DATE=5/14/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=SIERRA LEONE/KOROMA
NUMBER=5-46314
BYLINE=JOHN PITMAN
DATELINE=FREETOWN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In Sierra Leone, a former coup leader is
emerging as one of the country's most popular and
powerful political figures. Johnny Paul Koroma says
he made mistakes in the past, but wants to redeem his
reputation by supporting the government. From
Freetown, Correspondent John Pitman has this profile
of Mr. Koroma, whose political ambitions remain
shrouded in mystery.
TEXT: These days, Johnny Paul Koroma sits in his
Freetown residence surrounded by an entourage of young
men with battlefield nicknames like Hiroshima Bomb.
Many carry automatic weapons or pistols. Some wear
parts of old camouflage uniforms. Others wear street
clothes.
To an observer, Mr. Koroma might reasonably be
mistaken for a warlord who commands a private army of
loyal followers.
But ask him about his current position in Sierra
Leone, and the retired lieutenant colonel will recite
- with an enigmatic smile on his face - his official
government title: Chairman of the Commission for the
Consolidation of Peace.
Ask him about the armed men around him and he says
they are part of the government army. He told V-O-A
on Friday - I do not have soldiers, all I have done is
to mobilize some of the soldiers who were just
floating around.
Most of Mr. Koroma's followers are former soldiers who
supported his short-lived coup, which briefly ousted
President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in 1997.
At the time, the coup was not supported by most
ordinary civilians, and an alliance between the
military junta and the rebel Revolutionary United
Front soured Mr. Koroma's reputation with the public
even further.
But during the past year, Mr. Koroma has slowly
rebuilt his reputation with an elaborate display of
support for the Lome' peace accord. In the past week,
the former mutineers appear to have completed their
remarkable transformation - regaining the support of a
large majority of this city's civilians in exchange
for helping the regular army and the United Nations
defend Freetown from a rebel assault.
Mr. Koroma said Friday that he now supports president
Kabbah and wants to put the past behind him.
/// KOROMA ACT #1///
We are giving him all the support. We are
showing him mistakes have been made before, but
we are patriotic, and they have seen the
demonstration, and we are committed to peace in
this country. And, I am a civilian. I am
committed to democracy.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Koroma's role in the new military alliance between
the regular army, his men, and the traditional Kamajor
militia remains unclear, although he insists he is not
playing a major part.
/// KOROMA ACT #2 ///
I do not have a military role. I am a retired
lieutenant colonel. I retired about five-
months, six-months ago. And once a soldier is
always a soldier. I cannot sit by. I am a
soldier and I see my country under threat. I
have to put on my uniform and organize my men.
/// END ACT ///
Asked about his attempt to overthrow the government in
1997 - and his alliance with the R-U-F - Mr. Koroma
concedes that mistakes were made. But he defends his
decision to reach out to the R-U-F, saying he still
believes the rebels will never be defeated militarily.
Mr. Koroma said - you cannot finish off a guerrilla by
fighting, you have to bring him to the table.
Nonetheless, Mr. Koroma adds that the R-U-F betrayed
his trust and should be now treated with extreme
caution.
/// OPT KOROMA ACT ///
It was not a mistake (to invite the rebels to
negotiate), because I did it purposely in the
interests of peace. But having studied their
attitudes and their way of behavior, I think we
did it hurriedly. We should have found a way of
screening them. You know? Or we should have
negotiated with them before calling them. I
think that was the mistake.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
Local political analysts say Mr. Koroma was, in fact,
outsmarted by the R-U-F in 1997. The rebels used his
invitation to negotiate a peace deal in an attempt to
leverage their way into power. Mr. Koroma was
arrested by the R-U-F shortly after the rebels arrived
in Freetown, and was detained by them for more than
18-months.
Mr. Koroma's detention nearly cost him his life, but
he now uses it to deflect criticism that his troops
committed atrocities against civilians while fighting
alongside the R-U-F. For example, he is evasive when
asked about the bloody rebel assault on Freetown in
January of 1999, claiming that some of his followers
might have defected to the R-U-F, but none were
ordered to attack the capital.
Mr. Koroma's denial stands in stark contrast to
eyewitness reports collected in Freetown during the
January 6th invasion. But there is a widespread
willingness among ordinary Sierra Leoneans to accept
his apologies and to embrace him as a leader capable
of protecting the capital from the rebels.
/// OPT /// At a demonstration organized by Mr.
Koroma last week, thousands of people rallied to his
anti-rebel message, and said they were willing to give
him a second chance. /// END OPT ///
President Kabbah's government is also cautiously
embracing Mr. Koroma. Presidential spokesman Septimus
Kai Kai says the government's alliance with Mr. Koroma
does carry some risks - especially with Mr. Koroma's
followers now rearmed. But Mr. Kai Kai adds the
former coup leader appears to have changed his ways.
/// KAI KAI ACT ///
From what we have seen so far, we seem to be
reasonably pleased with the type of remorse Mr.
Johnny Paul Koroma has shown, for example. We
seem to be reasonably pleased with the level of
commitment he has demonstrated so far.
/// END OPT ///
How long Mr. Koroma will maintain this level of
commitment remains an open question for a man known to
have lofty political ambitions, and who also controls
a sizeable militia. But when asked about his
political future on Friday, the 40-year-old born-again
Christian would only say that his future was in God's
hands. (SIGNED)
NEB/JP/DW/RAE
14-May-2000 12:36 PM EDT (14-May-2000 1636 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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