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What was all the noise about?

What was all the noise about?

My first visit to the United States as Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister was in early 1998 when I  accompanied President Tejan-Kabbah to address a special session of the United Nations Assembly on Sierra Leone. After President Kabbah had made his preliminary statement, both Dr. James Jonah and I made presentations. These were followed by statements from various delegates. Of the whole lot only the Permanent Representative of the Peoples Republic of China made a categorical statement that Liberia was behind the war in Sierra Leone. After New York our delegation flew to Washington DC for briefing sessions at the State Department. A gentleman who sat quietly just outside our meeting room was introduced to us almost in a whisper as President Bill Clinton’s nominee to the Senate as the next Ambassador to Sierra Leone. The impression I got was that it would have been presumptuous on his part if Mr. Joseph Melrose had allowed himself to be publicly introduced as the next US Ambassador to Sierra Leone before his Senate hearing.  (Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to China, Joseph Koroma)

Our relations with the government of the Peoples Republic of China have been excellent ever since the establishment of Diplomatic relations between our two countries. I can’t distinguish Minister Joseph Koroma from Eve, let alone from Adam. I had only read of his appointment first as Minister for Presidential Affairs and later as Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources. About a fortnight ago when the outgoing Chinese Ambassador went to take leave of President Koroma at State House, I assume that in the course of their conversation, the President wanted to underscore the importance of our cordial relationship when he may have said to the Ambassador, “Look, by virtue of the high esteem in which I hold your country, I have nominated one of my Ministers who is also a diplomat as my next Ambassador to China.” I doubt whether there is much variation between President Koroma’s intention and statement and what I have written here.

But suddenly all hell broke. “Koroma had been sacked; oh no, he has been promoted; but how can he be promoted when an Ambassador is junior in rank to a minister? No it is a demotion.” And so the discussion, rather argument continued between the self-proclaimed experts on such matters and others who claimed to be equally knowledgeable. Was any of it necessary, or useful? My understanding is that an Ambassador is the direct representative of his head of state to the country to which he is accredited which means such an appointee has the confidence of his boss. Where does being sacked or being relieved of his post come in? But again nar so e  be nar Salone. D experts den bokuu too much. Bon voyage Ambassador Joseph Koroma and remember to uphold the reputation, honour and dignity of mama Salone.

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  • The alleged news that APC thugs are planning to secretly kill Emmerson Bockarie,will be the last mistake Sierra Leoneans will make.The Apc Task Force must reason that they possess brains like human beings and not animals,to abandon such a move if they plan to.We don’t want Sierra Leone to be draged into another conflict that will take the country for another 50 years to repair.

    I ask all Sierra Leoneans to critically sit and analyse the music”me,yesterday betteh pass tiday”.The music doesn’t 100% refer to any special political party as the King in Sierra Leone.Every Sierra Leonean must view this music as a relative term.What is good for you might not be as good to me.What did you do when he sang “Borbor Belleh?” Sierra Leoneans must stop getting primitive and running with a social stupidity on a single music.It will be a catastrophe in Sierra Leone if you harm Emmerson because of his music. We should not become like some Mexican Drug Lords,who periodically targets journalists and musicians.

    2nd December 2010
  • SEM,
    Please extend my congratulation to Joe as my new ambassador to P.R>China.Joe you are welcomed to the land were the leaders have their people in mind and development as the only way out. Please before taking official leave of Obai remind him to honour the promise he made to his students in his hotel where he asked them to hand over their list to him physical which they did for the harmonization of the SLG subsidiary benefit. Please remind him that as H.E. what ever he says is a policy statement. You are most welcomed kottor Joe.

    30th November 2010

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