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PRESS BRIEFING
27 JULY 2001
(Near Verbatim)
MARGARET NOVICKI - UNAMSIL SPOKESMAN
UNAMSIL MILITARY COMMAND LEADS DISARMAMENT IN KONOUNAMSIL's Military Command continues its visits to Kono district today to encourage combatants to join the disarmament process. The Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Daniel Opande, and Deputy Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Martin Agwai departed for Kono this morning in a continuing effort to lessen tensions and resolve issues hindering the disarmament process in the district.
On 18 July, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, and Maj. Gen. Agwai, reached an agreement with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and Civil Defence Force (CDF) to disarm combatants in locations where there have been tensions between combatants in recent weeks.
On 19 July, RUF interim leader Gen. Issa Sesay brought 67 of his combatants in to Koeyor to disarm to UNAMSIL Military Observers, while 16 CDF disarmed at Masundu-Kongoteh.
Since last week, the Deputy Force Commander has traveled on nearly a daily basis to different locations in Kono district with a team composed of Kono traditional leaders, including Chief Sansie Kwigba, and representatives of Government, to sensitize the combatants about disarmament. Also accompanying the DFC has been a joint monitoring committee composed of UNAMSIL, RUF and CDF, formed as a follow-up to the Bo meeting on disarmament on 17 July.
On Monday, 23 July, 39 RUF and 1 CDF disarmed. On Tuesday, 24 July, Maj. Gen. Agwai and his team traveled to Njagbwema-Fiama and Masundu-Kongoteh, where 129 Civil Defence Force (CDF) combatants, including CDF Sector Commander Gbogbon, handed in their weapons. Twenty-three RUF disarmed on the same day.
On Wednesday, 25 July, the team traveled to Njaima-Sewafe to disarm both RUF and CDF, as had been previously agreed. One hundred and nine CDF combatants disarmed at that location, and another 60 CDF on the Njagbwema-Meiyor axis.
Alleging that one of the local RUF commanders, Maj. Momoh Rogers, and his bodyguards had been abducted by the CDF, RUF officials said they were slowing down their disarmament until the colonel was released. Thirty-six RUF disarmed on 25 July.
Yesterday, Thursday, 26 July, 27 RUF disarmed, while 4 CDF at Kayima and 1 CDF at Worodu disarmed. The CDF reported allegations to UNAMSIL that the village of Henekuma in Koinadugu district had been attacked and burnt down by the RUF on 19 July, killing 12 persons. A UNAMSIL air recce yesterday was able to confirm that the village was deserted and many of the structures burnt.
The Force Commander will visit the area today with a team of RUF and CDF, as well as representatives from UNAMSIL's Human Rights Section, to investigate the report.
Since 2 July, a total of 304 RUF and 454 CDF have disarmed in Kono District, while 813 CDF have disarmed in Bonthe-190 on Bonthe Island and peninsula, and 623 in Mattru.
SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL AND FORCE COMMANDER WITNESS CDF DISARMAMENT IN BONTHE
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Ambassador Oluyemi Adeniji, on Tuesday, 24 July, toured Mattru Jong and Bonthe Island disarmament centers in the southern district of Bonthe to assess progress in the disarmament process. He was accompanied by UNAMSIL Force Commander Lt. Gen. Daniel Opande, Mr. Charles Moiwo of the Civil Defence Force (CDF) and senior UNAMSIL officers.
The Guinean Battalion Platoon Commander, Lt. Ibrahim Jalloh, and the CDF Liaison Officer for the Southern Region, Mr. Emmanuel Golia, briefed the SRSG and his team upon their arrival at the Centennial Secondary School in Mattru Jong.
In his address, the SRSG stressed the importance of completing disarmament of combatants in Bonthe by Monday, 31 July, as agreed at the recent tripartite talks in Bo. It was observed that the slow pace of disarmament was due to the poor state of the roads during the current rainy season, as combatants had to be transported to the center from remote.
At the Bonthe Island Disarmament Centre, the team witnessed the disarmament of CDF combatants. As in Mattru Jong, it was observed that transport had been the major constraint, as combatants had to be ferried from the mainland to the center to disarm.
UNAMSIL KENYA BATTALION ASSISTS LOCAL COMMUNITIES
The Commanding Officer of UNAMSIL'S Kenya Battalion (KENBATT) 6, Lt. Col. Henry Kogo, donated 98 desks valued at US$840 to the Sierra Leone Islamic Federation Primary School at Masiaka in Port Loko District on 21 July. The desks were purchased with contributions from the Islamic Fraternity of KENBATT 6 and a supplement from the Commanding Officer.
Speaking on behalf of the Paramount Chief of Koya, Mr. Foday Swaleh thanked KENBATT 6 for the donation and other humanitarian assistance that the battalion had dispensed to the community of Masiaka.
He awarded the Commanding Officer with a certificate of appreciation from the Sierra Leone Islamic Federation.
Earlier in the week, Lt. Col. Kogo handed over the "Our Lady Queen of Peace" church in Masiaka to Bishop George Biguzzi of the Makeni Catholic Diocese. The church, looted and destroyed during the conflict, was renovated by engineers, masons, carpenters and other personnel of KENBATT 6.
CHILD EX-COMBATANTS RETURN TO FAMILIES IN KAILAHUN
Seventy-nine child ex-combatants from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) were returned to their families on Tuesday, 24 July, in Kailahun, after having spent six weeks at an interim care center in Daru in the care of Save the Children, UK.
In a simple ceremony, the children were individually handed over to their parents and close relatives by the UNAMSIL Child Protection Adviser, Ms. Bituin Gonzales, in the presence of representatives of UNICEF, the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs, the National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration and Save the Children UK.
The 79 youths were among the 234 children released to UNAMSIL in Kailahun on 4 and 9 June, many of whom were child combatants, but living with their biological parents or relatives in Kailahun.
After demobilisation, the children had been taken to the Daru interim care center where they received psychosocial counseling and participated in educational and sports activities with the other separated children. The International Medical Corps provided medical screening and treatment for ailments including severe malaria, hernia, shrapnel wounds, and effects of sexual violence.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: How was RUF Major Rogers captured by CDF?
A: I don't know how he was captured.
Q: Have CDF confirmed that they are holding RUF Major Rogers?
A: The CDF said that if they have Major Rogers, he would be handed over today.
Q: How far have you gone in implementing the Bo Communique?
A: We have had numbers disarming and the process is continuing. We in UNAMSIL are working very hard. Our Deputy Force Commander, as I said, has been out on the ground every day trying to resolve any outstanding issues, trying to reduce tensions in the area so that the disarmament process can proceed. We're doing the best we can.
Q: Has disarmament completed in the Port Loko district?
A: Yes, it has. In Lunsar, we get a couple of people coming in here and there. But for all intents and purposes, it has been completed in the Port Loko district.
Q: How can you describe the situation in the Kono district and also the rate of disarmament? Is it still going at a snail's pace?
A: Well, I don't know how you define a snail's pace. But it has been going on steadily. Some days more CDF have disarmed, some days more RUF have disarmed. I think the important thing is that disarmament is ongoing and again when there are tensions and difficulties UNAMSIL is on the ground doing its best with the leadership of the RUF and the CDF to try to resolve those tensions and keep the process going.
Q: How would you characterize Omrie Golley's contribution to the peace process at this stage and what has UNAMSIL done with respect to his travel ban?
A: I think that Mr. Golley has obviously made important contributions to the peace process. I have said already that the Sanctions Committee in the United Nations has put Mr. Golley on the list and that it is up to the Government of Sierra Leone to make representations to the Sanctions Committee to have Mr. Golley's name removed from the list. UNAMSIL has been encouraging the government to do so.
Q: In case the government refuses to do so?
A: I don't know if the government has refused. We have been encouraging them to do so. UNAMSIL has also made its views known to the UN headquarters. But Mr. Golley is a Sierra Leonean citizen and it is up to his government to make a representation to the Sanctions Committee that his name should be removed from the list.
Q: Do you think Golley's absence would affect the latest improvement in the peace process?
A: We do expect that Mr. Golley will return to Sierra Leone and he will continue to play the constructive role that he has been playing in the peace process thus far.
Q: In the absence of Omrie Golley, who are you dealing with?
A: We deal with the RUF leadership as we always have.
*********** 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
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