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The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Oluyemi Adeniji, has expressed regret over the Revolutionary United Front's (RUF) boycott of Thursday's meeting of Sierra Leone's Joint Committee on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration.
The RUF had boycotted the meeting after expressing unhappiness with a decision by the government to postpone parliamentary and presidential elections to 14 May 2002.
Adeniji said that efforts to locate the RUF leadership in the north-central town of Makeni were unsuccessful, the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) reported on Thursday.
Adeniji, speaking on behalf of UNAMSIL, said he hoped that the RUF's boycott was not "an indication of what the future holds", but rather "a hiccup" in the peace process. In a letter addressed to Adeniji, the RUF leadership said it would boycott the meeting "until various concerns" were addressed. These include the reported violations of the ceasefire in Koinadugu District by the pro-government Civil Defence Forces operating in northern Sierra Leone, the establishment of a special war crimes court, the continued detention of RUF members and the existing state of emergency. It also included a demand for the participation of civil society organisations in any meeting with the government, UNAMSIL reported.
The tripartite talks involve the government, UNAMSIL and the RUF, who meet periodically was to review the implementation of decisions on the DDR process, issues hampering its progress and next steps. The meetings are also aimed at reviewing issues related to national recovery and stabilisation.
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