Volume 1, No. 6, August 2000

Sierra Leone is a small country situated on the western coast of the African continent. It is considered one of the poorest countries of the world yet it has attracted the eyes of the vultures, which have swooped on it in files.

This time it is British imperialism, which is heading the intervention in the name of peace keeping. Peace in the war torn Sierra Leone is being forced through British warships, an aircraft carrier with jet fighters, paratroopers, 1000 marine commandos and helicopter gunships. Although the ‘peace-keeping’ mandate was given to a force headed by India by the UN Security Council, yet Britain and Russia have independently rushed in and the US is considering sending another force headed by the Nigerian stooge regime. There are UN forces from India, Kenya, Zambia, Jordan, Bangladesh and others, totalling 13,000 in a land whose own army or that of its rebel forces, does not exceed five thousand each. Now the need is being felt to increase this force to 18,000 men.

Why should a poor country like Sierra Leone attract so much international attention and Blitzkrieg like deployment of forces by Britain? The reason is not difficult to find. Britain has been an old master of Sierra Leone and still considers itself its main arbitrator and protector. ‘Civil society’ of the present day world is dazzled by the precious stones and gold, which is churned out by the impoverished peasants and workers from Sierra Leonean rivers and mines.

Ever since the Portuguese sea bandit Pedro de Cintra set foot on the West African Coast in 1460, Sierra Leone’s pre-history came to an end and the "civilized" Europeans started there a barbaric historical chapter by brutalising and exterminating the black natives which continues to this day. The Portuguese established a slave trading port at the Sierra Leone coast in the early sixteenth century for shipping African slaves to the New World of the Americas to do hard work for the European settlers. The Portuguese would make killing forays into the interior of Sierra Leone, capture free tribesmen, herd them on the coast and sell them to Columbus’s inheritors for a good price. The Portuguese continued their inhuman practice of trading in slaves for a fairly long time when Britishers ousted them and carried on the human trade till the early 19th Century when the British govt. formally banned this trade in 1807.

The slave traders used to sell eight men for one horse at the times of the Roman Empire. In more recent times it has been one of the most lucrative businesses in the Americas by the Britishers and the Spaniards. And Sierra Leone had enough of this live commodity for which it continued to be ravaged for two centuries and then for diamonds for another two centuries right up to the present. Justifying British intervention in Sierra Leone the British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook says, "Britain is the leading nation, which has come to help Sierra Leoneans. No other country has done more."

In the present decade ‘not less than 50,000 men have died since 1991 in the civil war and more than one million have been displaced’. The media also spreads the hype that the only culprit in Sierra Leone is the RUF (Revolutionary United Front) leader Foday Sankoh who is responsible for the sorry plight of the people. It speaks a part of the truth and the other part, which it conceals, is more important. It is highly probable that this figure too will come out to be untrue as has happened in the case of Kosovo. In Kosovo, only 2000 people had died, both Kosovars and Serbians, but the imperialist controlled media spread the lie that Serbian forces have enacted a holocaust on the ethnic Albanians like Hitler had done with the Jews when his armies killed 6,000,000 of them in gas chambers. Before we go into the genesis of the present turmoil let us look into a page from history where Robin Cook’s forbearers had played another dirty trick to conceal their real criminal motives.

Freetown, is the capital city of Sierra Leone. The British established it in 1787 when they were deeply entrenched in slave trade to America. The American "war of independence" had recently ended and unrepentful of their defeat in America the British Empire thought of spreading its tentacles to West Africa to extend its colonial empire. For this they used a ploy to establish a permanent base in Sierra Leone by bringing in those slaves from America who were forced to fight on the side of the British Empire with a promise to set them free. In the name of freeing the slaves they set up a colony for these ‘ex-slaves’ at Freetown, again to use them as an instrument to subjugate the whole of Sierra Leone. The first batch of "free slaves", which arrived in 1787 died of hunger and disease. The second arrived soon and the town for freed slaves was established and a port was developed. From this permanent settlement the British continued their monstrous pursuits in Africa. Till the end of the 19th century some 70,000 Africans escaped from slave ships had settled there under the direct control of the British Empire. Having entrenched themselves in Freetown and using the services of the ‘freed slaves’ the British declared the whole of Sierra Leone as a protectorate of the Empire in 1896. Most of the Mende and Temne tribes, which lived in the interior of Sierra Leone took to rebellions under the leadership of Bai Bureh in the North and the Poro secret society in the South. But these rebellions were drowned in blood with the help of ‘freed slaves’ and those of some tribal chiefs who had accepted British domination. ‘Freetown’ and the slaves were used to subjugate and brutalise Sierra Leone.

Similar criminal motives determine the behaviour of the present imperialist rulers in London. Sierra Leone provided slaves then, Sierra Leone provides diamonds now. Its river and streambeds are still full of diamonds which find their way to Antwerp, the biggest diamond trade center in Europe. In spite of primitive methods for diamond extraction Sierra Leone used to earn $500 million per year before the civil war. Before going to the European market these stones fill the pockets of many a bureaucrats. But Foday Sankoh’s RUF has upset all these arrangements which were going on uninterruptedly before the "peace" (democratic or otherwise) was shattered in 1991. The govt. earnings from diamonds have fallen to a mere $30 million. A great loss for the exploiters indeed! That is why the peace is so badly needed. The UK, the UN and the US and others of the ‘international community’ are "very much concerned" as Ms. Albright has put it. Concerned and disturbed, this gang must be indeed! As the process of peaceful exploitation of the natural resources by the reactionaries of all hues has been interrupted, the bosses of the world are pained and enraged. And they must find ways to ‘help’ stabilize the regime of exploitation through the blatant use of guns if not through barter "peace deals". Diamonds and gold must reach the imperialist capitals and the rich in all lands to adorn and flaunt. It cannot be secured without putting the Sierra Leonean masses under the boot of the imperialist robbers and their henchmen and without keeping them in abject poverty, while bribing those who rule.

While talking about the agonies of the Sierra Leonean people the imperialist controlled world media never tires of branding Foday Sankoh a psychopath and a warmonger and tries to spread the lie that the re-establishment of "peace" in the war torn country would usher in a period of progress, prosperity and happiness. Peace was there right before 1991, since 1961, barring a few days of a coup and a counter coup in April 1968. Even before 1961, when Britain formally declared Sierra Leone "independent" the peace never brought progress, prosperity and happiness for the Sierra Leoneans. Even in 1980, 90% of the population was illiterate and whatever education was there it was in and around Freetown, that too for a price, which only a small better-off section of the population could afford.

The country, which produces diamonds, gold, bauxite, timber and other things in abundance, is one of the poorest in the world because all of its produce is expropriated by the richest in the world. Imperialist countries imported 96% of all the Sierra Leonean exports before the civil war started. The US is a major importer after UK and Europe. The country is neck deep in debt with almost no foreign exchange reserves. 75% of the 45 lakh population is dependent on agriculture and only 15% engaged in industry in 1980. Things have changed little since then. The rulers in Sierra Leone have built a huge service sector (45%) with 40% agriculture and the rest is accounted for by industry where manufacturing is no more then 5% of the total. The mining industry is controlled or dominated by British, South African and US capital. Diamonds used to have 60% share in the foreign exchange earnings. Since 1991 no figures are available. For the West, the battle in Sierra Leone is for the diamonds and gold, while for 90% of the Sierra Leoneans the  struggle is for food, employment, education, health and a house. For every 17,000 inhabitants there is only one doctor. Every basic necessity has to be paid for including health and education. Above all, rampant corruption and smuggling by the rich and the bureaucratic setup has pushed the people to the extremes. Foday Sankoh built up his army of 5,000 with the promise of decent pay, a house and a job after victory. But, as things have turned out, he preferred sharing power with the govt. and control of the mining industry, as was stipulated in the July 1999 agreement between the govt. and the rebel forces. The govt. and the world media now accuses him of backtracking over the "peace accord " and keeping his army intact which was to be merged in the national army as per the agreement. We shall return soon to that arena, but first a few lines about the overall political institutions and policies of the "independent rulers".

The only political party, which came into being after Britain prepared a new constitution in 1945, was the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) which was created from among the petty bourgeois collaborators in 1951. Milton Margai, who never opposed British imperialism, headed it. Siaka Stevens, the joint leader of SLPP broke off with Margai in 1960 and launched the All People’s Congress (APC) in 1960. Margai became the first PM of ‘independent’ Sierra Leone in 1961. Siaka Stevens came to power in 1967, and took some measures; including the control of 51% of the diamond extraction, indulged in some anti-imperialist rhetoric, cooperated with the revisionist Eastern Block, but never broke off from the IMF, the US and Britain. He declared in 1980, "we are liberal, invite foreign capital to invest here, and respect it." Thus the whole political thrust of the native leaders was to maintain a close relationship with imperialism and never dared to stop imperialist exploitation to develop indigenous industry and agriculture according to the needs of the people. Diamonds and gold remained the main priority to earn foreign exchange. When Foday Sankoh started a civil war in 1991 he gathered sufficient forces to dislodge the government in Freetown.

The Sierra Leone govt.’s response to Sankoh’s forces was highly incredulous of a "legitimate" government. It employed foreign mercenary forces and paid them with diamond mining concessions. But the arrangement did not work and the mercenary forces left. Then the govt. invited West African forces in the name of peace keeping but actually to do the fighting for it. This West African force was mainly Nigerian. Nigerian forces had already been in Sierra Leone unofficially since 1991. After 1995 some of its sections struck deals with the RUF and indulged in the mining of diamonds rather than do the fighting at the govt.’s bidding. Thus Sankoh’s forces captured Freetown two times and were evicted by the Nigerians. Sierra Leone’s own armed forces, which were not more than 5,000 armed men, have disintegrated in all these years and now a motley crowd of various militia recruits exist which is highly indisciplined and poorly trained. The Nigerians did the main job of fighting.

Then came elections in 1996 and Tejan Kabbah was elected to the post of President. Tejan Kabbah, a UN bureaucrat, pressed hard by the RUF rebels, started looking towards more shameless foreign military assistance and help. In fact, he wanted others to do the fighting for him to continue his power. But the Sierra Leonean army deposed him in 1997. The army rebels joined the RUF forces and occupied Freetown but were again driven out by Nigerian troops. In the same year the British firm Sandline International shipped several tones of weapons to forces loyal to Tejan Kabbah in defiance of the UN ban. The London govt. denied knowledge of it but Sandline officials said the govt. not only knew of it but also encouraged the shipment. The British govt. ordered an enquiry and absolved itself of any complicity.

The RUF has its base in the north of the country and many a times seized control of the eastern parts. The diamond mines are situated in the east and the south. Freetown has always been a threatened town since 1991. Although the Nigerian govt. says that it has spent $1 million a day all these years to do the fighting, yet the reality must be otherwise. A poor and strife torn country like Nigeria is unable to support such a costly adventure for nothing. It must have been paid partly in diamonds by the Sierra Leone govt. and at the same time its generals must have benefited by direct mining. Moreover, army generals and the recently installed Obasanjo regime in Nigeria is closely linked with the US and it is very likely for the latter to have funded the Nigerians secretly as Sandline and the Britishers have helped Tejan Kabbah despite the UN ban. These imperialist regimes are notorious for their double speaking and covert operations. Even now the US chieftain Clinton prefers that the economic community of West African States (ECOWAS) do the ‘peace keeping’ work to the UN forces. And ECOWAS means the regional boss Nigeria.

The July 1999 peace accord brought to the RUF four ministerial berths, and to Foday Sankoh, chairmanship of the Commission For the Exploration and Export of Minerals, and it was decided that Sankoh’s rebels will be incorporated into the Sierra Leone National Army. For the RUF the deal was not that bad as it was given a share of power and control over diamond and gold mining. Sankoh happily accepted it and continued the loot of diamonds without formulating any policy for the mining sector. Sankoh’s deputy commanders who are in direct control of the rebels resisted the merger with the national army and continued their hold over mining areas in the east and the south. Control over these areas means direct control over diamonds.

The ‘Peace accord’ was meant to have a peaceful divide of the booty. But the lust for riches and private property transcends peace and rests on violence. The Deputy defence minister, a Mende tribal chief named Hinga Norman, who also heads the Kamajor militia, resisted RUF control over mining. The Mende tribes live in the Southeast of the country and assert their claim over these areas. The Liberian president, Charles Taylor, sided with the RUF and is hated by the West and Nigeria and branded as bad as Foday Sankoh although Taylor has been elected by the so-called democratic process which the West is so fond of eulogizing these days. However, the "peace accord" has not worked that peacefully and now the US, the UN, the UK and others are accusing Sankoh of wrecking the accord. The smooth flow of diamonds to Europe has not been achieved through this accord and hence everybody is after Sankoh’s blood.

After the recent crises, which emerged in early May, when about five hundred UN ‘peace troops’ were arrested by the RUF the British govt. decided to intervene militarily and within 24 hours of the decision dropped hundreds of paratroops in Sierra Leone. Then arrived warships, helicopters, gunships and marine commandos of the Royal Navy. The said mission was to salvage British, European and other foreign nationals and to help the UN forces. One may ask the question as to what were the British, European and other foreign nationals doing in Sierra Leone? The answer is clear — to avail of the opportunities provided by the "peace accord" to restore the avenues for plundering diamonds and gold. The eruption of the crises had threatened the safety of these business circles, which had swooped down like vultures on the land after July 1999. The UK’s concern for peace in Sierra Leone is a concern for a peaceful environment for exploitation.

Tejan Kabbah repeats his master’s voice and requests the British forces "to stay until it is stable enough for us to take control of the land." In other words the ‘peace accord’ has been declared illegitimate and the govt. and its British lords want exclusive control over Sierra Leone, as according to the bourgeois democratic principle, the RUF and Sankoh had no democratic locus standi, while Tejan Kabbah was elected, hence, was legitimate. They shamelessly evade the question that why did they strike a deal with the ‘illegitimate’ Sankoh and induct him and his men into a "legitimate" government in the first place? At the same time, Liberian President Charles Taylor’s election is now being condemned as one "held under threats". Had he not sided with the RUF he would have been praised like Obasanjo of Nigeria but now he is being considered a rogue like Sankoh. And again, the media is now criticising the American administration too because it was one of the brokers for peace with the "undemocratic" RUF — an indication of a hardened stand towards the RUF.

Clinton sent his special envoy for "Democracy in Africa" Mr. Jesse Jackson to Sierra Leone for a ‘peaceful resolution’ to the crisis, on May 12. The US is stressing the point to deploy ECOWAS troops instead of the UN led forces with a strong (or almost exclusive) contingent of the Nigerian army. The chief international brigand has its own interests to advance in the region.

Foday Sankoh and the RUF rebels have accused the UN of triggering the crisis when its forces forcibly tried to capture the RUF controlled mining area and demobilize the RUF. The RUF cadres do not want to lay down arms and perhaps they may part company with Sankoh who wanted them to surrender although he talks ambiguously on the laying down of arms. Sankoh shuttled from rebel controlled areas to Freetown where he was arrested at his home on May 17 and paraded naked by the govt. troops under the British officers. The British forces have taken control of Freetown and the Lungi airport in the name of evacuating foreign nationals. Though the Britishers have said that they will not do the fighting yet they have alighted there with the most modern weaponry and firepower. In fact, they have taken control of key places in and around Freetown and are directing operations against the RUF. The British officers say that they will build a new Sierra Leonean army and train them in fighting. The point is, the British armies are going to stay longer in Sierra Leone, and they will not rely on the UN forces, to do the peace keeping.

After the arrest of 500 UN forces the Indian officers were reprimanded by Kofi Annan for their negligence as Zambia had protested against the poor Indian command. Mainly the Zambian soldiers were arrested there and about a dozen were killed by the RUF. India hastened to rush three helicopter gunships and 1500 more commandos (taking their full number to more than 3,000) to carry on effectively the orders of their imperialist masters. Against about 5,000 RUF rebels the UN has deployed 13,000 soldiers from India, Zambia, Kenya, Jordan, Bangladesh and a number of other countries. In addition to this, about 1500 British and 200 Russian soldiers and two Russian gunships are also there. Russia is considering sending four more helicopter gunships. These are all in addition to the Sierra Leonean forces and militias. Moreover, the US has convinced the Obasanjo presidency to send a large Nigerian force to enter into the fray. The Nigerians had withdrawn under the July 1999 accord due to the RUF opposition.

On the whole, one can understand how much is at stake for the major powers in Sierra Leone and countries like India, Zambia and Kenya have sent their forces to do the dirty job for the big powers under the banner of the UN. Annan had to cover the operation with an appeal to impart to it legality. It shows how low the UN as an institution has sunk in its subservience to the big powers. The countries who dance to the tune of the big powers and the UN so shamelessly, are least concerned with the plight of the Sierra Leoneans and it is equally true for them in respect to the people of their own countries.

The dog-eat-dog war in Sierra Leone does not call for a return to peace of the pre-1991 times. It, in fact, is a product of that peace. The way ahead lies in a real revolutionary war to replace the present system built on exploitation and misery. The natural resources of Sierra Leone should belong to its people and not to the imperialists or their collaborators. From the sixteenth century onward whatever best they produced has been taken away by the robbers — their men, their diamonds and gold, their iron and timber, their bauxite and, above all, their freedom and peace. The barbaric historical chapter set in motion by the European brutes in Sierra Leone still continues.

5.6.2000

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