Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09FREETOWN128
2009-04-03 13:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Freetown
Cable title:  

GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION AGREEMENT: JOINT

Tags:  PGOV PREL ASEC SL 
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DE RUEHFN #0128 0931344
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P 031344Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2567
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L FREETOWN 000128 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W (JHUNTER/ESPRUILL)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC SL
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION AGREEMENT: JOINT
COMMUNIQUE WITH PRESIDENT KOROMA

Classified By: Ambassador June Carter Perry for reasons 1.4 (b/d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L FREETOWN 000128

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W (JHUNTER/ESPRUILL)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC SL
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION AGREEMENT: JOINT
COMMUNIQUE WITH PRESIDENT KOROMA

Classified By: Ambassador June Carter Perry for reasons 1.4 (b/d)


1. (SBU) Following two weeks of talks with the international
community core Ambassadors (U.S., U.K., EU, China) under the
aegis of the UN, the ruling All People's Congress Party (APC)
and the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) signed
a joint communiquQ on April 2, 2009. The ceremony
represented a coalition effort to reinstate stability
following violence and vitriolic press statements from March
13 onward to urge peace for the future development of Sierra
Leone.


2. (SBU) The event took place at State House with President
Koroma, the Cabinet, the diplomatic corps and political party
representatives. The heart of the communique (Note: Full
text was sent to AF/W. End note) was agreement on commissions
of inquiry into perpetrators of violence and a strong
statement condemning violence, especially against women.
Feuding party leaders offered conciliatory remarks as did the
UN/ERSG in advance of Koroma's speech. The Head of State
thanked the international community for its important role as
mediator and urged looking ahead to a peaceful Sierra Leone.


3. (C) Comment: Although all was smooth on the surface,
speakers acknowledged that controlling violence, especially
by youth and possibly by police, would continue to be a
challenge. President Koroma emphasized the importance of
sustained stability to ensure development and investment in
the country. He made a special effort to speak with me at a
reception following the formal ceremony to thank us for our
role in securing the agreement. The UN/ERSG also offered
thanks for the additional private sessions we had held before
the tripartite meetings for the duration of the process. We
were also approached by the Vice President who said he wanted
to have a follow-up discussion to identify further the way
forward. His appeal was repeated by the new Minister for
Presidential Affairs, Joseph Koroma, formerly Sierra Leone's
UNIDO representative in Geneva. We expect to have a
donors-only meeting early next week to identify amongst
ourselves specific measures we can take to help shore up
Sierra Leone's democratic institutions and further engage
civil society groups in the process. End Comment.

PERRY