PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SIERRA LEONE

27 May 1997

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SIERRA LEONE

19970527 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone now in Guinea had appealed to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for immediate assistance to restore civilian rule in his country, the Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations told a Headquarters press conference this morning.

Ambassador James L. Jonah, who said he was still the Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone, said President Kabbah had informed him in a telephone conversation from Guinea that he had made the appeal directly to the ECOWAS Chairman, President Sani Abacha of Nigeria. (President Kabbah's Government was reportedly overthrown in a coup d'etat last Sunday.) Ambassador Jonah said the President was in "good health and in good mood" and looked forward to returning to Sierra Leone.

He said President Kabbah had yesterday, Monday, 26 May, addressed the people of Sierra Leone through the Focus on Africa programme of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The President and many Sierra Leoneans were profoundly gratified that many governments had denounced the coup d'etat. The President was particularly pleased that Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim Ahmed Salim, and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth had denounced the coup d'etat. The coup makers had "no respect for property or the lives" of Sierra Leoneans. He said the reason why the national army had not been able to intervene was that "our army has been known for being undisciplined". When the coup occurred, most of the soldiers had a different agenda, which was to loot.

Asked whether Nigeria had indicated it would intervene, Ambassador Jonah said within the context of ECOWAS, the Nigerians would do "everything possible to restore the legitimate Government of Sierra Leone". He told another correspondent that there had been a firm commitment by ECOWAS to do so. "How they are going to do it, I cannot say, but there's a firm commitment."

Are we talking about the use of troops from ECOWAS States? another correspondent asked. "If possible, yes, because what else do we have in the country", Ambassador Jonah said. Asked how soon he expected ECOWAS troops to enter Sierra Leone to restore order, he said he did not know. Was Nigeria the only ECOWAS member State that had agreed to provide troops? He said he could not give any specifics, but from what he had gathered from President Kabbah, ECOWAS would act. The ECOWAS and the people of Sierra Leone could not wait, he said, and noted that the Italian Government had moved heavily to intervene during the recent chaos in Albania. Nobody had stopped the Italians, he

observed. "Why are questions being raised about ECOWAS when it wants to restore only democracy in Sierra Leone?" Ambassador Jonah asked.

He said the people of Sierra Leone had demonstrated over a year ago that they would not accept military rule and were showing that by not cooperating with the country's new rulers. He believed that by that action, combined with non-recognition by governments and institutions, the life of the regime would be short.

Responding to further questions, Ambassador Jonah welcomed the condemnation of the coup by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and added: "We'll do everything possible to deny them recognition". He announced that he had been authorized by President Kabbah to represent him at the forthcoming summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Harare, Zimbabwe. "We'll hope to obtain from the summit, condemnation of the coup d'etat and sanctions that would not permit any officers concerned with this illegal regime any foothold on any African soil."

Asked whether he would request the Security Council to impose sanctions against the rulers in Sierra Leone, he said, "We don't want them [the military rulers] to stay too long. We want them to go as quickly as possible".

A correspondent said he had seen some reports quoting the Commander of the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG) in Liberia as saying some countries in the subregion were trying to act to reverse the coup. Could he confirm whether military action was contemplated? the correspondent asked. Mr. Jonah said ECOWAS was committed to having democratic governments in the subregion. That had been made clear at a recent ECOWAS summit. The President of Sierra Leone had appealed to ECOWAS and his information was that it was true that "they were trying to take some action" to reverse the coup d'etat. He underlined that the role of Nigeria would be in the context of the organization.

Ambassador Jonah also hoped that governments, which claimed to be faithful to democratic governments, would show as much enthusiasm as ECOWAS countries in trying to restore the legitimate government of Sierra Leone. "There should be no dithering about this", he said, and added that a delay could lead to acceptance. "We'll be grateful if it is possible for ECOWAS to move as rapidly as possible to restore the legitimate government of Sierra Leone."

Commenting that Nigerian troops were already at the capital's airport, a correspondent asked whether they would be intervening from there? Could he also explain the nature of the sanctions which would be requested from the OAU. Ambassador Jonah said they would be intended to make it difficult for any military ruler in future to organize a coup in the country, by denying the regime recognition. He recalled that similar sanctions had been imposed by

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the OAU last year against Liberia. He confirmed the presence of Nigerian troops at the airport.

He said he was bemused to hear from the leader of the coup that the Nigerians and the Ghanaians (in the country) were "our brothers and therefore the citizens should not be worried", adding, "Definitely, the people will welcome action by ECOWAS, I can assure you". He said the soldiers who had taken over in Sierra Leone had been misled by what had happened in Zaire. "[President] Kabbah is not Mobutu [ousted President Mobutu Sese Seko]. It's like night and day and because nobody complained about the take-over of the Government in Zaire by force they thought they could carry out a similar operation in Sierra Leone without any objection."

He said he had warned about such developments in the past. Everyone knew what had happened in the Congo, but the Sierra Leone situation was different. The government was asking ECOWAS for assistance because of its commitment. When Liberia was in chaos, Sierra Leone had placed its territory at the disposal of ECOWAS to restore law and order there. Sierra Leone paid "a heavy price" for that. He called on ECOWAS to "intervene in Sierra Leone, because of that generosity of Sierra Leoneans. We welcomed the refugees into our country. So we believe that they [ECOWAS] have an obligation in our hour of need to come to our assistance".

Earlier, Ambassador Jonah told correspondents that those responsible for the coup were part of Sierra Leone's last military-led government, the National Provisional Revolutionary Council (NPRC). He said even at the time of that regime, there were two armies: the regular army and the NPRC, and there was also much hostility between the two. The NPRC regime was composed of junior officers who organized the coup which brought it to power. The regime was very well armed with officers having the best of everything. As the country moved towards democratization, a split occurred in its ranks resulting in the ouster of its leader, Captain Valentine Strasser, who was then Head of State. He was replaced by Julius Maada Bio. Ambassador Jonah said that the leaders of that regime had no choice but to surrender power.

He also said that at the time, the United Nations and some non- governmental organizations provided an exit for the officers of the regime, one of which was scholarships to enable them to study overseas. Consequently, many of them were currently abroad. He said non-commissioned officers had complained about being left out and were vehemently opposed to the hand-over by the regime. Many of them were dispersed outside the capital in the hope that they would not be in a position to impede the move towards democracy. Unfortunately, they had found a way to contact their comrades.

He also said there had been previous efforts to stage a coup, the last one being the most serious. The new so-called military leader, Major Koromah, was one of those arrested in that attempt and was on trial for treason when he was released from prison on Sunday by the latest coup makers. The army had

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wanted to have him appear before a court martial at the time of his arrest, but President Kabbah felt he should rather be tried by a civilian court. That was why he had survived in prison.

A correspondent asked whether it was possible to offer the new coup makers scholarships to leave the country for study abroad as was done in the case of members of the former military regime? He replied that the reason why the offer was made previously was that the military officers concerned cooperated with the plan to return the country to civilian rule. The new military ruler, as he had said, was on trial for treason at the time of the coup. "What is sad for Sierra Leoneans is that this man is inviting Foday Sankoh [leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) movement], a man who had killed so many Sierra Leoneans, to join the regime." We don't really believe that these renegade soldiers have a need for any kind of safe landing."

Asked how many soldiers had been involved in the coup, he said 20 individuals had broken into the prison and handed over military uniforms to the freed prisoners. The army command had not been part of the coup. "It is these criminals who had donned uniforms parading as soldiers and causing havoc in my country."

Would the coup have any effect on the peace process in neighbouring Liberia, in terms of the return of Liberian refugees? a correspondent asked. He replied that he hoped not, adding however that there was a direct link between peace in the two countries. The ECOMOG troops had sealed the border between Liberia and Sierra Leone, a move he described as prudent to prevent the coup makers from receiving any assistance from Liberian territory.

Asked whether Liberian refugees were being permitted to return to their country, he said that for the time being everything was at a standstill. "You cannot even walk the streets. People are just staying at home. The streets are empty. No activities are going on at the present time."

From what he had learned so far, who was in charge and what was the situation like in Sierra Leone? a correspondent asked. He said it would appear that the coup makers had lost control of the situation. There had been looting and they had asked all troops to return to barracks. Ministers of the former government were ignoring calls by the regime to report to the military. Workers had also ignored appeals to go to work. "This is a total non- cooperation of the people of Sierra Leone to this military regime", he said.

A correspondent, noting that what was being discussed was intervention by any State, asked Ambassador Jonah what his concept of sovereignty was? "Wasn't that creating a precedent for all of Africa?", he asked. Ambassador Jonah said it was the sovereign right of any legitimate government to ask for assistance from any State. It was self-defence which was recognized by the United Nations Charter. He further commented: "We have done it with our eyes

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closed in Zaire or Congo". In the case of Sierra Leone, he said it was an elected government which was asking for help because a group of people was "riding roughshod" over the people of Sierra Leone. Was the idea to restore (President) Kabbah? a correspondent asked. Ambassador Jonah said President Kabbah was the elected President of Sierra Leone.

Asked whether there could be pressure on ECOWAS not to intervene in Sierra Leone? he said: "We will not accept that". He asked why African States could be told not to intervene in Sierra Leone. "Who told the Italians they could not do it in Albania", he asked, and recalled that a major operation was launched to restore democracy in Haiti. "I think these double standards should end", he remarked.

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