Report on Youth Peace Symposium in Makeni, Sierra Leone
1. PREAMBLE: Already, members of the press and civil society have been describing the Makeni youth symposium as a major breakthrough in the Sierra Leone peace process.
The symposium organised by the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace (CCP) in collaboration with the National Forum for Reconciliation (NFFR) and the National Commission for the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (NCDDR), was held in the RUF stronghold of Makeni from 23rd to 25th April 2001.
The CCP has for long been advocating for the sensitisation and inclusion of commanders and the lower ranks of the fighting factions as a strategy towards building confidence and attaining significant disarmament and reintegration. This was the rationale behind the holding of the very successful ground commanders' conference of all the factions organised by the CCP in Bo last year.
Since the May incidents, confidence among the factions had virtually collapsed and in spite of the rather successful ceasefire agreement signed in Abuja, Government and the RUF have virtually returned to their respective areas of control, leaving UNAMSIL to do the dialoguing with either party.
Because of fear and low confidence also, the RUF has been almost completely out of touch with mainstream society in spite of regular peace and reconciliation jingles aired on national radio.
2. PROFILE OF NFFR
The National Forum for Reconciliation (NFFR) was formed as a body of field workers under the authority of the CCP. Composed of a mix of young and energetic ex-combatants from all the factions and other youths, the NFFR works in unison with the CCP to promote reconciliation and peace in Sierra Leone. One major accomplishment to its credit has been the facilitation of the anti-polio vaccination exercise in RUF areas such as Makeni, Magburaka and Kailahun. The NFFR is also free to propose its own peace activities and initiatives especially at local level for the support of the CCP.
3. OBJECTIVES OF SYMPOSIUM
The objectives were: -
a. To hold a symposium as a call for peace now with the RUF.
b. To build up the confidence of the RUF and prepare them psychologically for disarmament.
c. To convey to those in the RUF held areas as much authentic information and documentation as possible especially on reintegration opportunities, the DDR, RRR and other relevant and current issues.
d. To prepare the RUF leadership for a face-to-face working meeting with the NCDDR, CDF, UNAMSIL, NCRRR and CCP.
On the whole, the visit to Makeni was the first sensitisation mission undertaken by graduates from a training programme organised a week before by the CCP, NFFR and UNAMSIL.
PRE-SYMPOSIUM TRAINING
A training of trainers workshop on peace issues jointly organised by the CCP, NFFR and UNAMSIL was held in Freetown on 18th - 20th April 2001. The trainees included the NFFR executives and representatives of youth groups.
The training was based on the following areas: Peace Sensitisation, Conflict Resolution, Role of UNAMSIL, Peace and Civic Education, Public Confidence Building, Trauma Healing and Counselling, The Important of Truth in National Healing and Reconciliation, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court. The purpose of this training was to equip the participants to play a significant role in peace building within their groups and communities and to constitute a permanent pool of young peace builders.
The Makeni meeting is therefore the first mission accredited to about 40 of these trainers.
4. ORGANISATION OF SYMPOSIUM
a. Statements: These were made at the opening ceremony by various personalities: abstracts of these statements are given in Annex I
b. Presentations: the following speakers presented Papers and highlights are given as follows: -
· Dr. Gilbert Ngesu: UNAMSIL Civil Affairs Officers: on "The need for a peaceful resolution of the conflict".
- Ten years of war have only brought destruction of lives and infrastructure and there is no victor.
- Sierra Leone is last on the UN Development Index.
- There is massive illiteracy among youths
- There is a serious problem of drug abuse among youths
- Every citizen has a right to participate in the electoral process
- Many benefactors of the war are foreigners who need market for their guns, bombs and drugs.
- UNAMSIL will continue helping the NFFR in their work.
Ambassador George Adetuberu Special Assistant to the SRSG:
- Fighting will not solve our problem
- Sierra Leone was once a leading nation in education and hosted students from Nigeria and other parts of the sub-region.
- Sierra Leoneans should stop shooting at each other and work for the progress of their children
Mr. Sullay Sesay, NCDDR: on "Advantages, Achievements, and Constraints of the DDR programme".
- As advantages open to combatants he cited psychosocial counselling, skills training and educational facilities, security, forgiveness and acceptance of ex-combatants in their committees
- As achievement he provided figures showing a total of 28,189 combatants disarmed out of an estimated total of 45000.
- As combatants he cited lack of training opportunities in certain regions and the difficulty of ex-combatants to settle in urban areas. Insufficient funds from NGOs/International Community
- Continued public anger against combatants in spite of several
peace/reconciliation sensitisation campaigns. Insecure environment because fighters still remain armed.
- Massive concentration of demobilized fighters at demobilization centres e.g. Lungi. Inadequate information dissemination or distorted information
- Difficult sensitisation/reconciliation exercises due to absence of traditional leaders in their chiefdoms. The job opportunities for ex-combatants are limited.
Dr. Muctarr Kabba: - Commissioner, National Commission for Democracy and Human Rights (NCDHR)
- Government receives power to govern from the people and is therefore expected everywhere to operate on policies that will be in the interest of all
- The reasons for the mayhem that characterized the war can be traced to the lack of love for one another.
- Africans tend to forget their own heritage and cling instead to western ways of life.
- There is a need to employ local initiatives and authentic methods of conflict resolution as opposed to imported models
- For a nation to thrive, its citizens must be loyal and have the interest of the country at heart
- Tolerance, discipline, respect, love and self-dignity are values all Sierra Leoneans should adopt in the new Sierra Leone
- He stressed the need for patriotism and peace.
c. Questions and Answers
Most of the questions and queries following the presentations were related to the D.D.R. programme. (See group report on DDR)
d. Group discussions: the participants broke into 3 groups to discuss the presentations. The Group reports are provided below and reflect mainly the views of the RUF because participants from Freetown were advised to give priority of expression to the RUF participants.
e. Social Interaction: a lot of emphasis was placed on social interaction with the RUF and fortunately the RUF high command declared that the participants from Freetown were free to go anywhere they wanted and talk to anybody. Ice-breaking activities were also used. These include a football match at the Wusum Grounds in which the visitors were beaten 1-0 by the RUF team. A disco- session was organised by the RUF at the Super Kays Night Club and the young participants from Freetown socialized with a large number of young RUF combatants. Some Christian participants even held a public prayer and song crusade in the centre of Makeni, which attracted a crowd of curious people.
Mention must be made of the hospitality of some top RUF commanders such as Colonel T.T Karimu and Colonel Razack who provided accommodation and feeding in their premises for some participants.
Invitations were also extended to participants to join them to visit places like Magburaka, Binkolo and Kono, which they still control.
GENERAL IMPRESSIONS
- There were surprisingly very few armed men in Makeni.
- Within Makeni, people move around freely and unmolested. There is no curfew in Makeni
- People (both RUF combatants and civilians) are very apprehensive of coming to Freetown and feared retribution in the form of lynching and imprisonment
- Although food items such as meat, rice, corn, and fruits seemed to be in large quantities yet many children and even some adults looked malnourished and in need of medical care.
- Within Makeni the physical structure i.e. roof, doors, etc of most of the houses is still intact except for broken windows and grassy growth.
- The farmers seem to be very active in spite of expressed constraints.
- There was an urge on the side of the RUF to explain their own side of the story and rebuke stories they claim to be negative propaganda against them.
HIGHLIGHTS OF RUF MILITARY AND POLITICAL POSITION
- They claim to be weary of war and ready and determined for peace
- They are very keen on adherence by all parties to signed peace agreements, such as Lome and Abuja agreements.
- They are not sure of their safety out of their areas of control, and base their mistrust on the fact that some of their colleagues are still in prison.
- They believe that disarmament and peace should come before elections and prefer an interim government. However, most of those interviewed do not seem to have grasped the intricacies and implications of an interim government.
- Their leadership has already taken and stored most of the arms and weapons. A commander explained the rationale behind this pre-DDR disarmament as a way of preparing their combatants psychologically for "Life without weapons" even before they enter the DDR process.
- They seem to want UNAMSIL to deploy everywhere even to Kono and have requested it.
- They are now inviting civilians to return home
- The women complain that they are being marginalized while their counterparts in other parts of the country are being "spoilt " with a flood of benefits and assistance such as micro-credit facilities
GROUP REPORTS
GROUP A:
Chairman: Dr. Muctarr Kabba (NCDHR)
Secretary: Mr. L.M. Keili (RUF)
The following recommendations emerged from the discussions of this group in which RUF members were given priority of expression
1. The DDR programme should provide adequate information to all combatants in the conflict.
2. The DDR programme should clearly define the criteria that will qualify combatants without arms for the DDR programme.
3. All RUF detainees should be released as a confidence building measure.
4. Full observance of the Lome accord is needed to ensure total cessation of hostilities.
5. All warring factions should be disarmed simultaneously
6. Guarantee of security of all ex-combatants by UNAMSIL during and after disarmament.
7. Local authorities and civil society organisations should be involved in the disarmament process.
8. The Ceasefire Monitoring Committee should be immediately resuscitated and made operational.
9. The training of the SLAs' should be discontinued until disarmament, so as to allow space for the combatants from the other factions.
10. House to house search should be conducted after disarmament so as to enhance an arms free society.
11. All arms collected in the disarmament process should be destroyed in the presence of all factions.
12. Government authority should be established in all areas as soon as disarmament takes place.
13. The terms of the encampment of disarmed combatants should be acceptable to all factions i.e. fair treatment to all ex-combatants despite the factions they belong to
14. The dependants of the ex-combatants should be taken care of by the DDR programme
15. Job facilities for ex-combatants should be available after training
16. DDR officials should be neutral in the discharge of their duties.
GROUP B.
Chairman: Victor Nelson Williams
Deputy Coordinator - HOPE- Sierra Leone
Secretary: Charles Keff Kobai (NFFR)
This group set out to identify the obstacles to peace and arrived at the following:
1. The non-compliance of parties to agreements signed.
2. The uneven role of the civil populace in the area of collaboration with the conflict parties.
3. Lack of access to some parts of the country
4. Continued hostilities in some parts of the country
5. The failure to educate combatants and the civil populace on the peace process and the role of UNAMSIL.
6. Finger pointing and continued threatening remarks against the RUF in particular.
7. Lack of patriotism
8. Parties not ready to reconcile with each other
9. Lack of confidence among the parties.
10. Lack of contact among the parties
11. Misinformation by the press and other quarters
12. The relationship of the RUF with Charles Taylor President of Liberia.
The following recommendations were made.
1. The establishment of liaison bodies linking the conflict parties
2. An immediate cessation of hostilities by all parties.
3. Ceasefire monitoring committees to be set up to monitor and forestall any ceasefire violation
4. The release of all political detainees including the RUF prisoners, in the spirit of reconciliation.
5. The organisation of monthly peace workshops which will be inclusive of the government, RUF, SLA, CDF, NCDDR, UNAMSIL, CCP, OPARD and other youth groups
6. Government to discourage malicious propaganda by the press against the RUF
7. The immediate return of humanitarian organisations to RUF territories.
8. Government to stop the training of the army until disarmament
9. Resumption of full scale schooling and other functions in RUF areas
10. The extension of women and child welfare facilities to RUF occupied areas i.e. micro-credit facilities
11. NFFR to produce regular news bulletin on peace and reconciliation
12. The Council of Elders provided for in the Lome peace accord should now be appointed.
13. Inter-religious council to establish advisory committees within the RUF areas.
14. RUF delegates in the symposium to form themselves into committees which will from time to time liase with the NFFR Secretariat and CCP in Freetown
15. Political participation of the RUF in government so as to enhance the return of government functionaries within RUF controlled localities.
16. Remorse to be expressed by parties to the conflict as a price for reconciliation and peace.
GROUP C.
Chairman: Dr. Dennis Bright (CCP)
Secretary: Aiah Senesie
Group C tried to look at structures/measures that will ensure direct and sustained contact and dialogue between all parties in the conflict.
a. Setting up of mechanisms that will bridge the gaps and promote confidence among the parties.
b. The symposium to be replicated with the CDF, SLA and the general populace.
c. Verbal communication links to be promoted among the parties.
d. Flow of adequate information on issues relating to the peace process to the junior ranks within the parties
e. Inviting RUF/Youth representatives to workshops in other parts of the country.
f. Regular meetings among the parties
g. Social activities among the parties.
h. Exchange of programmes among the parties
i. Meetings with humanitarian agencies to pressure them into speeding up their operations as there are visible signs of malnutrition in RUF areas of control.
j. Meeting to be organised between the RUF, Government, CDF, UNAMSIL, NCDDR, NCRRR and the CCP wherein joint Action Committees would be formed to look into issues relating to the peace process. Such committees would be inclusive of all parties and operate within a specific time frame and must submit reports and recommendations.
k. RUF members to be included in government
l. Frequent peace sensitisation trainings to be conducted among the parties.
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