President of Sierra Leone dedicates Africa Peace Award to amputees

From Awareness Times in Sierra Leone:

His Excellency the President of the Republic of Sierra Leone Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma (pictured) in showing his concern for those who innocently suffered from Sierra Leone’s twelve-years senseless war has officially dedicated the Africa Peace Award he was honored with at the Accord African Peace Award that took place in Durban, South Africa on Friday April 30th 2010 to the amputees.

President Koroma during his acceptance speech publicly informed his audience that he is dedicating the award to amputee compatriots who have paid the worst price for the decade long war in Sierra Leone.

"This award is especially dedicated to our amputee compatriots, who constantly endure the psycho-physical reminder of our inglorious past" the President stated.

The award, the President went on, is in recognition of the resilience, candor, and dedicated commitment of the people of Sierra Leone to the attainment of lasting peace and democracy in Sierra Leone. He further thanked the Government and People of South Africa whom he said has contributed in various stages of Sierra Leone’s crisis and on to date, have stood steadfastly by the country in both its search for enduring peace and its national recovery efforts.

According to President Koroma, the recent signing of the Tripartite Cooperation Agreement involving the Governments of South Africa, Cuba and Sierra Leone designed to boost the healthcare delivery in Sierra Leone, further strengthened the long and excellent bilateral relations between the sister Republics.