DATE=5/15/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SIERRA LEONE / U-N (S-L 2ND UPDATE)
NUMBER=2-262390
BYLINE=JOHN PITMAN
DATELINE=FREETOWN
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The United Nations says 139 peacekeepers have
been released from rebel captivity and are now in
Liberia. The peacekeepers are divided in two groups -
one in Liberia's capital, Monrovia, the other in a
small town near the Sierra Leonean border. As VOA's
John Pitman reports from Freetown, the peacekeepers
were freed after several days of negotiations mediated
by Liberia's president Charles Taylor.
TEXT: The U-N special representative to Sierra Leone,
Oluyemi Adeniji, says president Taylor played a
"positive" role in winning the release of the
peacekeepers.
Last Tuesday, the Economic Community of West African
States, ECOWAS, asked Mr. Taylor to use his influence
with the Revolutionary United Front, the R-U-F, to win
the peacekeepers' freedom.
President Taylor's relationship with the R-U-F was
seen by ECOWAS leaders as one of the only ways to re-
establish contact with the rebel group after its
leader, Foday Sankoh, disappeared last Monday.
Mr. Adeniji says negotiations with the R-U-F have
become more difficult since Mr. Sankoh's disappearance
- partly because, in his words, "we don't know who to
talk to - and when we do know someone, we can't find
them."
/// REST OPT ///
Mr. Adeniji said Mr. Taylor also appears to be in the
dark about Mr. Sankoh's whereabouts, but he said the
Liberian president has an envoy who has been shuttling
between Monrovia and an undisclosed R-U-F contact.
The U-N official said all of the former detainees are
in good condition, but was not able to release their
names or nationalities.
The United Nations hopes to send helicopters to
Liberia in the coming days to evacuate the
peacekeepers, starting with the 15 currently in
Monrovia.
More than 300 U-N peacekeepers and military observers
remain in R-U-F captivity, but Mr. Adeniji said he was
hopeful a "process" had now begun to win all of the
detainees' freedom.
Mr. Adeniji also said the 139 peacekeepers were
released unconditionally, adding - in his view - that
the R-U-F had not gained any "practical benefit" by
detaining the U-N personnel.
For their part, the rebels have not made any specific
demands in exchange for the peacekeepers' release.
But on Sunday, president Taylor warned Sierra Leone's
government not to attack rebel held areas, saying it
could jeopardize the detainees' safety.
Asked about this warning, Mr. Adeniji said the United
Nations has urged the government to show caution for
the detainees' sake. But he added neither the
government nor the United Nations was, in his words,
"widening" the war against the rebels.
President Taylor broadened his appeal for calm on
Monday, calling on all sides to observe an immediate
ceasefire. In a news agency report, Mr. Taylor is
quoted as saying a truce would help facilitate his
efforts to negotiate the release of the remaining
peacekeepers.
Although the rebels have begun freeing their captives,
concerns remain about the weapons the R-U-F are said
to have confiscated from the peacekeepers. Reports
from the front lines near Freetown suggest the rebels
may be using some of the captured U-N arms, including
an armored personnel carrier.
On Monday, Mr. Adeniji said the rebels' use of U-N
arms cannot be ruled out. But he added the United
Nations has seen "no evidence" that U-N equipment had
been deployed by the R-U-F. (SIGNED)
NEB/JP/KBK
15-May-2000 15:57 PM EDT (15-May-2000 1957 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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