YouSaid · the spoken record

Dabor

lines on the record
18
first
1999-03-11
most recent
1999-08-20
sittings or episodes
2
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un-security-council

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  1. “In closing, permit me to quote from a statement made by President Kabbah during his recent visit to London. "It is unfortunate that the scale of magnitude of the human tragedy which engulfed Sierra Leone, a democratic and sovereign member of the committee of nations, over the past several years, is now being realized and assessed in the context of the recent crisis in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo The conclusion is that the situation in Sierra Leone-Kosovo comparison will continue to be highlighted in the context of generating resources for post-conflict reconstruction in both places."”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  2. “The Government of Sierra Leone wholeheartedly welcomes the various provisions in the draft resolution concerning the need for international assistance in support of ECOMOG, the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme, humanitarian relief and for long-term reconstruction, economic and social recovery and development. In the current post-conflict settlement programme, we attach importance to the welfare of ex-combatants. We attach equal importance to the needs of the Victims of the rebel war. Therefore, we welcome the emphasis that the present draft resolution places on the mobilization of international assistance for a special trust fund to enable the Government to design and implement a programme that will address the special needs of war victims, in particular those who have suffered maiming and mutilation.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  3. “It recognizes the need to maintain the critical presence in the country of ECOMOG, which has executed a similar disarmament process in Liberia, which is familiar with the terrain as well as the operational tactics of the combatants in Sierra Leone, and which has performed the equally important job of retrieving hidden weapons. We should add that since the signing of the Peace Agreement more than a month ago, a great deal of confidence has been built between ECOMOG and the combatants. ECOMOG has even played host to many of the key field commanders of the RUF in several parts of the country.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  4. “In our view, the United Nations should take advantage of the existing momentum generated by the signing of the Peace Agreement, by initiating the disarmament process without further delay, before frustration and even resistance to disarmament begin to develop among the combatants. The void which has been created in the process since the signing of the Agreement is very dangerous. As far as the ongoing consultations on the revised mandates of ECOMOG and UNOMSIL are concerned, we would like to emphasize that ECOMOG has acquired considerable experience in both the Liberia and Sierra Leone conflicts. This fact cannot be ignored. The Security Council itself, in the present draft resolution, commends ECOMOG for its outstanding contribution to the promotion of a peaceful settlement in Sierra Leone.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  5. “While we are happy that in the draft resolution the Security Council calls on the RUF and other armed groups to begin immediately to disband and give up their arms, and to participate fully in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme, the Government of Sierra Leone would like to express the hope that the additional United Nations military observers will be deployed as soon as possible in order to build confidence in the disarmament and demobilization process which has just begun, and that the ongoing consultations on the future peacekeeping mechanism in Sierra Leone, involving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) and the United Nations, will be expedited, thus ensuring that delays in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process as a whole are not used by anyone as a pretext for reneging on the Peace Agreement.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  6. “It is a bitter pill to swallow, but that is the price they are prepared to pay for peace. Therefore, we call on the international community to support the people of Sierra Leone in their search for peace and not to do anything that would undermine the Peace Agreement which about six weeks was delicately negotiated by the parties in Lome. The security and safety of our people were and still are vital. We are convinced that the Peace Agreement which we signed in Lome will remain fragile until we succeed in disarming the combatants. Indeed, any inordinate delay in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process will render the entire Agreement meaningless.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  7. “All along we had maintained that it was not enough to issue statements calling for an end to the so-called fighting. The situation had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer fair to exert undue pressure on the Government literally to abandon its responsibility for the safety of the people of Sierra Leone and to make concessions to the rebels. We pleaded with the Security Council, especially with those members with the necessary political and material wherewithal to exert pressure on the perpetrators of the atrocities and their external supporters, to end the eight-year terror in our country. Despite the destruction of life and property and the maiming committed by the rebels against the people of Sierra Leone, including children as young as six months old, they are prepared to bury the hatchet for the sake of permanent peace.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  8. “We wish, however, that today's decision had come a little earlier, considering that the expansion is only provisional and that under the terms of the Peace Agreement the disarmament and demobilization process was to commence two days ago, that is six weeks after the signing of the Agreement. The Government's objective in the conflict was certainly not to score a military Victory, but to defend innocent Sierra Leoneans, including children, who had no means of defending themselves in what has been described as one of the most atrocious conflicts in Africa. All along we had made solemn appeals to the international community, and to the United Nations in particular, at least to help the Government contain those who were perpetrating the atrocities.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  9. “As he said recently, in signing the Lome Agreement we went the extra mile, to the extent that the Government is now seen in some circles as having given far too much to those who had terrorized our people for more than eight years. Today, we are grateful to the Security Council for recognizing and commending, in the draft resolution before it today, the courageous efforts of the Government to achieve peace. We also note with appreciation that the Council has recognized the legislative and other measures that the Government has taken to implement the Lome Peace Agreement. We welcome the expansion of the United Nations Observer Mission in Sierra Leone (UNOMSIL) and are grateful to the Council for authorizing it. We fully understand the political and financial constrains involved in the deployment of observer and peacekeeping missions.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  10. “The Sierra Leone delegation would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of August. We are grateful for the opportunity to address the Council once again in its consideration of the situation in Sierra Leone. After lengthy and often painful discussions in Lome with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), the Government of Sierra Leone signed a comprehensive Peace Agreement with the RUF on 7 July. President Kabbah's signature on that document, on behalf of the children of Sierra Leone, was the culmination of his untiring and consistent determination, since his election three and a half years ago, to bring about lasting peace in our country through dialogue. He took calculated risks to end a conflict which he had inherited.”

    1999-08-20 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4035 (1999) · source

  11. “We think pressure should now be put on the rebels to be serious about talking peace. Although they are saying they want peace, they continue to kill and maim innocent civilians, and they continue to burn villages and all the cities of the country.”

    1999-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3986 (1999) · source

  12. “The rebels feel that by killing and amputating the limbs of innocent civilians the people will succumb to their devilish wishes. But the people have continued to resist. Even though they have destroyed and killed, the rebels have not achieved their objectives. There is no doubt that the international community will continue to support the people of Sierra Leone. My Government believes that without good governance there will be no meaningful development. As further evidence of the insincerity of the rebels in advancing the peace process, the RUF Commander, Sam Bockarie, yesterday told the Associated Press that he will ignore the call of the RUF leader, Foday Sankoh, for a ceasefire. Instead, he has threatened to launch an all-out offensive against Government forces. He said, "We are ready to fight".”

    1999-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3986 (1999) · source

  13. “On Wednesday this week, in Accra, President Kabbah told journalists that he would be willing to exercise his power of clemency to release Foday Sankoh after his appeal has been settled by the courts, in order to advance the peace process in Sierra Leone. He said, "If I have to use my clemency to release Foday Sankoh in order to bring lasting peace to my country, I will do that." There are two forces in play today in the political arena of Sierra Leone: the supporters of democracy, namely, the people of Sierra Leone, who in 1996 elected a Government of their choice and are now refusing to be disenfranchised; and the anti-democratic forces, namely, the rebels and their collaborators, internal and external, who want to assume power by illegitimate means.”

    1999-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3986 (1999) · source

  14. “Foday Sankoh was permitted to travel to Conakry so that he could talk to his commanders. On reaching Conakry, he reneged on the agreement and refused to sign any ceasefire until he was released from prison. Again, in an address to the nation on 28 February 1999, President Kabbah agreed to permit Foday Sankoh to meet with his colleagues so that they could articulate their position as to how to move the peace process forward. The Government has now suggested two possible venues for that meeting: Togo or Mali. The Government cannot therefore be accused of failing to make enough serious efforts to hold a dialogue with the rebels.”

    1999-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3986 (1999) · source

  15. “I want to put the record straight here today. Since the assumption of power in 1996 after a democratic election, the Government of President Kabbah has always been serious about bringing peace to the country. Through his efforts, the peace accord was signed between the Government and the rebels in Abidjan in November 1996. The accord reached in Conakry between the ECOWAS Committee of Five and the rebels in 1998 was supported by the President, even though most of his advisers did not agree with some aspects of the accord. Most recently, after the rebel's invasion of the capital on 6 January 1999, he had a meeting with the leader of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), Foday Sankoh, the main purpose of which was to arrive at a ceasefire leading eventually to a resumption of talks.”

    1999-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3986 (1999) · source

  16. “Apart from the human losses suffered in Sierra Leone, the Government of Nigeria has been spending over $1 million a day since 1997 on ECOMOG for the sole purpose of bringing peace to my country. This is a colossal amount. I believe that the valuable role played by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in peacekeeping in Sierra Leone and in the subregion in general should be reinforced with added financial and logistical support from the international community. It is no news to members of this Council that the prevailing rebel war has not only destroyed the socio- economic infrastructure of my country but has resulted in a huge loss of human life and property. The country has been brought to a virtual standstill. In the process, a lot of pressure has been put on the Government to have a dialogue with the rebels.”

    1999-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3986 (1999) · source

  17. “I must acknowledge the special role that the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has played and continues to play in peacekeeping and in the maintenance of international peace and security, not only in our subregion but in Africa at large. The relative peace prevailing in Liberia today would not have been possible but for the intervention of the Government of Nigeria through the regional peacekeeping force known as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). When the coup took place in Sierra Leone on 25 May 1997, the Government of Nigeria, through ECOMOG, quickly intervened at the request of President Kabbah for assistance to bring an explosive situation under control.”

    1999-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3986 (1999) · source

  18. “Permit me, on behalf of the Government of Sierra Leone, to thank members of the Security Council, both past and present, and the Secretary- General of the United Nations for the assistance and support they have been giving to the democratically elected Government of Sierra Leone, headed by President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. Let me also thank the Governments of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, China, the Netherlands, the Republic of Guinea, Ghana, Mali, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, other member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and others for the support they have been giving to my country.”

    1999-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3986 (1999) · source