Prince Charles visits Sierra Leone

FREETOWN – Britain’s Prince Charles arrived in Sierra Leone on Monday for a two-day visit , his first to the West African country.

The Prince of Wales aims to “see how Sierra Leone has benefited from five years of peace and stability,” said Robert Collett, a spokesman for the British High Commission in the capital, Freetown. Sierra Leone emerged in 2002 from a bloody 11-year civil war in which rebels overran villages and hacked off peoples’ limbs to terrorise the population.The country has since held peaceful elections and established a UN-backed court to try those responsible for the war’s atrocities.”British assistance has been most crucial in all aspects of our development,” Sierra Leone President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah told Charles at a reception on his arrival.The prince will also visit schools and development projects before departing midday Tuesday for Nigeria.Ties between Britain and its former colony are close.Earlier this year, Britain offered to jail former Liberian President Charles Taylor if the UN-backed court convicts him of war crimes for allegedly fuelling Sierra Leone’s civil war.Britain’s offer allowed Taylor’s trial to proceed in the Netherlands, where it had been moved from Sierra Leone’s capital because of fears trying him here could undermine stability in the region.Nampa-APSierra Leone emerged in 2002 from a bloody 11-year civil war in which rebels overran villages and hacked off peoples’ limbs to terrorise the population.The country has since held peaceful elections and established a UN-backed court to try those responsible for the war’s atrocities.”British assistance has been most crucial in all aspects of our development,” Sierra Leone President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah told Charles at a reception on his arrival.The prince will also visit schools and development projects before departing midday Tuesday for Nigeria.Ties between Britain and its former colony are close.Earlier this year, Britain offered to jail former Liberian President Charles Taylor if the UN-backed court convicts him of war crimes for allegedly fuelling Sierra Leone’s civil war.Britain’s offer allowed Taylor’s trial to proceed in the Netherlands, where it had been moved from Sierra Leone’s capital because of fears trying him here could undermine stability in the region.Nampa-AP