23 May 2000
Annan Suggests More Peacekeepers Needed for Sierra Leone
(RUF'S Sankoh has no place in process, he says) (830) By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent United Nations -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended that the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone be increased to 16,500 in order to help stabilize the peace, which has been threatened by Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, and has suggested that more troops might be needed in the future to solidify the peace process. In a written report to the Security Council, Annan said that the accelerated deployment of the U.N. Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and the recent increase in its mandated level to 13,000 "will not be enough to create conditions which would be conducive to the establishment of lasting peace." He also said it would be important that the political pressure being exerted by nations in the region and the international community "be supported by a strong military posture, including on the part of the United Nations, to deter RUF from pursuing the military option." The report came three days after the Security Council voted unanimously to increase UNAMSIL's strength from 11,100 to 13,000. In both his report and comments to journalists at U.N. headquarters in New York, Annan blamed the RUF and its leader Foday Sankoh, who is being held by the Sierra Leonean police, for the tense situation in the country, the detention of about 500 UNAMSIL peacekeepers -- some 300 still held by RUF -- and the threat to the Lome peace process. "While part of the responsibility for some of the recent events may lie with local commanders of the RUF, it is clear that Mr. Sankoh has failed to take any action to prevent, curb, or stop the actions of his troops," Annan said. "On the contrary, there is some evidence that he may well have encouraged, if not planned, some of these acts." "The international community should hold Mr. Sankoh accountable for his actions and those of RUF and for the safety and well-being of all those who have been detained," the secretary-general said in the report. "I believe by his behavior he has excluded himself from the process," Annan told journalists May 22. The secretary-general also suggested that the Security Council consider strengthening sanctions against the RUF to prevent it "from reaping the benefits of their illegal exploitation of mineral resources, in particular diamonds." Nevertheless, Annan said that the Lome peace agreement remains the most appropriate framework for the resolution of the conflict and contains many elements which contribute to a durable peace, including the disarmament of all factions, national reconciliation, the holding of democratic elections, and the creation of an effective national army and police force. Annan said that as UNAMSIL reaches it 13,000-troop level it will consolidate and reinforce its positions at Lungi airport and other strategic locations on the main access roads to the capital, with the main objective of ensuring the protection of Freetown and government institutions to deter and, "if necessary, repel further attacks by RUF." In the future, he said, UNAMSIL will need two additional infantry battalions -- a mechanized one and one air-transportable battalion for rapid reinforcement; a logistic battalion; a light artillery unit; additional air transportation assets and armed helicopters; and a maritime unit of six armed patrol boats as well as the necessary medical, communications, intelligence, and command personnel. But the secretary-general also stressed that a lasting solution of the crisis can only be found through political, not military means, and he called on the leaders of the factions fighting on the side of the government "to exercise restraint, to respect the rule of law, and to refrain from any acts of harassment or revenge against RUF members or sympathizers." The United Nations will also have to draw lessons from the experience in which UNAMSIL, designed and deployed as a peacekeeping force, was quickly forced into actual combat with one of the parties to the peace agreement, he said. The Secretariat is taking urgent steps to address equipment shortfalls and other problems that befell the mission, including those regarding command and control, cohesiveness, the flow of information, equipment, and preparedness of the troops, he said. In the report Annan also pleaded with the international community not to abandon Sierra Leone in its search for a durable peace. The plight of the people and government of Sierra Leone "has become a crucial test of the solidarity of the international community, rising above race and geography, which is a basic guiding principle" of the United Nations, the secretary-general said. "The United Nations has not abandoned and will not abandon Sierra Leone. It should continue to provide humanitarian aid and the required assistance in taking the many steps needed on the path to peace, national reconciliation, and development," he said. (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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