Head of State and Chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
Freetown - 1 June 1997
My fellow countrymen, friendly nations and members of the international community. The big question at this moment on the lips of everybody inside and outside the country is what prompted us to oust former President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah and his government from power.
Before dwelling on the main above-mentioned theme of my address, I want first and foremost on behalf of my colleagues avail myself o this opportunity to solemnly extend our sincere and heartfelt sympathy and expression of regret for the unfortunate incidents that occurred during the takeover operation in which some of our brothers and sisters, as well as foreign nationals, lost their lives and property.
In this regard, the AFRC, as you have been informed through the media, has taken appropriate measures to prevent the recurrence of such unfortunate incidents. My address this evening is not only directed to fellow Sierra Leoneans. It is also meant to enlighten concerned non-nationals and the international community about the welfare of our beloved country, on the main motive of our action.
I have already emphasized in my last two addresses that our action was not motivated by selfish [as heard] and greed for power. The main objective of the AFRC to seize power is to restore lasting peace and political stability in this country, which has been ravaged and continues to be shattered by a senseless war.
On this vital issue of restoring peace and political stability in our country, I would like on behalf of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and the entire nation to pay a special and fitting tribute to the Ivorian head of state, His Excellency President Henri Konan Bedie, with special mention to his Foreign Minister Amara Essy, the government and people of La Cote d'Ivorie for the very important role they played in getting Corporal Foday Saybana Sankoh, the charismatic leader of the Revolutionary United Front of Sierra Leone around the negotiating table, that resulted to the signing of the Abuja peace accord last November. But for the relentless efforts of the authorities of this great African country, in the true state of African solidarity, we will not even have been thinking about...[pauses] talking about inviting the RUF leader to command his fighters to (?cease) hostilities and to join the revolution with the sole objective of bringing lasting peace to our beloved country.
The AFRC would also like to seize this opportunity to thank friendly sister countries in the subregion, namely the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Guinea, and Ghana for their effective and invaluable role in averting irreparable destruction of our fatherland at the height of the rebel war. The AFRC would also like to behalf of the entire nation to thank the international community and NGO's [words indistinct] to the United Nations Organization, the Commonwealth, the OAU, the International Alliance, the International Community of the World Force for the very important roles they played toward the success of the Abidjan peace process.
Fellow countrymen, friendly nations, members of the international community, I would now like to dwell on the main theme of my address this evening. The main reason that prompted us to take the [word indistinct] and timely decision to overthrow the former regime and to extend an invitation to RUF Cpl. Foday Sankoh and the RUF to operate with us.
It is true the wind of democracy has blown and continues to blow around the world. Patriotic and national Sierra Leoneans, old and young, put in everything, sometimes at the expense of their lives, during the transition process to democratic rule with the objective of being in tune with progressive nations around the globe and restoring lasting peace and political stability in Sierra Leone. After five years of military governance, our country was returned to democratic rule with great pains, but due to lack of political ingenuity and sincere commitment on the part of former President Tejan Kabbah and some of his lieutenants, the hard-won democracy was being gradually jeopardized by the flagrant antidemocratic and unpatriotic practices of the lat regime. The unanimous vote in favor of the new president by SLPP parliamentarians and the appointment of ruling party stalwarts to most of the key positions of the state's administrative machinery is a palpable truth of such tendencies.
In an exclusive interview granted to the West African magazine of March this year in Washington, OAU Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Salim Ahmed (sic.) rightly opined, and quote, "Progressive African leadership must now operate, above all, on the clear knowledge that the question of peace, security, and political stability of their respective continent is of primordial importance. Without peace, security, and political stability, it is not possible that any country will achieve the type of democratic and economic growth, the type of social development that we aspire to," quote. [as heard]
This is why my colleagues and I on the AFRC have decided to focus on the question of resolving our internal conflicts. The war that has shattered our once flourishing economy, with much more of [word indistinct] efforts and reality. [words indistinct] this priority of priorities--the return of lasting peace and political stability in our country--is achieved, we will then focus on the whole question of democratization and greater respect for human rights. Military issues, the question of economic and social development, the question of security and stability, and the issue of democratization and human rights are related. If we are to achieve the objective the AFRC will set for itself and address the new challenges that face our country [sentence as heard]. The AFRC will endeavor to address each of these goals and their [word indistinct] within the present context of the social and political situation prevailing in the country.
Our brother Cpl. Foday Saybana Sankoh is quick to understand this when he emphatically stated in his radio message to the nation from Abuja that a democracy without peace, security, and political stability is baseless. The remarkable economic growth and social development achieved by our sister and friendly Republic of La Cote d'Ivoire is due to the legendary peace, security, and political stability in that country. Foreign investors and economic operators will only pour in their money into countries that will guarantee their personal security and that of their investment.
Fellow countrymen, you will surely agree with me that the unseated president and some of his round pegs in square holes collaborators dragged their feet in implementing the priority clauses stipulated in the Abuja peace accord related to developments of mutual forces to carry out encampment and disarming of combatants. The Commission of the Consolidation of Peace, PCP, was never given the attention needed to carry out its functions.
Fellow countrymen, I will not dwell much on the negative [word indistinct], but let me touch on some of its saddest aspects. The death toll could be estimated at about 15,000 troops. Damaged property could easily amount to several billions of leones. The economy has been completely crippled. Thousands of families which once enjoyed the warmth of living together have been separated. Innocent citizens, mainly comprised of agricultural workers in rural areas, were mutilated and maimed, rendering them physically handicapped and useless throughout the rest of their lives. The brain drain in the country during the war reached unprecedented proportions with its negative effects on the standard of education in our university and other institutions of higher learning. Children in their thousands have become homeless, orphans, and street-beggars. Persons traumatized by the atrocities of the war have become mentally unbalanced. Fellow countrymen, the negative spoils of the war cannot be fully exhausted in this address.
Nationalistic and patriotic Sierra Leoneans as well as well-meaning non-nationals and the international community will now understand why the AFRC deem it at this point in time to drive away the enemies of this nation and to call upon Cpl. Foday Sankoh and the RUF to join the revolution so as to bring about lasting peace and to arrest the unmerited and unwarranted sufferings of our people.
With the return of lasting peace and political stability in this country, Sierra Leoneans will regain their lost personality and integrity, but more especially our shattered economy [words indistinct] foreign investment. Our country will once more regain its rightly place among the progressive nations of the world.
My fellow countrymen, we are undergoing a very crucial stage in the history of our country. Our destiny and that of generations yet unborn is in our hands. Shakespeare rightly put, quote, "There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken on the tide (sic.) leads on to fortune, omitted all their voyage is bound in shallow waters," unquote.
We should not leave the fate of this only country that we have to be determined by other people for their own personal aggrandizement. The Lord Almighty, our creator, loves this country. He has made it possible for us to know our enemies at the right time. The Biblical saying "God's time is the best" should be an eye opener for us. Prayers said in our numerous churches and mosques on Sundays and Fridays throughout the national territory for the return of lasting peace to our beloved country have not gone in vain. My fellow countrymen, our priority of priorities today is peace. Peace is an inseparable factor for human development. We have been longing for it for the past six years. Thanks to God, it is here. The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and true patriots of this country are therefore solemnly appealing to all Sierra Leoneans, irrespective of their ethnic grouping, creed, social standing, and political affiliation, within and outside our national territory to join the God-inspired revolution for the ultimate salvation of our beloved fatherland.
I will end my address by declaring three days fasting and prayers throughout the country, from Sunday, 1 to Tuesday 3 June 1997. United We Stand, Divided We fall. I thank you very much.