DATE=6/15/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=BRITAIN / SIERRA LEONE
NUMBER=5-46506
BYLINE=LAURIE KASSMAN
DATELINE=LONDON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: British troops are leaving Sierra Leone one
month after they were dispatched to bolster U-N
peacekeeping operations and help evacuate British
nationals. About 200 soldiers will remain to help
train new recruits for Sierra Leone's army and improve
army intelligence and communications. Britain also is
spearheading efforts to curb diamond smuggling that is
funding rebel forces in Sierra Leone. V-O-A
Correspondent Laurie Kassman looks at Britain's role
and responsibility in its former colony in West
Africa.
TEXT: The commander of British forces in Sierra
Leone, Brigadier David Richie, told British radio that
Britain's emergency task force has provided a much-
needed boost to morale and to Sierra Leone's efforts
to end a bloody civil war that has been raging on and
off for nearly a decade.
/// RICHIE ACT ///
What we've achieved here -- and it's much more
than we anticipated three weeks ago -- is to
serve as a catalyst to enable the government and
the U-N to have another go at this and this time
fully understanding what's involved.
/// END ACT ///
Britain's foreign minister visited Sierra Leone to
personally promise more help to come, including more
than 30-million dollars in aid.
Ironically, Sierra Leone is rich in diamonds but the
mines are controlled by the rebels, not the
government. Now, Britain is spearheading efforts to
curb the illegal diamond trade that finances rebel
operations. Britain is also calling on its European
Union partners to suspend aid for Liberia, which
allows diamond smuggling across its borders.
Britain's actions help solidify its foothold in Sierra
Leone's military and political establishment. But
that is not surprising.
David Anderson heads the Africa Affairs Center at
London's School of Oriental and African Studies. He
says it is natural for Britain to feel a sense of
responsibility toward its former colony.
/// ANDERSON ACT ONE ///
Because of the Commonwealth, which is an
international organization that has maintained
some of the links of the old empire in a post-
colonial world, because of that, Britain does
have closer international relations with its
former colonies. And that does not
necessarily imply a burden of debt, but it means
that Britain is often the place to which these
other countries will look to for assistance in
times such as these. And that should not be
very surprising.
/// END ACT ///
Britain sees its role in Sierra Leone as a positive
force. Christopher Eades, an analyst with the
Economist Intelligence Unit, says it is natural that
Sierra Leone would turn to its former colonial power
for help rather than blame it for the crisis.
/// EADES ACT ///
In terms of blame, the problems in Sierra Leone
are very much home-brewed.
/// END ACT ///
Britain's good relations with Sierra Leone sharply
contrasts with its soured ties to another former
colony, Zimbabwe, whose leaders blame Britain's
colonial legacy for their problems.
Still, Africa expert David Anderson does not totally
exclude Britain or other world powers from blame in
Sierra Leone's crisis. He criticizes their benign
neglect.
/// ANDERSON ACT TWO ///
The world was looking elsewhere and too often
this is the case. Sierra Leone is strategically
unimportant, economically unimportant, so the
world powers did not have their eyes fixed on
Sierra Leone as a problem. But very often, it's
a seemingly placid situation that turns into
something truly horrific.
/// END ACT ///
The country's nine-year civil war flared again after
rebel forces seized hundreds of U-N peacekeepers. The
fighting continues.
The British military presence and promises of help
appear to have bolstered the morale of U-N
peacekeepers and Sierra Leone's government.
But Britain's longer-term policy also depends on the
ability of Sierra Leone's government to stop the
bloodshed and get on with reforming a country that is
rich in resources but considered one of the world's
most impoverished nations. (Signed)
NEB/LMK/JWH/JP
15-Jun-2000 10:29 AM EDT (15-Jun-2000 1429 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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