IRIN Focus on rebel commander’s decision to return home

News that a former Sierra Leonean rebel commander has returned to his country from Liberia has aroused interest, and in some cases concern, both within and outside Sierra Leone, according to various sources contacted by IRIN. However, the whereabouts of the former rebel leader remained unclear up to Tuesday despite a statement from Monrovia that he had left the country. “The government announces the departure from Liberia of former Revolutionary United Front (RUF) commander Sam Bockarie and all persons connected with the RUF,” read the statement, released on Friday. Liberian President Charles Taylor gave Bockarie and his followers asylum about a year ago at the request of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after the rebel commander fell out with the rest of the RUF leadership. In Liberia many people, including members of civil society and the church, had been demanding his expulsion. Liberians had been saying in the press and radio talk shows, that his departure might mitigate possible UN sanctions against Liberia for aiding the RUF. “The government seems to have felt the pressure,” one regional analyst told IRIN. Sanctions are now a real possibility following a report by a UN panel of experts that implicated Liberia in the smuggling of diamonds from and arms to the RUF. Mindful of the sanctions threat, Monrovia hastily reviewed its policy on Sierra Leone. “The government will not in any way support the activities of the Revolutionary United Front and calls on the RUF to lay down its arms,” it said. However, there is much skepticism with regard to Taylor’s real intentions, not least in Sierra Leone. The general secretary of that country’s Inter-Religious Council, the Reverend Alimamy Koroma, said Taylor was probably playing for time. Similarly, a regional political analyst told IRIN that Taylor might simply be trying to stave off UN sanctions and appeared to be asking the United Nations and the United States to take his move into account when considering the proposed punitive measures. “At this stage it’s difficult to say whether the government’s latest action will influence the Security Council decision (on whether) to impose sanctions,” the analyst said. “This could be because President Taylor has been known to make strong statements in the past that are not matched by action on the ground.” Koroma said Taylor could begin to allay such fears by disarming all RUF fighters in Liberia and handing over Bockarie to the international community. “That would be the test of his (Taylor’s) sincerity,” Koroma said. The ties between Bockarie and Taylor have been close, he added. An interview Bockarie granted the Voice of America last week gave Sierra Leoneans little reason to feel reassured by the prospect of his return. Bockarie insisted on automatic membership of the RUF on his return. The RUF leadership - which is showing an increasing willingness to cooperate with the UN Mission in Sierra Leone - wants him to reapply to join the rebel group. The former commander responded with threats. “I have men that came along with me and I’m going to leave with all my men,” he said. “So when I’m getting back, I mean, whatsoever may derail my getting to Sierra Leone, I’ll have to make it possible to get back.” He also accused the international community of contributing to the insecurity rather than restoring peace to Sierra Leone. “They appeared [to be] bringing more arms and ammunition to fight and flush the RUF,” he alleged. Given these and other statements Bockarie has made, it is a mistake to allow him to leave Liberia, a diplomat told IRIN. If the RUF rejects him, he could simply form his own guerrilla faction and prolong the war. With no country likely to take him in, Bockarie “has become a political liability”, the diplomat said.