DATE=10/1/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SIERRA LEONE / SANKOH (L-O)
NUMBER=2-254563
BYLINE=JOHN PITMAN
DATELINE=ABIDJAN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// Sankoh arrival expected 1500 UTC,
11:00 A.M. EDT Saturday ///
INTRO: The traditional leader of Sierra Leone's
rebellion, Foday Sankoh, is scheduled to return home
on Saturday. The Sierra Leonean government says Mr.
Sankoh should be accompanied by the former coup
leader, Johnny Paul Koroma. V-O-A's John Pitman
reports from our West Africa Bureau.
TEXT: According to government sources in Sierra Leone
and Liberia, Foday Sankoh and Johnny Paul Koroma will
travel home on Saturday accompanied by a delegation of
their supporters and international observers.
A spokesman for the United Nations Observer Mission in
Sierra Leone says the U-N Special Envoy for Sierra
Leone, Francis Okelo, will be among those escorting
the two rebel leaders to Freetown.
Nearly 12 weeks after signing a peace agreement with
the government, the rebel leaders' failure to return
home had started to raise concerns about the accord's
fate.
However, on Friday, Sierra Leonean government
spokesman Septimus Kai Kai said Mr. Sankoh's and Mr.
Koroma's decision to return home demonstrates their
commitment to the peace agreement.
The announcement that the two men would return to
Freetown followed a day of private talks with Liberian
president Charles Taylor, who reportedly pressured Mr.
Sankoh to go home.
The talks, which included Mr. Koroma, were also
designed to put to rest a disagreement between Mr.
Sankoh's group, the Revolutionary United Front, or R-
U-F, and Mr. Koroma's group, the Armed Forces
Revolutionary Council, or A-F-R-C.
/// OPT /// In August, A-F-R-C soldiers took several
R-U-F officials hostage to protest what they said was
their "marginalization" by the peace process. The
soldiers said they were concerned about their fate in
the new army, and demanded that they all be allowed to
keep their current rank and titles. /// END OPT ///
Details of the talks have not been made public.
However, on Friday, speaking in Liberia, Mr. Koroma
told reporters he was "satisfied" with the agreement,
and that, in his words, "everything is fine now."
For his part, Mr. Sankoh has given conflicting signals
about his plans to return. On Friday, in a broadcast
interview (BBC "Focus on Africa"), he said he would
delay his return until next week.
Nonetheless, Septimus Kai Kai, the spokesman for
Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, says
arrangements have been made for the two rebel leaders'
arrival on Saturday.
Although Mr. Kai Kai says an official government
delegation would not be at the airport to meet the
men, he tells V-O-A the government has taken steps to
ensure their security.
/// KAI KAI ACT ///
We always knew we would do the very best within
our power to provide him with the best security
possible. That's to be made available to both
of them when they arrive tomorrow.
/// END ACT ///
Under the terms of the July peace agreement, Mr.
Sankoh will lead a special commission on strategic
minerals, a position that carries the same prestige as
a vice-president.
Mr. Koroma is also expected to hold a position in the
new government, but Mr. Kai Kai says a few, what he
called, "housekeeping chores" needed to be taken care
of before the two men could begin work.
According to news reports from Freetown, residents are
awaiting Mr. Sankoh's return with anxious
anticipation. (SIGNED)
NEB/JP/JP
01-Oct-1999 15:24 PM EDT (01-Oct-1999 1924 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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