By Mohamed Massaquoi

The West Africa Network for Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone , the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists and the National Forum for Human Rights Thursday organized a two-day consultative conference to commemorate the 2000 May 8 disaster that led to the death of human rights activists in Freetown .

The conference was organized for human rights activists, and the media.

 The aim of the workshop was to bring journalists and human rights groups together to collaborate in monitoring and accurately report on human rights issues in the country.

Chairman of the occasion Paul Koroma said it is significant to recall the past as activists who lost their lives during the impasse did it in the best interest of peace and stability in Sierra Leone .

Koroma pointed out that most of the issues that led to the decade civil conflicts are still prominent in the society. “This consultative conference is geared towards strengthening the relationship between the media and human rights organizations so that they can have a single focus in order to effectively monitor human rights issues,” he said and said the country can develop when people stand out to say the truth.

WANEP-SL national coordinator Edward Jombla said over the years the media and human rights organizations have not been closely working.

Secretary General for the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists Ibrahim Karim Sei recalled that during the May 8 incident, journalists were at the forefront of the protest in which one of his members died.