6,000 U.N. Peacekeepers to Be Sent to Sierra Leone
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By BARBARA CROSSETTE
UNITED NATIONS -- The Security Council voted Friday to authorize a
6,000-member peacekeeping force for Sierra Leone, where an uneasy coalition
of elected officials and former rebels has pledged to restore order after
the latest round of a civil war.
One of the main tasks of the peacekeepers will be to collect weapons from
rebel factions and help reintegrate their forces, numbering up to 45,000,
into society. They will also be responsible for protecting relief workers
and for the distribution of aid in a shattered country.
The United Nations force will operate with troops from a West African
peacekeeping unit that is dominated by Nigerians, who have given mixed
signals about how long they want to stay. That force has recently been as
high as as 12,000 troops.
Since the Nigerians are already on the scene, and since it will take some
time for the United Nations to put together troops from other countries, the
Nigerians seem likely to be asked to dedicate troops to form the major part
of the United Nations operation.
What other countries may contribute personnel has not been decided, but the
United States will be asked to pay one-third of the costs.
With approval of a United Nations force of 10,000 for East Timor also
expected in the next few days, the issue of money has become more acute. The
United States is in arrears on its dues by hundreds of millions of dollars,
and there is less and less support in Congress to pay the ever-rising bill.
In a separate action Friday, the Security Council extended for a month the
term of a smaller operation in the Central African Republic, where President
Ange-Félix Patassé began a second term at a time of political tensions. The
country has been unstable for decades.
The Security Council, preoccupied with crises in the Balkans and East Timor,
has been under pressure from African nations and other countries to pay more
attention to Africa, with greater priority given to the war centered in
Congo, which has involved more than half a dozen nations in shifting
alliances.
At some point, the United Nations may have to set up a substantial
peacekeeping operation in Congo. But officials here, who have so far sent
only liaison officers to neighboring countries of Congo, say there has to be
a durable truce first.
In Sierra Leone, rebels who fought the Government of President Ahmad Tejan
Kabbah have been responsible for brutal acts of violence. The rebels chopped
off the hands or legs of thousands of civilians, including many children, as
warnings or punishment. Thousands of others have died, and half a million
people were driven from their homes.
To reach a peace agreement with two competing rebel leaders, Foday Sankoh
and Johnny Paul Koroma, President Kabbah agreed to give them amnesty and
positions in government, a move that was sharply criticized by human rights
groups. Secretary General Kofi Annan was among those expressing reservations
about the deal struck with the rebels, which was signed July 7.
Friday in a speech to the Security Council, Richard C. Holbrooke, the United
States representative, said Washington had offered to help Sierra Leone
establish a truth and reconciliation commission to deal with past
atrocities. "Like the Secretary General," he said, "we are concerned by the
provisions for amnesty. We remain committed to justice and accountability."
Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright visited Sierra Leone this week and
discussed the next steps in restoring order with both the Government and
rebel leaders. She described what she saw as "unspeakable horror."
American officials and diplomats from other nations say the Kabbah
Government had no choice but to accept rebel demands for a share in power
after Nigeria, which restored the President to power nine months after he
was overthrown and then kept the rebels at bay, said it was uncertain about
how long it could continue its role. No other nation, African or otherwise,
volunteered to take on the job of keeping order.
The resolution passed on Friday gives the force a six-month initial mandate,
but is renewable.
Macdonald
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How many times have I wondered if it really possible to forge links with a
mass of people when one has never had strong feelings for anyone, not even
one's own parents; if it is possible to have a collectivity when one has not
been deeply loved oneself by individual human creatures. Hasn't this had
some effect on my life as a militant- has it not tended to make me sterile
and reduce my quality as a revolutionary by making everything a matter of
pure intellect, of pure mathematical calculation?
---Antonio Gramsci, 1926.
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