DATE=5/12/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SIERRA LEONE (L)
NUMBER=2-262310
BYLINE=JOHN PITMAN
DATELINE=FREETOWN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Sierra Leone, the victims from Monday's
deadly shooting attack were buried as heroes today
(Friday). The 19 civilians were killed by gunmen
loyal to rebel leader Foday Sankoh, who disappeared
shortly after the shooting and remains missing.
Meanwhile, the United Nations continued reinforcing
its peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone on Friday.
V-O-A's John Pitman has details on the day's events
from Freetown.
TEXT: A slow procession of flatbed trucks and hearses
carried the 19 coffins through the streets of Freetown
and into the national stadium, where thousands of
mourners gathered for a memorial service.
Christian and Muslim clerics led the crowd in prayers
for the dead, who were referred to as "heroes" in most
of the eulogies. Throughout the service, the coffins
were lined up in a row aboard one of the trucks.
Blue, white and green Sierra Leonean flags covered
each of the simple wood caskets.
Political leaders, including President Ahmad Tejan
Kabbah, also addressed the crowd. Mr. Kabbah
expressed his condolences to the victims' families and
lashed out at rebel leader Foday Sankoh, whose men
fired indiscriminately on a crowd of unarmed
protesters who had gathered at Mr. Sankoh's house on
Monday.
The speakers blamed Mr. Sankoh for much of the death
and destruction that has gripped this country since
1991, when Mr. Sankoh, a former Army corporal,
launched his civil war against Sierra Leone's central
government.
They also held Mr. Sankoh responsible for the
breakdown of last year's Lome peace agreement, which
has led to the recent upsurge of fighting here.
"Never again," vowed president Kabbah, "will we let
one man destroy Sierra Leone."
As the victims were being laid to rest, efforts to
bolster the United Nations peacekeeping force
continued with the arrival of 300 Jordanian
peacekeepers. The British Army, which has begun
assisting the U-N with logistical support, flew the
newly arrived peacekeepers to the town of Hastings,
about 20 kilometers south of Freetown, where the
Jordanian battalion has been securing the main highway
leading into the capital.
The U-N force now numbers some nine-thousand troops,
but more than 400 remain held captive by the rebels in
several locations around the country.
On Friday, the military situation was calm, with no
fighting reported anywhere in the country.
/// OPT /// A U-N spokesman said Friday that the
situation in Freetown had stabilized enough to allow
the return of 100 civilian staff members who had been
evacuated last week. Spokesman David Wimhurst said
the staff members were needed to support the newly
arrived peacekeepers. /// END OPT ///
Despite the calm, Sierra Leone's government continued
to arm and deploy a coalition of regular Army
soldiers, former soldiers and militiamen. Colonel Tom
Carew, the government's chief of defense staff, said
Friday that the three groups were coordinating their
operations under a centralized command.
Former coup leader Johnny Paul Koroma, who has now
thrown his support behind the government, said former
soldiers who supported his coup had been rearmed and
were fighting alongside the government and the United
Nations.
Addressing concerns that his followers -- who had
helped depose President Kabbah in 1998 -- might not be
trusted by the regular army, Mr. Koroma said Friday
that there was now, in his words, only "one army" that
was not divided by past political differences.
Sam Hinga Norman, the deputy defense minister and
leader of the Kamajor militia, also played down Mr.
Koroma's past, saying there had been, in his words, "a
deep dislike" for Mr. Koroma's men in the past. But
that currently, the former mutineers were coordinating
well with the government.
/// OPT /// In an interview on Friday, Mr. Norman
conceded that the former coup leader and the Kamajors
-- who have always supported President Kabbah -- were,
in his words, "queer bedmates." But he insisted the
two sides were regaining each others' trust. "We are
not best friends yet," he said. "But we are friends.
Best will come later."
Mr. Koroma and Mr. Norman both confirmed that their
forces were coordinating under Colonel Carew's central
command. But it remained unclear whether the chief of
defense staff was issuing orders to the pro-government
militias, or if they were receiving orders directly
from their respective leaders. /// END OPT ///
For its part, the United Nations has also formalized
its ties with the government and its allies, and has
begun providing some logistical support to them. A
high-level meeting between Mr. Koroma, Mr. Norman,
Colonel Carew and the U-N force commander, Indian
General Vijay Kumar Jetley, was scheduled for Friday.
The pro-government allies say their biggest needs
right now are regular supplies of ammunition and food,
as well as transportation. On Friday, Mr. Koroma and
Mr. Norman also urged the United Nations to leave most
of the fighting to their men, who they said were
better prepared to fight a guerrilla war. (SIGNED)
NEB/JP/JP
12-May-2000 17:59 PM EDT (12-May-2000 2159 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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