UN PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE SIERRA LEONE, BUT FRAGILITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 FREETOWN 000025

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STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, AF/RSA, IO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2016
TAGS: KPKO PGOV PREL SL
SUBJECT: UN PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE SIERRA LEONE, BUT FRAGILITY
REMAINS


1.(U) Summary: The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
(UNAMSIL) completed its peacekeeping operations on December
31, 2005, with minimal fanfare, but with notable
significance. Although UNAMSIL handed responsibility for
security to Sierra Leone's police and army in September 2004,
the continued presence of UNAMSIL provided a psychological
security blanket that helped maintain the country's stability
through 2005. With UNAMSIL's departure many Sierra Leoneans
are apprehensive about the ability of their security forces
to maintain the peace, and possibly with good reason.
UNAMSIL is transferring $8.4 million in assets to the
Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL),and its civilian
responsibilities to the new United Nations Integrated Office
in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL),under a new UNSC mandate, that
could prove to be a transitional model for other peacekeeping
operations. The last UNAMSIL contingent, a Nigerian force
guarding the war crimes Special Court in Sierra Leone (SCSL),
passed its responsibilities on January 8, 2006, to a
Mongolian detachment belonging to the United Nations Mission
in Liberia (UNMIL). The UNAMSIL Special Representative of the
Secretary General (SRSG) departed Freetown permanently on

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January 9. End Summary.

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UNAMSIL'S SUCCESS
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2.(U) UNAMSIL was a major success in bringing peace,
security, and stability to Sierra Leone following a decade of
brutal civil conflict. UNAMSIL, which began in 1999, had
some initial difficulties, notably peacekeepers being
disarmed and held hostage by rebels, but once its mission and
rules of engagement were clarified, its operations went
extremely well with no major incidents reported after peace
was declared in January 2002. UNAMSIL, which at one point
was the UN's largest peacekeeping operation with 17,000
troops, benefited from strong leadership and local
cooperation. The two SRSG's, first (1999-2000) Oluyemi
Adeniji (currently Nigeria's foreign minister) and more
recently (2001-2005) Daudi Mwakawago (a past UNSC president
and ex-Tanzanian minister) and the two Deputy SRSG's, first
Alan Doss (now UNMIL SRSG) and then Victor Angelo, provided
strong direction to the organization as well as sound advice
to Sierra Leone's leaders. On the military side, Pakistan's
Major General Sajjid Akram was an exemplary soldier-diplomat
who not only led his multi-national force firmly, but also
worked smoothly with the civilian side of UNAMSIL and engaged
the international community and Sierra Leone leadership
constructively.

3.(U) UNAMSIL was enormously popular with Sierra Leoneans
because the soldiers brought peace, contributed to the local
economy, and were attentive to community relations. Although
UNAMSIL departed without elaborate ceremonies, President
Kabbah, in his New Year's message to the nation, said
unequivocably, "No one can deny that UNAMSIL has turned out
to be among the most successful United Nations peacekeeping
operations undertaken in an internal conflict over the past
three decades." At a farewell dinner hosted by the
Ambassador, SRSG Mwakawago noted that only Rwanda and now
Sierra Leone have seen the successful completion and
withdrawal of UN peacekeeping missions in Africa in recent
years.

4.(U) UNAMSIL was notable not only for its highly
professional military performance, but also for its civilian
outreach through Radio UNAMSIL (the only station covering the
entire country) and community assistance projects conducted
by soldiers of many countries, but primarily Pakistanis, who
built schools, libraries, community centers, and bridges from
UN funds, as well as mosques and churches from personal
funds. UNAMSIL military observers served as the eyes and
ears of the international community by monitoring potential
unrest in the country. UNAMSIL's civilian staff also
contributed importantly to democratizations and human rights
monitoring in Sierra Leone.

5.(U) UNAMSIL's departure has some material benefit for
Sierra Leone. The UNGA authorized the transfer of $8.4
million of UNAMSIL assets to the GoSL, and as of December 31,
an estimated $5.4 million of assets had actually been
transferred, including a joint army/police operations center

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for crisis management in Freetown and a military base in
Kenema. The remaining assets will be transferred by the end
of February, including a logistics facility at Hastings that
is expected to become part of the State Department-funded
ECOWAS depot. UNAMSIL also earned credit as they departed
for donating food and non-food items to orphans and war
amputees.

6.(U) SRSG Mwakawago credits Sierra Leone itself for having
made UNAMSIL's success possible. At a farewell press
conference on December 28, he observed that "The peace
attained in Sierra Leone was a result of the cooperation of
the people and government of Sierra Leone with the
peacekeepers, for we know of cases elsewhere where the
peacekeepers have not enjoyed the cooperation and support of
the governments of the host countries." Picking up on that
theme, President Kabbah told the nation, "UNAMSIL succeeded
because the people of Sierra Leone made it possible to
succeed" by ending the fighting and respecting the peace."
Kabbah admonished his people to "remember that many people
may be asking: will Sierra Leone slide back into armed
conflict?"

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FRAGILITY REMAINS
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7.(U) Kabbah's question is a reminder that Sierra Leone is
entering a post-UNAMSIL era in which stability will be less
certain. Although Sierra Leone was recently buttressed by
$800 million in pledged aid for its Poverty Reduction
Strategy Plan (PRSP) at a Consultative Group meeting in
London, the forthcoming verdicts in SCSL trials and intense
campaigning ahead of the 2007 parliamentary/presidential
elections could disrupt Sierra Leone's current tranquility.
Although there is no longer a rebel movement in the country
and ethnic/religious differences are insignificant, the
widespread extreme poverty and large numbers of unemployed
youths have created a volatility that could potentiality be
ignited. Although the RSLAF and SLP have clearly improved in
recent years, many Sierra Leoneans are apprehensive about the
ability of their security forces to manage a violent crisis.
Three unconnected violent events in 2005 were not well
managed by the police. Sierra Leoneans are understandably
wary of their country's prospects for peace and stability
given its post-independence history.

8.(U) December-January is always a period of coup rumors in
Freetown because of Sierra Leone's history. For this reason
and the late December forced retirement from the army of 1000
soldiers including 78 officers, the president of the Sierra
Leone Association of Journalists warned in a January 5
editorial on UNAMSIL's departure that "the Armed Forces have
their own specific role within the constitution and should
not attempt to take over the running of the state." Although
the presence of a 110 foreign soldiers (including 3 U.S.) in
the UK-funded International Military Assistance and Training
Team (IMATT) embedded in the RSLAF is a deterrent to coups,
Sierra Leoneans are nevertheless somewhat anxious.

9.(C) Another indication that troublemakers may be emboldened
by UNAMSIL's departure was the January 6 warning to the
British Government through opposition All People's Congress
leader Ernest Bai Koroma from ex-Deputy Defense Minister and
SCSL war crimes defendent Hinga Norman, who commanded the
Civil Defense Force (CDF) during the war, that CDF veterans
will turn to violence if the obligations to ex-combatants in
the Lome Peace Accord are not met by January 14. January 17,
not coincidentally, is the date when the defense will begin
its case at Norman's trial at which former U.S. Ambassador
John Hirsch is slated to testify in his defense. (Comment:
Although Norman did not take credit for this CDF veteran
action, it can be inferred from the timing that he has either
initiated or endorsed it. While one can speculate that this
is the threat of a desperate defendant, one cannot dismiss
the possibility that it will lead to some violence. At a
minimum, it shows that mischief-makers see opportunities with
UNAMSIL gone. End Comment).

10.(SBU) In private conversations with the Ambassador, SRSG
Mwakawago indicated that he would have preferred a six to
eighteen month longer tenure for UNAMSIL to ensure a peaceful

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environment for the 2007 elections. President Kabbah was
also reluctant to see UNAMSIL go, but tried to put the best
face on the situation as beneficial to the country.
"Although we would have preferred our friends in UNAMSIL to
remain in the country," he said, "unfortunately, we had to
agree to this departure because prospective investors may
construe this continued presence in Sierra Leone as an
indication that Sierra Leone is unsafe and thereby refrain
from investing in Sierra Leone with adverse repercussions on
the economy and lack of employment possibilities."

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UNIOSIL ARRIVES
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11.(U) The United Nations is also entering a new era with the
creation of a United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra
Leone (UNIOSIL) under the direction of former UNAMSIL Deputy
SRSG Victor Angelo as Executive Representative of the
Secretary General (ERSG) to succeed UNAMSIL. SRSG Mwakawago

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repeatedly said before his departure, "UNIOSIL will not be a
baby UNAMSIL," meaning that it will not have peacekeeping,
but rather peacebuilding responsibilities. UNIOSIL is
basically an amalgamation of UN specialized agencies
remaining in Sierra Leone under Angelo, who is also the local
head of the UNDP. At the Consultative Group meeting in
London on November 29, Angelo announced that the UN total
development budget for Sierra Leone probably will be $68
million for 2006 and an estimated $40 million in 2007.

12.(U) UNIOSIL, while not as robust and visible as UNAMSIL,
will be more substantial than the usual UN country mission.
For example, Radio UNAMSIL will continue under a new name and
new management with a stronger democratization and
development mandate, but with the expectation that it will be
privatized after the 2007 elections. UNIOSIL will also have
20 police liaison officers to offer advice and training, and
10 military liaison officers to work with the armed forces.

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MONGOLIANS COME TOO
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13.(U) The last UNAMSIL military element, a Nigerian
contingent, turned over responsibility for guarding the war
crimes Special Court in Sierra Leone to newly arrived
Mongolian soldiers on November 8. In an unusual arrangement
approved by the UNSC, the Mongolians are under the command of
the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The SCSL is
expected to finish its mission by the end of 2006 unless war
crimes fugitive Charles Taylor is extradited from Nigeria to
the Court, which would prolong its tenure.

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COMMENT
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14.(C) Comment: The next eighteen months will be a fragile
period for Sierra Leone with the UNAMSIL security blanket
gone. Extreme poverty, inadequate resources, and continuing
governance and corruption issues with the traditional
political class in both ruling and opposition parties
underlie the country's fragility. The current threat to
peace, security, and stability is from the omnipresent
unemployed urban youth more than from the rural discontent
that sparked the war. The UN will have a leading role in
keeping Sierra Leone from reverting to violence through its
substantial development and democratization activities.
Although UNIOSIL is robust, it considers its resources
inadequate. On the other hand, with adequate resources,
UNIOSIL could well be a transition model for countries like
Sierra Leone that have graduated from peacekeeping but have
not yet reached the stage of transformational development.
End Comment.

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