PRESS BRIEFING, 25 January 2002

(Near Verbatim)
MARGARET NOVICKI - SPOKESMAN

VOTER REGISTRATION STARTS IN SIERRA LEONE

The Sierra Leone National Electoral Commission (NEC) yesterday started to register voters throughout the country for presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in May. The two-week process, which will end on 7 February, is designed to register one-third of the total population of Sierra Leone.

In the townships of Makeni and Magburaka in the northern districts of Bombali and Tonkolili respectively, scores of residents queued at registration and photo centers to register. According to NEC officials in the area, every registration center will later be transformed into a polling station. In addition, most of the registration centers have demonstrators and hailers providing on-the-spot guidance to the voters.

The Bombali district, which consists of five chiefdoms, has 384 registration centers supported by 50 photo centers. At one of the registration centers, the regional election supervisor, Mr. Sylvanus Bell, confirmed that the process was moving fast and that more sensitization was needed to encourage voters to register. "We are quite sure that the registration process will be completed by the target date of 7 February. That is why we have stepped up the sensitization of voters at the village level," he said.

The Sierra Leone voter registration, which is also supported by the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) through the provision of logistics, is said to be on course in many of the regions of the country, with minor delays elsewhere.

The Commanding Officer of Nigerian Battalion 7 deployed in the northern town of Makeni, Col. J.A.P. Oladipo, noted that the process was going on smoothly. "Our peacekeepers provide storage facilities for the registration materials. We have also intensified our patrols to provide the needed security for the process and we can even provide escorts where needed," he said.

DSRSG CALLS FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION IN KOIDU

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Operations and Management, Mr. Behrooz Sadry, on 23 January called on Sierra Leoneans to learn to forgive each other so that the wounds of war could be healed.

Delivering a keynote address in Koidu, Kono District, at a peace and reconciliation conference organized by the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace (CCP) in collaboration with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), Mr. Sadry congratulated the CCP for its initiative to sensitize the people on the need for reconciliation following the decade-old war.

He noted, "Peace can only come if we learn to forgive and forget the bad things our neighbors have done to us. Peace and reconciliation begins with us, the people of this land."

The Deputy Special Representative emphasized that it was "the responsibility of Sierra Leoneans to promote peace both internationally and at the local level." He said sustainable peace must be worked at through reconciliation, forgiveness, repentance and justice. Mr. Sadry stressed that striving for durable peace must therefore be the primary occupation of every Sierra Leonean.

"UNAMSIL is here to support you in your reconciliation efforts so that the wounds of the war can be healed and to remind you that reprisals and vengeance will not solve the problems, but forgiveness will," he said. Mr. Sadry warned participants against "agitators who will continue to incite Sierra Leoneans based on their ill intentions, greed or anger."

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Johnny Paul Koroma, emphasized the urgent need for reconciliation amongst the people of Kono district, adding, "people fight because they are not patient to talk." He stated that revenge will not solve the problem and that the people should accept each other in the spirit of reconciliation. Mr. Koroma also disclosed that the Commission will be setting up peace and reconciliation committees at ward and chiefdom levels which will represent all groups.

In his address, a representative from the Sierra Leone Police emphasized the role of the police in working towards the restoration of peace. He observed that using tolerance and flexibility, the police had been able to carry out its duties in Kono District.

The President of the National Union of Students, Charles Kief Kobai, said while combatants have disarmed and peace has now returned, Sierra Leoneans have to carry out mental disarmament as well. "We need repentance plus forgiveness, which give rise to durable peace."

Mr. Kobai observed that there was still division between ex-combatants of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and Civil Defense Force (CDF) and the civilian populace in the town of Koidu, cautioning, "We need to reconcile, else Kono is sitting on a time bomb." He appealed to responsible bodies to effect the necessary measures to prevent a repeat of the recent crises in the area.

All the speakers agreed that without reconciliation and forgiveness among the various sectors of society, there can be no sustainable peace; and without sustainable peace, there can be no rehabilitation and development.

The peace and reconciliation conference was attended by UNAMSIL officials, paramount chiefs and representatives of the CDF, RUF, Sierra Leone Police, the National Union of Students, Chairman of the Movement of Concerned Kono Youths, as well as a cross-section of the populace within Kono District.

UNAMSIL AND SIERRA LEONE PATROL CONDUCTS SENSITIZATION TOUR IN KENEMA

A team of UNAMSIL civilian police (CIVPOL) and military observers, accompanied by officers from the Sierra Leone Police, on 22 January conducted a sensitization patrol in Gorahun Taunkia Chiefdom in the eastern district of Kenema. The Acting Paramount Chief of Gorahun Taunkia, Jobo Haruna Sama, welcomed the team.

In his address to a gathering of the local people, the SLP representative talked about the importance of the ongoing Community Arms Collection and Destruction programme. He appealed to the people to surrender arms and ammunition in their possession in order to a create weapons-free environment before the forthcoming elections scheduled for 14 May 2001.

The response of the populace was encouraging. A similar joint exercise was undertaken by the team in Faama Chiefdom within the same district.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: What prompted the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Operations and Management, Mr. Behrooz Sadry to call for peace and reconciliation amongst all Sierra Leoneans in Conference in Kono?

Ms. Margaret Novicki: Of course, UNAMSIL was invited to the conference and Mr. Sadry represented UNAMSIL at the meeting.

Q: It is true that the Kono youths interrupted voter registration in the Kono district yesterday?

Ms. Novicki: Yes, we are aware that the Movement of Concerned Kono Youths made a statement to the effect that they would prevent voter registration in Kono until internally displaced Konos are brought from the southern parts of Sierra Leone back to Kono for registration.

Q: Can you please help us with information on the repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees from neighbouring countries by the UNHCR to take part in the voter registration?

Ms. Novicki: I think what I will do is to invite a UNHCR representative to come to the next briefing to give you on details on the repatriation of Sierra Leonean refugees.

Q: Is it true that UNAMSIL failed to provide logistical support for the registration process in certain provinces?

Ms. Novicki: Registration started only yesterday and UNAMSIL has being doing quite a lot of work with the National Electoral Commission (NEC) on logistics. In fact it is one of our mandated tasks to assist the NEC on logistics. It is not a question of UNAMSIL not being helpful. On the first day there were some hiccups in the process where things need to be ironed out to move smoothly for the rest of the registration period. I don't think really there is any serious problem.

Q: Can you confirm that no registration is taken place in Kono district?

Ms. Novicki: No. I can't confirm that. I would have to check that from our people on the ground.

Q: What is the progress in voter registration in the other districts?

Ms. Novicki: The main problem areas that we got reports on yesterday were Kenema and Kono districts. In Kenema district it was logistical delays.

Q: What sort of assistance is UNAMSIL given to National Electoral Commission (NEC)?

Ms. Novicki: We are primarily assisting in the areas of security, logistics, monitoring and public information.

Q: Are we expecting additional troops for the general elections?

Ms. Novicki: No. We are only expecting more Civilian Police for the Mission.

Q: Can you please tell us something about your recent visit to Accra, Ghana?

Ms. Novicki: I went to a meeting of Parliamentarians for Global Action. Parliamentarians for Global Action is a worldwide network linking parliamentarians from all different countries to discuss and take action on issues of international importance. This particular meeting was for the West African sub-region primarily. There were representative from nine national parliaments and the meeting was looking specifically at the role of parliamentarians in conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace building with specific reference to the recommendations made in the Brahimi Report.

I represented the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping and presented his paper on the status of the implementation of the Brahimi Report with respect to reforming the UN peacekeeping in general. There was also a subsequent discussion session on various conflicts in Africa. There were case studies presented and Sierra Leone was one of the topics for discussion. Myself and George Adetuberu from Political Affairs Section and Ambassador John Hirsch, former United States Ambassador to Sierra Leone, made contributions on Sierra Leone, which were well received by the parliamentarians.

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For additional information, contact UNAMSIL Public Information Office: UNAMSIL Headquarters, Mammy Yoko, P. O. Box 5, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Tel: 232-22-273-183/4/5 Fax: 232-22-273-189