16 May 2000
Jackson: People of Sierra Leone and U.S. Want Peace and Justice
(Holds telepress conference on west Africa visit) (560) By Charles W. Corey Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The people of Sierra Leone and the United States are on "the same side of history, fighting for peace and justice" and should turn "to each other and not on each other," says the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the special envoy of President Clinton and the Secretary of State for democracy in Africa who leaves this week on a mission to end the fighting in the west African nation. In a May 16 telepress conference, the Reverend Jackson sought to clarify comments he made earlier regarding the African National Congress and Revolutionary United Front (RUF) while discussing his upcoming mission. Jackson also will try to gain the release of U.N. peacekeepers and civilians being detained by Foday Sankoh's RUF forces. "There must be no misunderstanding about what I meant to convey when I mentioned the African National Congress (ANC) in my comments," said Jackson, who also has scheduled talks in Liberia, Guinea, Mali and Nigeria. "The purpose was not to compare the RUF and the ANC. There is no equivalence between the two. My intention was merely to note that the ANC became a part of the political process. Nelson Mandela is a statesman who left prison after nearly three decades and successfully led his people to national reconciliation, democratic elections, and a future of hope. "After years of struggle against a repressive government," Jackson told his audience, "the ANC could do this because it held the moral high ground and had the support of a majority of South Africans. The RUF has neither." Revolutionary United Front leader, Foday Sankoh, he said, "left prison and led Sierra Leone to the crisis it is in now -- divided, destroyed, and dejected," Jackson noted. "There is no comparison there. If the RUF wants to play a long-term role in Sierra Leone, it must disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate itself into Sierra Leonean society as a political party." Jackson also made it clear that Sankoh and the RUF alone are responsible for the current crisis in Sierra Leone. "I condemn fully and unequivocally the violations of the Lome Agreement by the RUF, their taking of hostages, and the recent violence against unarmed civilians. "Unfortunately," he added, "Foday Sankoh has discredited himself in the eyes of the people of Sierra Leone and many in the international community. The people of Sierra Leone seek peace and justice and understandably hold him accountable." Jackson attributed misunderstandings about his earlier remarks to a "breakdown in communications" that must be corrected. "We do not have a philosophical disagreement or ideological disagreement. Our concern right now is over a shared concern...stop the military incursion...get in enough peace-enforcing elements to secure the government...get the U.N. peacekeepers released and...the government then can determine the contour of its peace partners as it goes forward." The government of Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah "should be supported in those efforts." Clear communication between the people of the United States and Sierra Leone is essential, Jackson said. "The worst thing that we can do is to not communicate. When we talk we bring clarity. In our anguish, our anger and our pain, we must be able to know that if we keep fighting together and don't fight each other, the peace that we deserve will be realized." (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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