Commonwealth chief stresses urgent need for solution

Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku told IRIN today (Wednesday) he hoped his appeal for international intervention in Sierra Leone would lead to genuine negotiations for peace. He said there were two main areas where aid should be given, namely to help the West African intervention force ECOMOG in its peacekeeping activities and assist the Sierra Leone government cope with the consequences of the brutal war. In a news release yesterday (Tuesday), the Secretary-General called for “firm and unequivocal action” from the international community to stop Sierra Leone sliding into a “Dark Age”.
He told IRIN he was concerned over the planned withdrawal of Nigerian peacekeepers in May, saying Sierra Leone’s record pointed to the fact there would be “no end of atrocities” unless a solution were found. With the Nigerian pullout it was hoped contributing countries could be persuaded to stay on to oversee peace in Sierra Leone, thus reducing the financial burden on ECOMOG. Chief Anyaoku noted the international community had expressed willingness to help in the war-ravaged region of Kosovo in former Yugoslavia, and hoped it would react in the same way towards Sierra Leone. Furthermore, an international presence in Sierra Leone could deter human rights abuses. On the humanitarian situation, Chief Anyaoku said the Commonwealth would play a coordinating role for assistance.

He added that he met the Liberian foreign minister in London yesterday and while he would not give details of the talks, he stressed all sides could “see the merit in joining together to stop the war”. Liberia has denied accusations it is helping the rebels fight the Sierra Leone government.