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Liberia's
Chairman Bryant Meets President Kabbah
In Kenema
The
Head of State and Chairman of the National Transitional
Government of Liberia, Charles Gyude Bryant, ended
a day's working visit to the Eastern Province
headquarter town of Kenema on Friday, 15th October,
2004.
Chairman
Bryant was in Kenema to hold consultations with
President Kabbah on the resuscitation of the Mano
River Union and the current peace process in his
country. Such meetings between the two leaders
have now become routine as a means of constructive
engagement and dialogue in order to rid the Mano
River Union basin of the problems and conflicts
that afflicted them following the onset of instability
in Liberia from 1989, which
spilled over into Sierra Leone by March 1991.
While
in Kenema, Chairman Bryant also met with the Liberian
Refugee Community. The refugees informed their Head
of State of the brotherly relationship that exists
between them and their host communities. They said
that they count themselves as the luckiest refugees
in the world because of the kind hospitality they
enjoy in Sierra Leone. Despite their refugee status,
the Liberian refugees stated, they enjoyed the same
facilities
like the indigenous peop[le in their host communities
- ranging from drinking from the same wells, to
being offered land to build their dwellings and
bush to farm, and that some intermarriages have
even taken place between refugees and their hosts.
Chairman
Bryant informed his compatriots that the disarmament
process was well underway and that about 80,000
former combatants have been disarmed.
He said repatriation will soon commence and admonished
the refugees to take their Sierra Leonean wives
and husbands back home with them, remarking that
Sierra Leoneans and Liberians are brothers and
sisters. He said the intermarriages will further
strengthen this relationship, stressing that the
two peoples should never allow anybody to bring
armed conflicts to their countries or make them
take arms against each other again
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