22 May 2000
U.S. Envoy Jackson Says Sierra Leone Mission "Is on Target"
(Comments before flying to Mali) (610) By Jim Fisher-Thompson Washington File Staff Correspondent Monrovia, Liberia -- Before departing for Bamako, Mali, and the concluding leg of his special diplomatic mission to get the Lome peace process back on track in Sierra Leone and secure the release of U.N. peacekeepers held hostage there, the Reverend Jesse Jackson told journalists May 20 that so far "our mission is on target." Jackson, special envoy of the president and the secretary of state for the promotion of democracy in Africa, made his comments at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Bismarck Myrick in Monrovia, after a final meeting with Liberian President Charles Taylor. Taylor, whom Jackson characterized as a key player in revitalizing the Lome Peace Accord, signed last year, has been instrumental in obtaining the release of about a third of the 500 United Nations peacekeepers who were taken hostage by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) more than a week ago. In Mali, Jackson was to confer with President Alpha Oumar Konare, the current chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), about the crisis in Sierra Leone. Regarding his latest meeting with Taylor, Jackson said the Liberian president "has made a very public commitment ... [and] appeal for the release of the U.N. hostages unconditionally," for which he should be applauded. Jackson said Taylor told him that should his efforts fail, he (Taylor) would be prepared "to work with Nigerian forces under the ECOWAS banner" to bring peace to Sierra Leone. The ECOWAS leaders meet next week in Abuja, Nigeria, to discuss a possible revitalization of ECOMOG in Sierra Leone. ECOWAS sponsored a two-year ECOMOG peacekeeping effort in the country, which was manned mainly by Nigerian troops, who were relieved last April by a United Nations peacekeeping mission known as UNAMSIL (U.N. Mission in Sierra Leone). RUF forces seized some 500 of the peacekeepers recently and disarmed them. Jackson said, "It is critical now that disarmament, [and] demobilization take place" in Sierra Leone so that when the ECOWAS conference occurs the "remaining issues that are involved in getting Lome [peace accord] back on track can take place." Jackson said he also has reassured Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of America's continued interest in and commitment to working with Africans to achieve a successful end to this latest crisis. The U.S. envoy said neighboring President Olusegun Obasanjo also had "made clear his commitment to sending more Nigerian peacekeepers to Sierra Leone "under a U.N. mandate" when the two met in Benin City May 18. Referring to what has become the biggest impediment to peace in Sierra Leone -- the RUF movement -- Jackson said, "The reality is that the diamond smuggling, gold smuggling, gun running, torture, and terrorism must stop and that democracy must prevail." As Jackson met with Taylor, President Kabbah was asked by CNN television about the fate of RUF leader Foday Sankoh, who was captured by Sierra Leonean police in Freetown recently. Noting that an investigation was under way into the events surrounding Sankoh's disappearance and RUF's continued resort to violence, Kabbah said, "If a person has committed a crime he will have to face the full force of the law." Responding to criticism that the Lome Peace Accord was flawed because it legitimized RUF and gave Sankoh a seat in government, Kabbah said, "It is a good agreement that includes provisions good for the country." (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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