SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS SIERRA LEONE, LIBERIA
Press Release
SG/T/2007
SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS SIERRA LEONE, LIBERIA
19951129 On 29 November, the Secretary-General, coming from ACCRA, arrived at 10:30 a.m. in Freetown to pay an official visit to Sierra Leone.The Secretary-General was welcomed at the airport by the Head of State, Captain Valentine B. M. Strasser. Also present were the Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone, Alusine Fofanah and Ambassador Berhanu Dinka, the Secretary- General's Special Envoy for Sierra Leone. The Secretary-General reviewed a Guard of Honour.
In a press statement, the President stated that the Secretary-General's visit was an historical event. The Secretary-General expressed the hope that his visit would help the people of Sierra Leone to achieve more peace, security, progress and democratization.
From 10.45 a.m. the Secretary-General had a tete-a-tete with President Strasser. At 11.10 a.m., the President was joined by his Foreign Minister and the Secretary-General by Ambassador Lansana Kouyate, Assistant Secretary- General for Political Affairs and by his Special Envoy. This meeting lasted 30 minutes.
The Secretary-General stated that the President had reassured him that the Government had the support of the people for a democratic system and for the elections to be held on 26 February 1996. The Secretary-General stated that the political will existed in Sierra Leone to hold the elections despite some guerilla activity. He also said that his visit to Sierra Leone had to be seen in the context of the renewed interest of the international community for peace and democracy in Sierra Leone, as demonstrated by the adoption of a presidential statement by the Security Council on Sierra Leone on 27 November, and by the convening of a Pledging Conference on electoral assistance on 30 November in New York. The Secretary-General hoped that the visit will help sierra Leone obtain increased support from the international community in favour of the process of democratization. He also said that a stable and democratic government was a prerequisite for the reconstruction of the country.
At noon the Secretary-General left Freetown for Monrovia, where he arrived at 12.50 p.m. He was welcomed by foreign Minister Momolu Sirleaf and reviewed a guard of honour. Also present was the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Liberia, Ambassador Anthony Nyaki. The Secretary- General visited United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) headquarters and addressed the staff, urging them to pursue all efforts to contribute to peace and reconstruction in Liberia.
The Secretary-General then met for ninety minutes with the Council of State of the Liberian National Transitional Government, headed by the Head of State Wilton Sankawolo. The meeting was attended by: Chief Tamba Taylor, Alhaji Krumah, Charles Taylor and Oscar Quiah. The sixth member of the Council of State, Goerge Boley, was unable to participate because of illness. Also present on the Government side was the Foreign Minister; on the United Nations side, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Lansana Kouyate, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Acting Chief of the military observers, General Mahmoud Rousan; and on the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG) side, Field Commander Major-General Inienger (Nigeria) and the Special Envoy of the President of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Victor Gbeho.
The Chairman of the Council of State welcomed the visit of the Secretary-General as an historic event at a time when the United Nations had a key role to play to promote peace and reconciliation in Liberia. Recalling the signature of the Abuja agreement on 19 August 1995, the pledging conference for assistance to Liberia organized by the Security Council on 10 November of resolution 1020 (1995) which authorized the expansion of the number of military observers up to 160, the Secretary-General said that his visit was intended to maintain the momentum of the renewed efforts to restore peace, security and stability in Liberia.
The Secretary-General emphasized that now was the time to build on the peace process with a view to obtaining the assistance needed from the international community and bilateral donors. He appealed to the Council of State to intensify efforts to demobilize the former combatants and to reintegrate them into civil life and to respect the timetable as agreed at Abuja.
The Secretary-General and the members of the Council of State had an in- depth discussion on the respective roles of ECOMOG and UNOMIL and on ways to improve their cooperation.
At 4:15 p.m., the Secretary-General gave a press conference at Monrovia Airport. He stated that the members of the Council of State had assured him of their political will to continue the peace and reconciliation process and had asked him to tell the international community that this process was irreversible. He concluded that the peace process continued and if there was progress on the ground the international community would offer additional resources.
At the end of the day the Secretary-General left for Cotonou, Benin, where he will attend the Francophone Summit, 2-4 December.
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