I could stand firm and do the same for the Ambassador and Victor Foh if anyone tries to use his or her authority to make them look bad in the eyes of the public without justifiable reasons.

 

NRS – Why do you think you are coming under attack from people who seem to be on the side of the Ambassador and Victor Foh? I mean, why would they not see the rationale behind your actions?

 

BMT – Salieu, it is an indisputable fact that the Ambassador and Mr. Foh both have friends and relatives and unfortunately, I don’t expect most of them to support what I am doing. Their love and concern for the Ambassador and Mr. Foh may have held captive their sense of reasoning to the expense of their patriotism. That could be expected, Salieu, but the truth remains that someone has to say something or else nothing would ever be said about these kinds of injustices and neglect of the basic principles of fair play. All I can say to them is, I have nothing personal against the Ambassador or Mr. Foh and everybody will see me by the  side of these two men someday as soon as they start to do the right things and do things right!

 

NRS – Some people argue that by disrespecting the Ambassador, you are also disrespecting the President because the Ambassador is the representative of the president in the US. What is your response to them?

 

BMT – Well, such analogy is sad and out of place, given the circumstances surrounding these issues. First of all, I don’t know what they are describing as “Disrespect”. I don’t see my actions as disrespect for the Ambassador or the president of my country because I was only asking questions. Since when did asking questions become disrespect to authority? Unless if you want to look at it in the context of African politics where some of our leaders believe they are next to God Almighty. A few months ago, President Obama called a Cambridge Police Office stupid for arresting Professor Gates, who happens to be President Obama’s former professor at Harvard and personal friend. But President Obama later realized that he had made a mistake by calling the officer stupid. He therefore turned around and apologized to the police office over a bottle of beer in the White House. That is a perfect example of leadership. Why can’t our leaders replicate and exemplify such humility and grace in dealing with their constituents?

 

Eddie Turay and Sherry Kamal ended up in court with President Koroma over the leadership of the APC party but toady they are in his government and no one is calling them disrespectful rebels. Hindolo Trye led one of the most powerful and most successful non-violent insurrections against Siaka Stevens and the APC but today he is the minister of Tourism in the “New APC”. Idriss Kamara was one of the “Khaki Boys” (NPRC) who kicked the APC out of power in 1992, but today he is the Ambassador’s blue-eyed boy and the president of the APC Washington Chapter, and no one is calling him a disrespectful rebel. When Shekito, who is today president Koroma’s press secretary, published an article right after the NPRC took over in Freetown and captioned the said article “Valentine Strasser is not our Redeemer”, many people condemned and chided him, but as it turned out, the NPRC did not perform like the “redeemer” that we thought they could be. Issa “Leather Boot” was very active with the RUF prior to the new dispensation, but today he is President Koroma’s personal bodyguard, and no one within the APC is calling him a rebel or murderer because we have all decided to forgive and forget!

 

It would be double standards if anyone sees my actions as disrespect for authority! If we all agree that, we are going to turn to a new page and run a “New APC”, let us act in that manner and try to forgive and forget. Let us stop pointing fingers at Brima Turay. Brima is merely trying to make sure we do not resort back to the “Good Old Days” of the APC where newspapers like “Tablet” where vandalized and Editors brutalized and killed. I do not want to see the kind of APC where Obayomi Aladi (“High-Way”) became an untamable “killing Machine” against anyone who opposed the draconian policies of the regime. To allow people such as Ambassador Bockarie Stevens and Victor Foh, who were surrogates or protégés of Papa Shaki, to replicate such behavior is, in my opinion, a celebration of the “Good old Days” of that regime. I use the word “Good Old Days” sarcastically, if you know what I mean Salieu!

 

NRS – Other people say we could have resolved our indifferences internally and not employ the electronic media. What is your take on that?

 

BMT – Salieu, the North America branch had an internal administration as well as bylaws. The bylaws clearly spell out how we should resolve internal issues. After the first incident between Chairman Conteh and Rtd. Colonel Idriss Kamara, the internal administration appointed a committee to look into the matter. The committee performed its job and later came up with their recommendations. The Ambassador and Mr. Victor Foh neglected and kicked against these powerful administrative instruments and used authority to decide what should happen! When law and order is tossed aside, what happens? Rebellion sets in! There was no way we could have settled this matter internally when the Ambassador and Mr. Foh had decided not to respect our internal instruments of conflict resolution. This is the problem, Salieu! Foday Sankoh said he took to the bush because he believed the APC would not listen to him. The NPRC came from the war front and kicked the APC out because they thought the APC would not listen to them. Hindole Sumanguru Samuel Trye and his colleagues organized the “No School, No College” non-violent insurrection against the APC regime because they thought the leadership would not listen to them. When the internal machinery fails to address internal issues, those issues then become food for public consumption. This is the reason why I decided to go public with this issue. I wanted the public’s opinion, and as we can see, we have gained a lot from this incident.

 

NRS – What is your opinion about President Koroma’s final decision over this matter?

 

BMT – I would call the decision very unfortunate but necessary; and I hope people will not describe these words as disrespect for the president. It is necessary because the president would not like to draw criticism and condemnation from the Diplomatic Corp for unmasking his Ambassador in public. He, like all other presidents in the world, has a responsibility to protect his officials, in and outside of the country. However, it is unfortunate that he did not have time to talk to the other side of this conflict. Conflict resolution methodologies require that you call or talk to both sides either at the same time or in isolation of each other in order to get the facts of the story. That is exactly what president Obama did between the Cambridge Police Officer and Professor Gates. It would not have taken away anything from President Koroma if he had done the same. However, this does not diminish our support for the president and the APC. We believe we would have the opportunity, someday, to have a dialogue with the president over this issue in order to reach a final resolution.

 

NRS – Some people think you are part of a faction that is trying to break away from the APC and create internal weakness within the party. What is your response to these strong allegations?

 

BMT – Difficult as it is to bring people together in a coalition in this country, the Ambassador dissolved seven out of only twelve Chapters of the APC North America branch. Those seven Chapters constitute the majority of our North America branch supporters. The seven Chapters decided to stick together in order to protect our supporters so that they do not fall prey to any of the opposition parties. If this is what people call a “Break Away Faction”, then they must not have had any clue about what grass root politics really means. What we are trying to do here is protect the APC from the mess that the Ambassador has created. This is a voluntary job, Salieu. You do not want to anger your supporters and leave them floating around. It is dangerous for any political party and certainly, for the APC, which is still struggling everyday to maintain its credibility in the eyes of the opposition and the international community. We have hundreds of members within these seven Chapters who are capable of influencing the outcome of any elections in Sierra Leone. Don’t you think it would be politically suicidal to just let them hang loose without a structure or place to recoup, vent, and chart the course toward political sustainability? We are merely doing the APC a favor, since they don’t seem to see the serious effect to which their actions might lead.

 

NRS – How do the seven Chapters intend to move forward and what do they hope to achieve?

 

BMT – We are going to continue to remain organized and unbreakable. We are also going to continue to raise funds to sustain us through this period of darkness. Remember, Salieu, the president gave special instructions to the current Interim administration of the NA branch to work very swiftly and try to reach out and bring back all the seven Chapters and their members. We will be waiting to see how the interim is going to honor those instructions. I hope they have the skills and methodology to do so without employing the same authoritarian behaviors. There are already rumours that someone within their ranks is canvassing and threatening to eliminate me from all activities of the North America branch. I am yet to see how they are going to carry out such despicable action against someone who is supposed to be treated as an asset to a crumbling North America branch.

 

NRS – Wow, Mr. Turay, I never saw this issue with the same eyes as you did, and it is very educational to me. What message do you want to send to the people of Sierra Leone and your worldwide readers?

 

BMT – I would like to extend the same message of “HOPE” for a brighter future! Hope that one day we would all speak the same language – the language of peace, tolerance, fair play, respect for leadership and for the constituents, equal opportunities and above all, a very inclusive Sierra Leone.

 

NRS – Thank you very much, Mr. Turay, for your wonderful time!

 

BMT – My pleasure, Salieu, anytime!

 

Courtesy of New Rising Sun

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