Disarmament still stalled in east

Disarmament of former combatants in parts of eastern Sierra Leone was still at a stalemate on Thursday, despite discussions on re-starting it, Francis Kai-Kai, Executive Secretary of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) told IRIN.

In Kenema District, disarmament failed to get underway on Monday in the diamond mining centre of Tongo Field, held by the Revolutionary United front (RUF). "As far as I know there is no sign of disarmament yet, as of this morning," Kai-Kai said on Thursday. Asked why disarmament had stalled, Kai-Kai replied: "I don't understand why. In other districts, including Kono, another mining area, there was a relative degree of compliance and I was expecting the same in Tongo." Illegal mining is continuing in eastern Sierra Leone, Kai-Kai said, describing it as a factor "we can't discard" in the RUF's reluctance to disarm in Kenema. "They are mining in Tongo very frantically. The evidence is overwhelming," he said.

Disarmamament was however progressing in Kenema town where close to 4,000 CDF handed over weapons in the last phase of disarmament, Kai-Kai added.

In Kailahun District the RUF announced nearly two weeks ago that they would not continue with the disarmament process because they were unhappy with the outcome of a recent national consultative conference. "What we have heard are political not technical reasons for the blocking of the disarmament process," Kai-Kai said.

The former rebels also expressed dissatisfaction over the continued detention of their leader, Foday Sankoh and the time taken to fully register the RUF as a political party, which would make it eligible for presidential and legislative elections slated for May 2002.

According to Kai-Kai seven battalions of RUF are due to disarm at two centres in Kailahun District - two reporting to the centre in Kailahun town and five to Daru. A handful of RUF have turned up at Daru, where pro-government Civil Defence Forces (CDF) are also disarming, but none so far in Kailahun town.

Kenema and Kailahun are the last two remaining districts to disarm in Sierra Leone and although slated to end on Saturday, the disarmament will now continue into December. Kai-Kai expressed optimism that the ongoing discussions between the parties would lead to a resumption of the process in the near future.

Meanwhile the US House of Representatives approved legislation on Wednesday aimed at curbing the import of "conflict diamonds" blamed for fuelling the war in Sierra Leone, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Under the new law, the US president would have the authority to impose sanctions on countries which refuse to establish a certification system to ensure the diamonds they export come from legitimate sources, Sierra Leone Web reported. The bill also gives the president power to seize parcels of gems suspected to be "conflict diamonds" and provides US $5-million in each of its first two years to help poor countries set up certification systems, the online news service reported.