POLITICS-SIERRA LEONE: Peace Still Remains Elusive

By Lansana Fofana Reprint | | Print |

Lansana Fofana

FREETOWN, Feb 9 2001 (IPS) - After a decade of bloody conflict in Sierra Leone, peace still remains elusive despite the presence of UN peacekeepers and British troops who help to hold what is left of the impoverished West African nation.

There are about 13,000 UN troops in Sierra Leone drawn mainly from Kenya, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, Zambia and Guinea. Two other contingents, India and Jordan, thought to be the most professional and best equipped, have withdrawn from the mission for different reasons.

The Indians pulled out last month following infighting within the leadership of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), with the Indians heading the mission’s military force, while a Nigerian handling the political wing.

The Jordanians insisted they would only stay on if a contingent of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) or troops from some Western country were included in the peacekeeping operation so that it does not end up as an all Third World affair.

These troops withdrawals have badly affected the operations of UNAMSIL which now finds it difficult to deploy its troops across the country, especially in areas controlled by the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

Even a change in the military leadership of UNAMSIL, from Major general Vijay Kumar Jetley (Indian) to Kenyan-born Lieutenant General Daniel Opande, with a view to cementing the rifts within the mission, has not helped the situation either.

General Opande recently told journalists that he is constrained to deploy his troops because of lack of adequate peacekeepers to do the given job. “I don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past by thinly deploying my men in dangerous terrain,” he said. “We need more troops urgently if the work is to be accomplished.”

The mistakes referred to by the Kenyan are the setbacks suffered by the world’s largest peacekeeping force that is yet to make any meaningful impact on the war-weary population. Last year, 500 peacekeepers were held hostage by the RUF, their equipment confiscated and then prevented from deploying countrywide. This setback significantly eroded the confidence placed in the peacekeepers by the population.

Now, however, UNAMSIL High Command says they need about 20,500 troops for the Sierra Leone mission but offers are apparently not coming in, despite appeals made by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Since their arrival some 15 months ago, the UN force, instead of making impact on the population, have suddenly become objects of scorn and disdain by Sierra Leoneans, who don’t trust them for their security.

Instead of deploying in rebel-controlled areas, the UN force is largely present in and around the capital Freetown and other big cities and towns in the provinces which are under the control of the government. They have often been criticised in the local tabloids and public places for allegedly engaging in frivolities like womanising, and doing things pretty much unmilitary.

Last November, the government and rebels negotiated another peace agreement in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to set the stage for deployment of UN troops in rebel-held areas.

However, UNAMSIL forces have still not moved an inch from positions they already control and it seems the patience of the population is running out, with the peacekeepers now being called all sorts of names.

The UNAMSIL High Command has instead been making contacts with the leadership of the RUF in a bid to re-start the peace process but it seems the rebels are in no hurry to accept deployment especially in the diamond-rich districts of Kono and Tongo Fields in the east of the country. The rebels are also yet to return all seized UN weapons and equipment.

The hope of the war-weary population is now pinned in the 600 or more British troops presently in Sierra Leone. Their mandate is to re-train the national army, but officials of the British government have stated time and again that they will give all in their power to prevent the rebels from unseating the government of President Tejan Kabbah.

Brigadier Jonathan Riley, who commands British forces in Sierra Leone, said: “We are here to stay. Our training package is aimed at better training, equipping and positioning the army so that it will defeat the RUF militarily should the need arise.”

A British war vessel is stationed on the Sierra Leonean waters with paratroopers and an over the horizon force on standby. The British have also engaged in a series of military exercises much to the annoyance of the RUF.

The current military situation has also impacted the political arena with the beleaguered government in Freetown postponing national elections, which were to be conducted this month, by another six months “until the security situation is normalised.”

By all indication, the situation in Sierra Leone is still volatile with more than 20,000 armed combatants still holding out in the jungle or towns controlled by the rebels. And it is also affecting the economy since most of the productive areas are under the control of the RUF, which has been fighting government forces, on and off, since 1991.

The impact of the peacekeepers will be felt only when they finally deploy in rebel territory and disarm all the fighters. But this seems to be a far-fetched dream with the rebels remaining unpredictable as ever before.