PRESS CONFERENCE BY SIERRA LEONE

10 October 1996

Press Briefing

19961010 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

Sierra Leone President Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah told correspondents at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon that, since he took office six months ago, his Government had been preoccupied with establishing peace and rebuilding the economic and social infrastructure.

Sierra Leone had been embroiled in a war with a rebel group calling itself the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) since 1991, he explained. While there still was no signed peace agreement between the State of Sierra Leone and the RUF, he believed that progress had been made in the negotiation process.

Mr. Kabbah said the Government also had been working to devise corrective actions to stem the further decline of the Sierra Leone economy, which had become virtually paralysed as a result of 25 years under a one-party dictatorship and four years of military rule. At the same time, the Government had focused efforts on achieving national reconciliation to repair the damage to the social cohesion that occurred over the previous three decades.

Asked about the status of Liberian refugees in Sierra Leone, Mr. Kabbah replied that he had received many questions and letters from the international community about refugees in Sierra Leone. At the beginning of the rebel war in 1991, many refugees emigrated to Sierra Leone, and they were seamlessly integrated into the society. Unfortunately, some of the Liberian refugees had been recruited by the RUF to aid their cause and destabilize the country.

He added that, during the recent influx of Liberian refugees into Sierra Leone, the Government took certain steps to ensure that it would not repeat the mistakes of the past. Measures were established, and the Government had been very selective about which immigrants were allowed into Sierra Leone.

A correspondent asked if RUF leader Foday Sankoh had been offered a government position during recent peace talks. Mr. Kabbah said the Government had realized that there would be no peace in Sierra Leone if a certain faction remained hostile to the rest of the country. He had compiled a list of government positions that might interest Mr. Sankoh. However, anyone nominated for a government position must be approved by the Parliament, and he doubted Mr. Sankoh would be approved because the RUF campaign had caused great suffering in Sierra Leone.

When asked about violations of the cease-fire, Mr. Kabbah said he had asked Mr. Sankoh about reports of ambushes along highways and attacks of vehicles carrying food. Mr. Sankoh had explained that when a guerrilla is alone in the bush and hungry, he goes out and looks for food, and that was the cause of the recent attacks. Mr. Kabbah said that he accepted this explanation and believed it was a correct analysis of the situation. Other violations were banditry and nothing else.

A correspondent asked about the level of assistance the Sierra Leonean Government had received from the international community towards reconstruction and peace efforts. Mr. Kabbah said several countries and organizations had pledged immediate support at the recent Round Table Conference in Geneva on 17 to 18 September 1996. Longer-term assistance would be the subject of another meeting to be held in Paris in three to four months, under the auspices of the World Bank.

Asked for his opinion of the United States proposal to establish an African task force to respond to crises on the continent, Mr. Kabbah said he was not really familiar with the proposal. He did know that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had in place a mechanism for conflict resolution in Africa. It was his belief that African countries needed to work to strengthen the OAU and to appeal to the international community, if necessary. The OAU was the regional institution set up to address this type of situation.

On steps the Sierra Leone Government had taken to attract foreign investors, Mr. Kabbah told a questioner his Government had recently made statements and enacted policies to attract foreign investors to Sierra Leone. In addition, it had asked for a review of business laws in order to make it easier for foreign investors to come and go. "Our doors are wide open for investors and they are most welcome", he added.

A correspondent asked if it were true that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had pressured the Sierra Leone Government to alter aspects of its structural adjustment. Mr. Kabbah said the IMF had never put pressure on the Government. During a recent review of its programme, the IMF had suggested ways to address an unexplained shortfall. During subsequent discussions, the Government and the IMF agreed on how to resolve the matter. It was purely a management decision.

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