09 May 2000
U.N. Trying to Save Sierra Leone Peace Process
(U.S. offers to ferry needed peacekeepers to Sierra Leone) (830) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Coordinating wide-ranging peacemaking and peacekeeping efforts in the region, the United Nations has declared that it is not going to abandon Sierra Leone to new attacks by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and its leader, Foday Sankoh. U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said May 9 that there were no reports of incidents in Freetown after the previous day's violence or new incidents involving U.N. peacekeepers in the rest of the country. Nevertheless, about 500 peacekeepers are still being held. A total of five peacekeepers -- two Kenyan and three Nigerian soldiers -- are missing. Two (one Kenyan and one Nigerian) are presumed dead. Another 12 peacekeepers have been wounded in the attacks of the past week, the U.N. said. However, Eckhard stressed that "we're not preparing to pull out. We're preparing to stick this out as long as we can and try to get the peace process back on track." Eckhard described a U.N. that is involved both militarily and diplomatically to get the Sierra Leone peace process back on track. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bernard Miyet arrived in the country May 8 with experienced staff from headquarters to bolster the administration and public information aspects of the U.N. Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). Miyet is in the country visiting the troops and "demonstrating the will that we have to keep the peace process on track," Eckhard said. The secretary-general's special envoy, Oluyemi Adeniji, is now in the Nigerian capital of Abuja to attend a summit meeting of the presidents of Mali, Liberia, Guinea, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Sierra Leone, the spokesman announced. Arriving at his office May 9, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that what is important for the United Nations is to "consolidate the force, bring the force up to strength as quickly as possible, and continue our efforts to tame Sierra Leone." Responding to a U.N. request for logistical support, the United States on May 8 offered to transport the Bangladesh battalion, which is ready to deploy. The U.N. asked for help in getting the last three battalions (from Bangladesh, India, and Jordan) into the country quickly to bring UNAMSIL up to its full complement of 1,100 peacekeepers. All three have announced their readiness to deploy faster than originally planned, he said. The U.S. airlift of the Bangladesh peacekeepers will begin within the week and is expected to take about a week, Eckhard said. The small airport at Lungi cannot handle the arrival of the battalion and its equipment in less time. In addition, the U.N. is "still looking for strategic lifts for the other two battalions," the spokesman said. In a meeting with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright May 8, the U.S. confirmed its earlier position that they would not contribute troops, Eckhard also said. "They have made it clear to us that they are not going to provide troops." The secretary-general has been consulting with a number of governments about the possibility of providing rapid reaction elements to UNAMSIL, "but so far no offers," Eckhard also said. "Even with talk of Nigeria's consideration, I don't think we're any closer to having rapid reaction capability." The secretary-general has suggested the addition of a rapid reaction force, feeling that such a unit's credibility as a military force would "add to the security of the environment and give us a chance to peruse political objectives," the spokesman said. "The idea is not to go to war against the RUF. The Security Council hasn't authorized us to do that," he said. "What we're trying to do is to use military assets -- either as peacekeepers or, in the case of rapid reaction, as military force -- to stabilize the situation so that the political process can move forward." Annan welcomed the arrival of British troops, which are preparing for the possible evacuation of British nationals, saying that even though the troops were not there to help UNAMSIL, their presence in Sierra Leone can be a stabilizing factor. "They have secured the airport at Lungi, which has permitted us to free up some of the troops we had at Lungi to deploy to other areas where they are needed," Eckhard noted. Regarding the whereabouts of RUF leader Foday Sankoh, "the United Nations does not know where he is," Eckhard said. He stressed that while UNAMSIL "had a presence" in the area around Sankoh's house during the demonstrations, "the U.N. had nothing to do with Sankoh's escape. "We would like to know where he is because he is a key player in the peace efforts and a signatory of the peace agreement. Everyone is actively looking for him," the spokesman said. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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