Culled from: clari.world.africa.western,clari.world.mideast+africa Newsgroups
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FREETOWN, Nov 15 (AFP) - A three-day meeting of Sierra
Leonean politicians, civil activists and ordinary citizens ended here
Thursday, with calls to secure peace in the war-ravaged country
and ensure the success of elections due in May.
The National Consultative Conference drew some 250 delegates
from 22 political parties including the political wing of the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group, government
ministers, civil rights bodies and and rank and file Sierra Leoneans.
The delegates mooted by consensus 25 proposals to ensure the
success of presidential and general elections, including the
introduction of the district block voting system under which any
candidate winning more than 2.5 percent of the votes in a district
would make it to parliament.
Participants also called for a speedier disarmament of fighters.
"All efforts must be made to expedite the disarmament process
(which started in May) to make Sierra Leone arms-free before the
general elections," a communique outlining the proposals said.
Another resolution called for the state of emergency, in force
after 1999, to be lifted "to create a very conducive environment for
the campaign and the elections."
Under the emergency laws, the president has sweeping powers
including the right to detain anyone indefinitely without giving a
reason.
Other resolutions called for the restitution of the powers of
traditional local rulers, called paramount chiefs, and for their
resettlement in their respective communities.
Political parties were urged to give more representation to
women "at least 30 percent at all levels" and it was also agreed
that all "political parties should have equal access to the media."
The participants also called for stricter monitoring of the mining
sector -- an allusion to the mining of "conflict diamonds" mined by
RUF rebels to finance their blood and terror campaign.
"The mining of diamonds have been a curse to Sierra Leone," the
delegates noted.
The end of the meeting was celebrated by dancing, cheers and
songs.
Delegates applauded deputy UN Special representative Alan
Doss after he said: "It is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war."
The RUFP, the rebels' political party, however, did not press
its demand for the establishment of an interim government to rule
the country until elections are held on May 14.
President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's government has rejected the
rebel demand as unconstitutional. However, its term ended in
September and was extended for a second time under a special
provision for emergency situations.
The RUF had also been demanding the release of its jailed
supremo Foday Sankoh, ahead of the elections but did not force
the issue at the three-day conference.
The RUF rebel campaign, launched in 1991, has been marked by
blood and terror. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed,
maimed, injured or raped by the parties to the conflict.
Sankoh was sentenced to death in 1998, convicted of treason,
but granted amnesty and released in 1999 as part of a first deal
with the RUF, before the rebels went on the offensive again.
He was re-arrested later and jailed.
A May peace accord signed in Freetown between the
government, the rebels and the United Nations mission in Sierra
Leone (UNAMSIL) has led to a sweeping disarmament programme
across country.
Both the rebels and a state-backed civil militia set up to
counter the RUF have been laying down arms. According to the
United Nations, nearly 26,000 fighters have been disarmed since
May.
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