Sierra Leone

Mary CurrieFebruary 17 2000

Basic History• 1808-1961: Sierra Leone British colony

• 1991: civil war launched by Sankoh and RUF rebels - overthrew the gov’t of Ahmed Kabbah.

• 1996: period of stability - first free and fair election held since ‘67

• May 1997: second junta called AFRC/RUF overthrew Kabbah’s government for the second time

• March 1998: ECOMOG restored power to Kabbah

• No Peace agreement is arranged and thus fighting continued.

Basic History • Jan 1999: Rebels break through ECOMOG’s defenses and

gained control over capital city, Freetown.

• May 1999: Cease-fire was negotiated between RUF and S.L. gov’t.

• June 1999: Peace Agreement signed by RUF and S.L. gov’t. Agreement gave amnesty for the crimes committed by military forces and incorporates rebel leadership into the gov’t.

• July 1999: Sankoh is appointed Vice President. Kabbah remains President.

• Under agreement Rebels had to disarm by Dec 1999.

Ethnicity and Religion

• 20 African Tribes 90% *Temne 30% (North) *Mende 30 % (South) *Other 30%

• Creole 10% (Jamaican descendants), Refuges from Liberia, small # of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistani, Indians.

• Official language: English, Mende, Temne, Krio

• Religion: Muslim 60%, Indigenous belief 30 %, Christian 10%.

RUF• Revolutionary United Front

• Foday Sankoh: leader of the rebel movement that was waged

in S.L. for 8 years • Sankoh trained in British army founded the alliance with

Liberian militia leader Charles Taylor, now pres., and launched the war

• Currently, Sankoh is soaring in popularity. He has since formed a political party and, “puffed up by everyone’s efforts to keep him sweet” it seems as though he can do no wrong.

• Threatens he will take up arms if people do not vote for him in the 2001 election

Roots of the Problem

• The rebles showed up amidst years of misrule by what they saw as corrupt gov’t elites which had taken over following the end of British rule.

• Poor, rural people resented the rich ruling class of Freetown and their power

• the AFRC emerged from middle and lower ranks of army during protests for higher wages and frustration over stalemate in the war.

• the Kamajors fought with the gov’t to restore order, dominant ethnic group: Mende

Period of Terror

• Civil war lasts for eight years,

• RUF terrorize country. Raping, murdering, and maiming civilians. homes destroyed, Freetown set on fire, 5,000 die

• Choice: murder, amputation, daughter

• 7,335 people killed in Freetown in Jan. alone.

• Millions have been forcibly displaced, both internally and outside of country. (Guinea)

• In the countryside, people are murdered if they are refused to join forces/comply with RUF

• children abducted to fight as soldiers

The Predicament• With so many injured, with so many health problems, with

so many displaced, the country cannot get ahead at all. All these social issues severely hamper economic development.

• The junta rule (May 97-Feb 98) led to US sanctions and a 20% drop in Sierra Leone’s GDP in 1997.

• This period setback what progress Kabbah had made.

• Economic and social infrastructure were not strongly developed pre-junta. Thus making it back becomes even harder.

• Fate of the economy depends on ability to end strife

The Predicament• This Civil War has disrupted: agricultural harvesting, seed

planting, transportation routes. As a result an overall food deficit has developed in many regions of the country.

• Displaced population in S.L.has been reported to be above thresholds used to define an emergency due to: lack of access to health care, uncertain supplies, inadequate drinking water, epidemic diseases.

• There are over 2 million Sierra Leoneans in need of UREGENT assistance.

International Aid

• Has had a substantially positive impact in Sierra Leone.

• Improves amputees functional abilities

• mass vaccination campaigns, treatment of infectious diseases, target feeding programs

• provision of food, water, sanitation facilities

• rebuilding of homes and schools has provided some sense of normality

• distribution of seeds and tools are reducing dependency and restoring livelihoods.

• However most aid comes from Britain

Peace in the Future?

• Peace agreement should improve access of international community to all those in need

• This demonstrates how difficult it is to regulate international law, both the Rebels and the Military have committed gross crimes against humanity and yet persecution is almost impossible from outside sources.

• Peace depends on the political leaders: the UN is not in charge of enforcing the peace agreement, the ECOMOG is in charge of this.

• Peace process looks grim regarding the leaders, Kabbah is not as strong as he needs to be. And Sankoh is nuts.

What Now?

• Apart from Britain only a few other countries are helping to reconstruct Sierra Leone. Although some are sending humanitarian aid.

• The IMF cannot give Sierra Leone any monetary aid due to their huge existing debt.

• The problem is that this is not an ethnic war, although specific groups are represented among Rebels. This is a war where young vs. old, poor vs. rich, a lesser evil vs. the greater evil.