VZCZCXRO8645
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHFN #0025/01 0111733
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 111733Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9295
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 0096
RUEHAE/AMEMBASSY ASMARA 0012
RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0010
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0021
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0060
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0057
RUEHUM/AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR 0002

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 FREETOWN 000025 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, AF/RSA, IO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2016 
TAGS: KPKO PGOV PREL SL
SUBJECT: UN PEACEKEEPERS LEAVE SIERRA LEONE, BUT FRAGILITY 
REMAINS 
 
 
1.(U) Summary: The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone 
(UNAMSIL) completed its peacekeeping operations on December 
31, 2005, with minimal fanfare, but with notable 
significance.  Although UNAMSIL handed responsibility for 
security to Sierra Leone's police and army in September 2004, 
the continued presence of UNAMSIL provided a psychological 
security blanket that helped maintain the country's stability 
through 2005.  With UNAMSIL's departure many Sierra Leoneans 
are apprehensive about the ability of their security forces 
to maintain the peace, and possibly with good reason. 
UNAMSIL is transferring $8.4 million in assets to the 
Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL), and its civilian 
responsibilities to the new United Nations Integrated Office 
in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL), under a new UNSC mandate, that 
could prove to be a transitional model for other peacekeeping 
operations. The last UNAMSIL contingent, a Nigerian force 
guarding the war crimes Special Court in Sierra Leone (SCSL), 
passed its responsibilities on January 8, 2006, to a 
Mongolian detachment belonging to the United Nations Mission 
in Liberia (UNMIL). The UNAMSIL Special Representative of the 
Secretary General (SRSG) departed Freetown permanently on 
 
SIPDIS 
January 9.  End Summary. 
 
----------------- 
UNAMSIL'S SUCCESS 
----------------- 
 
2.(U) UNAMSIL was a major success in bringing peace, 
security, and stability to Sierra Leone following a decade of 
brutal civil conflict.  UNAMSIL, which began in 1999, had 
some initial difficulties, notably peacekeepers being 
disarmed and held hostage by rebels, but once its mission and 
rules of engagement were clarified, its operations went 
extremely well with no major incidents reported after peace 
was declared in January 2002.  UNAMSIL, which at one point 
was the UN's largest peacekeeping operation with 17,000 
troops, benefited from strong leadership and local 
cooperation.  The two SRSG's, first (1999-2000) Oluyemi 
Adeniji (currently Nigeria's foreign minister) and more 
recently (2001-2005) Daudi Mwakawago (a past UNSC president 
and ex-Tanzanian minister) and the two Deputy SRSG's, first 
Alan Doss (now UNMIL SRSG) and then Victor Angelo, provided 
strong direction to the organization as well as sound advice 
to Sierra Leone's leaders.  On the military side, Pakistan's 
Major General Sajjid Akram was an exemplary soldier-diplomat 
who not only led his multi-national force firmly, but also 
worked smoothly with the civilian side of UNAMSIL and engaged 
the international community and Sierra Leone leadership 
constructively. 
 
3.(U) UNAMSIL was enormously popular with Sierra Leoneans 
because the soldiers brought peace, contributed to the local 
economy, and were attentive to community relations.  Although 
UNAMSIL departed without elaborate ceremonies, President 
Kabbah, in his New Year's message to the nation, said 
unequivocably, "No one can deny that UNAMSIL has turned out 
to be among the most successful United Nations peacekeeping 
operations undertaken in an internal conflict over the past 
three decades."  At a farewell dinner hosted by the 
Ambassador, SRSG Mwakawago noted that only Rwanda and now 
Sierra Leone have seen the successful completion and 
withdrawal of UN peacekeeping missions in Africa in recent 
years. 
 
4.(U) UNAMSIL was notable not only for its highly 
professional military performance, but also for its civilian 
outreach through Radio UNAMSIL (the only station covering the 
entire country) and community assistance projects conducted 
by soldiers of many countries, but primarily Pakistanis, who 
built schools, libraries, community centers, and bridges from 
UN funds, as well as mosques and churches from personal 
funds.  UNAMSIL military observers served as the eyes and 
ears of the international community by monitoring potential 
unrest in the country.  UNAMSIL's civilian staff also 
contributed importantly to democratizations and human rights 
monitoring in Sierra Leone. 
 
5.(U) UNAMSIL's departure has some material benefit for 
Sierra Leone.  The UNGA authorized the transfer of $8.4 
million of UNAMSIL assets to the GoSL, and as of December 31, 
an estimated $5.4 million of assets had actually been 
transferred, including a joint army/police operations center 
 
FREETOWN 00000025  002 OF 003 
 
 
for crisis management in Freetown and a military base in 
Kenema.  The remaining assets will be transferred by the end 
of February, including a logistics facility at Hastings that 
is expected to become part of the State Department-funded 
ECOWAS depot.  UNAMSIL also earned credit as they departed 
for donating food and non-food items to orphans and war 
amputees. 
 
6.(U) SRSG Mwakawago credits Sierra Leone itself for having 
made UNAMSIL's success possible.  At a farewell press 
conference on December 28, he observed that "The peace 
attained in Sierra Leone was a result of the cooperation of 
the people and government of Sierra Leone with the 
peacekeepers, for we know of cases elsewhere where the 
peacekeepers have not enjoyed the cooperation and support of 
the governments of the host countries."  Picking up on that 
theme, President Kabbah told the nation, "UNAMSIL succeeded 
because the people of Sierra Leone made it possible to 
succeed" by ending the fighting and respecting the peace." 
Kabbah admonished his people to "remember that many people 
may be asking: will Sierra Leone slide back into armed 
conflict?" 
 
----------------- 
FRAGILITY REMAINS 
----------------- 
 
7.(U) Kabbah's question is a reminder that Sierra Leone is 
entering a post-UNAMSIL era in which stability will be less 
certain.  Although Sierra Leone was recently buttressed by 
$800 million in pledged aid for its Poverty Reduction 
Strategy Plan (PRSP) at a Consultative Group meeting in 
London, the forthcoming verdicts in SCSL trials and intense 
campaigning ahead of the 2007 parliamentary/presidential 
elections could disrupt Sierra Leone's current tranquility. 
Although there is no longer a rebel movement in the country 
and ethnic/religious differences are insignificant, the 
widespread extreme poverty and large numbers of unemployed 
youths have created a volatility that could potentiality be 
ignited.  Although the RSLAF and SLP have clearly improved in 
recent years, many Sierra Leoneans are apprehensive about the 
ability of their security forces to manage a violent crisis. 
Three unconnected violent events in 2005 were not well 
managed by the police.  Sierra Leoneans are understandably 
wary of their country's prospects for peace and stability 
given its post-independence history. 
 
8.(U) December-January is always a period of coup rumors in 
Freetown because of Sierra Leone's history.  For this reason 
and the late December forced retirement from the army of 1000 
soldiers including 78 officers, the president of the Sierra 
Leone Association of Journalists warned in a January 5 
editorial on UNAMSIL's departure that "the Armed Forces have 
their own specific role within the constitution and should 
not attempt to take over the running of the state."  Although 
the presence of a 110 foreign soldiers (including 3 U.S.) in 
the UK-funded International Military Assistance and Training 
Team (IMATT) embedded in the RSLAF is a deterrent to coups, 
Sierra Leoneans are nevertheless somewhat anxious. 
 
9.(C) Another indication that troublemakers may be emboldened 
by UNAMSIL's departure was the January 6 warning to the 
British Government through opposition All People's Congress 
leader Ernest Bai Koroma from ex-Deputy Defense Minister and 
SCSL war crimes defendent Hinga Norman, who commanded the 
Civil Defense Force (CDF) during the war, that CDF veterans 
will turn to violence if the obligations to ex-combatants in 
the Lome Peace Accord are not met by January 14.  January 17, 
not coincidentally, is the date when the defense will begin 
its case at Norman's trial at which former U.S. Ambassador 
John Hirsch is slated to testify in his defense. (Comment: 
Although Norman did not take credit for this CDF veteran 
action, it can be inferred from the timing that he has either 
initiated or endorsed it. While one can speculate that this 
is the threat of a desperate defendant, one cannot dismiss 
the possibility that it will lead to some violence.  At a 
minimum, it shows that mischief-makers see opportunities with 
UNAMSIL gone. End Comment). 
 
10.(SBU) In private conversations with the Ambassador, SRSG 
Mwakawago indicated that he would have preferred a six to 
eighteen month longer tenure for UNAMSIL to ensure a peaceful 
 
FREETOWN 00000025  003 OF 003 
 
 
environment for the 2007 elections.  President Kabbah was 
also reluctant to see UNAMSIL go, but tried to put the best 
face on the situation as beneficial to the country. 
"Although we would have preferred our friends in UNAMSIL to 
remain in the country," he said, "unfortunately, we had to 
agree to this departure because prospective investors may 
construe this continued presence in Sierra Leone as an 
indication that Sierra Leone is unsafe and thereby refrain 
from investing in Sierra Leone with adverse repercussions on 
the economy and lack of employment possibilities." 
 
--------------- 
UNIOSIL ARRIVES 
--------------- 
 
11.(U) The United Nations is also entering a new era with the 
creation of a United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra 
Leone (UNIOSIL) under the direction of former UNAMSIL Deputy 
SRSG Victor Angelo as Executive Representative of the 
Secretary General (ERSG) to succeed UNAMSIL.  SRSG Mwakawago 
 
SIPDIS 
repeatedly said before his departure, "UNIOSIL will not be a 
baby UNAMSIL," meaning that it will not have peacekeeping, 
but rather peacebuilding responsibilities.  UNIOSIL is 
basically an amalgamation of UN specialized agencies 
remaining in Sierra Leone under Angelo, who is also the local 
head of the UNDP.  At the Consultative Group meeting in 
London on November 29, Angelo announced that the UN total 
development budget for Sierra Leone probably will be $68 
million for 2006 and an estimated $40 million in 2007. 
 
12.(U) UNIOSIL, while not as robust and visible as UNAMSIL, 
will be more substantial than the usual UN country mission. 
For example, Radio UNAMSIL will continue under a new name and 
new management with a stronger democratization and 
development mandate, but with the expectation that it will be 
privatized after the 2007 elections.  UNIOSIL will also have 
20 police liaison officers to offer advice and training, and 
10 military liaison officers to work with the armed forces. 
 
------------------- 
MONGOLIANS COME TOO 
------------------- 
 
13.(U) The last UNAMSIL military element, a Nigerian 
contingent, turned over responsibility for guarding the war 
crimes Special Court in Sierra Leone to newly arrived 
Mongolian soldiers on November 8.  In an unusual arrangement 
approved by the UNSC, the Mongolians are under the command of 
the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).  The SCSL is 
expected to finish its mission by the end of 2006 unless war 
crimes fugitive Charles Taylor is extradited from Nigeria to 
the Court, which would prolong its tenure. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
14.(C) Comment:  The next eighteen months will be a fragile 
period for Sierra Leone with the UNAMSIL security blanket 
gone.  Extreme poverty, inadequate resources, and continuing 
governance and corruption issues with the traditional 
political class in both ruling and opposition parties 
underlie the country's fragility.  The current threat to 
peace, security, and stability is from the omnipresent 
unemployed urban youth more than from the rural discontent 
that sparked the war.  The UN will have a leading role in 
keeping Sierra Leone from reverting to violence through its 
substantial development and democratization activities. 
Although UNIOSIL is robust, it considers its resources 
inadequate.  On the other hand, with adequate resources, 
UNIOSIL could well be a transition model for countries like 
Sierra Leone that have graduated from peacekeeping but have 
not yet reached the stage of transformational development. 
End Comment. 
 
HULL