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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 FREETOWN 000776 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2016 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM SL
SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONE'S RULING PARTY THREATENS RIVALS 
 
REF: A. FREETOWN 681 
 
     ¶B. 05 FREETOWN 960 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Thomas N. Hull, reasons 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (C) During a recent trip to ruling Sierra Leone People's 
Party (SLPP) strongholds in southern and eastern Sierra Leone 
to gauge the popularity of Charles Margai's SLPP breakaway 
party, the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), 
PolOff found a disturbing pattern of manipulation, 
intimidation, and repression by local SLPP officials and 
followers against opposition parties, especially the PMDC. 
Unless checked by the National Electoral Commission (NEC), 
the Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), civil 
society, and the international community, these abuses could 
undermine election preparations and potentially destabilize 
the country.  The SLPP,s hardball tactics, which are 
historically characteristic of local politics, reflect the 
threat posed by the surprisingly well developed PMDC in the 
SLPP,s heartland and the larger threat presented by the 
reapportionment of parliamentary districts to other regions 
of the country.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Upcountry Trip Reveals Disturbing Trend 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) On September 6-9, PolOff and PolAsst traveled to 
traditional Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) strongholds in 
Bo, Pujehun, and Kenema to gauge the popularity of Charles 
Margai's new SLPP breakaway party, the People's Movement for 
Democratic Change (PMDC).  Margai, a lawyer and former 
government minister whose uncle and father were Sierra 
Leone,s first post-independence prime ministers, broke from 
the SLPP after the September 2005 party convention where 
President Kabbah railroaded the nomination of Vice President 
Berewa to be the SLPP standard bearer.  Unlike the more 
established but ossified opposition All People's Congress 
(APC) party, PMDC members in the south and the east displayed 
energy and momentum.  This has not gone unnoticed by the 
ruling SLPP party elite, and we heard numerous reports of 
PMDC supporters who had suffered for their new political 
allegiance.  (COMMENT: We heard reports from APC supporters 
who have suffered as well, but the PMDC supporters appear to 
be the primary targets of intimidation and retribution in 
this region. END COMMENT.) 
 
¶3. (C) We heard reports about civil servants who were removed 
from government housing, teachers at government schools who 
had been fired, and chiefdom authorities who were suspended 
and replaced.  In Bo District, one of the civil servants who 
lost his government house was reportedly a senior mines 
monitor with the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources. 
 
¶4. (C) We also heard reports about PMDC supporters whose 
homes were marked for demolition, received death threats and 
had been assaulted, been denied meetings, were punished after 
attending political meetings, and denied access to 
microcredit, seed rice, and other benefits given to SLPP 
members.  We heard a report that in June, the Gallinasperi 
chiefdom court (Pujehun District) jailed a PMDC supporter for 
three days without food and fined him 120,000 leones 
(approximately USD 40) for holding an "illegal" meeting.  A 
house built by a reverend in Bo was reportedly marked for 
demolition in spite of a previous clearance to build on 
government land.  The reverend was described as a "PMDC 
sympathizer." 
 
¶5. (C) We also heard about retribution against PMDC 
supporters' family members, particularly threats and job 
suspension of elderly parents.  In one case that reportedly 
occurred in late August, the Barri paramount chief's brother 
spotted a young man wearing a PMDC teeshirt.  He summoned the 
young man to the paramount chief's house, and when he got 
there, the paramount chief ordered him to remove his PMDC 
teeshirt.  When the young man refused, the paramount chief 
summoned the man's mother and told her that if she could not 
convince her son to remove his teeshirt, she would be "dealt 
with."  The young man told PolOff that his mother had been 
effectively banished from her own village, and that he now 
needs to bring her to Freetown so that she will feel safe. 
 
¶6. (C) Some of the more disturbing reports were about the 
 
FREETOWN 00000776  002 OF 004 
 
 
role that many paramount chiefs have taken to suppress SLPP 
opposition.  We heard several reports of paramount chiefs 
firing or suspending section chiefs for supporting the PMDC 
and refusing requests from opposition parties to hold public 
meetings.  Paramount chiefs' loyalty is often rewarded with a 
blind eye when it comes to spending public money for private 
gain.  One example we heard was the Ngowa Paramount Chief, 
who was given seven million leones (approximately USD 2,300) 
for HIV/AIDS sensitization in July (Note: Funding possibly 
came from a project funded by the National AIDS Secretariat, 
which receives money from the Global Fund and World Bank. End 
Note).  Soon after he received the money, he used it to 
travel abroad.  Local PMDC supporters raised alarm bells, so 
the chief's family organized one HIV/AIDS meeting in one 
village (Hanga), but no other action was taken by the GoSL. 
The Paramount Chief in Bo is particularly notorious.  We 
heard reports that he has repeatedly threatened to shut down 
the local independent radio station for discussing issues 
that are critical of the SLPP government.  We were told that 
he ordered police to open fire on PMDC supporters last year 
when Charles Margai and Vice President Berewa crossed paths 
at a 2005 school event in Bo that caused embarrassment to 
Berewa (ref B).  (NOTE: Three police officers were reportedly 
reassigned after the incident.  All of them had - thankfully 
- refused to follow the Paramount Chief's orders. END NOTE.) 
 
¶7. (C) Another intimidation story involved an SLPP government 
minister (Minister of Transport and Communication Prince 
Harding) who convened an SLPP meeting on July 2 in Bo 
District.  After the meeting, approximately 50 SLPP 
supporters went to a PMDC sub-office in Jembe Town and 
threatened to burn down the local PMDC Chairman's house and 
told PMDC supporters in the office, "We will have you killed 
by 2007."  The PMDC Chairman reported the incident to the 
police and forwarded copies of an official complaint to the 
Political Parties Registration Commission (PPRC), the 
National Electoral Commission (NEC), the All Parties 
Political Association (APPA), and civil society.  To date, 
there has been no police (or other) action. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Political Opposition Has Nowhere To Turn 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (C) Inaction and disengagement from NEC and PPRC toward 
what appear to be clear and gross violations of political 
rights was another common theme.  We confirmed a story about 
the NEC's inaction in the face of the reported politicization 
of its youth training/employment program for voter 
registration, in which SLPP stalwarts in Bo had control of 
all the application forms and were allegedly giving them out 
only to SLPP youth.  Opposition members complained that the 
NEC office should have handed out the forms to ensure 
equitable distribution.  When asked, a NEC official told us 
that the application forms were being handed out at the 
locations where the training would take place, which is why 
(SLPP) officials at the Bo School had control of them.  When 
we contacted the PPRC to verify the PMDC's story about the 
Minister of Transport and Communications' SLPP meeting that 
led to threats against PMDC supporters, we were told that the 
PPRC did not intend to take any action because they were only 
an information addressee on the letter of complaint. 
 
¶9. (C) COMMENT: The NEC can ill afford to be seen as 
unconcerned in the face of political tampering, since they 
are already gaining a reputation as ineffective even when 
they do stand up to the ruling SLPP as the NEC's inability to 
stop the Biriwa chiefdom elections (ref A) showed.  The NEC 
has been silent since its public Biriwa Chiefdom defeat and 
failed to capitalize on what could have been a clear 
opportunity to sanction the government and make a statement 
for its independence.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10. (C) On September 15, UNIOSIL Executive Representative to 
the Secretary General Victor Angelo told the Ambassador, DCM 
and PolOff that the NEC has spent past few weeks trying to 
organize the move of its headquarters to a new building in 
Freetown.  The chaos that characterized the move does not 
build confidence in the NEC's ability to organize a 
nationwide election, Angelo said, especially given the amount 
of time and energy the Commissioners spent bickering with one 
another over whose office would get more square footage.  The 
PPRC is in even more dire straits, Angelo said, because they 
are without a chief commissioner and lack the staff capacity 
to even complete a registration verification exercise, much 
less adjudicate allegations of electoral wrongdoing. 
 
 
FREETOWN 00000776  003 OF 004 
 
 
¶11. (C) Civil society has not stepped up to the plate, 
either, we learned.  In spite of reassuring meetings in 
Freetown with the Africa Director of Search for Common Ground 
(SFCG), Francess Fortune, we heard contrary reports from the 
field.  Fortune is the Chairman of National Elections Watch 
(NEW), a coalition of local NGOs who come together to focus 
on election observation issues.  Civil society 
representatives in Bo, however, claimed  that NEW members are 
mostly SLPP party loyalists who have been ineffective in 
observing past elections.  We heard reports from two separate 
meetings that NEW leadership in Bo is already partisan 
because of the way Fortune appointed local leadership. 
(NOTE: Fortune is a Canadian national with extensive 
experience of the country and a frequent Government critic 
who stayed in Sierra Leone throughout the war years.  Post 
will look into these allegations since USAID funds SFCG 
democracy and agricultural information programs, and is 
considering support to NEW.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶12. (C) Opposition political parties voiced frustration that 
no one is taking action on their grievances.  Frustration was 
directed most clearly at police who failed to investigate 
reports of violence and intimidation (including a report that 
the Chairman of the Pujehun District Council paid a group of 
Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) soldiers to 
kill a PMDC supporter in Pujehun).  It was also clear, 
though, that their expectations of the NEC, PPRC, and civil 
society are low.  For the most part, reports of intimidation 
and abuse are circulated within the party and to the police 
only.  Some of the reports are making it up through the party 
structure to the All Political Parties Association (APPA), an 
independent organization of the parties that the SLPP 
organized but now boycotts.  APPA has very recently made 
presentations of their complaints to UNIOSIL and the 
Diplomatic Corps that have filtered into the local press. 
UNIOSIL staff are investigating some of the allegations. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Unchecked Brinksmanship Will Lead to Violence 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (C) Some of the opposition political party groups, 
particularly the APC which has long been harassed in the 
south and east, portrayed a sense of resignation in the face 
of the current political environment.  Others, particularly 
the PMDC supporters in Bo and Kenema, made it clear that they 
intend to resist the government's attempts to deny their 
political rights.  This has already led to isolated incidents 
of violence.  For example, we heard that in Largo (Kenema 
District), PMDC supporters received police clearance to hold 
meetings but were attacked twice and therefore prevented from 
doing so. 
 
¶14. (C) The threat of more serious violence is clear. 
Regarding a Kenema District paramount chief's refusal to 
allow a PMDC party meeting, we heard, "We are ready to go in 
by force."  In Banderu (Kenema District), the chiefdom 
section speaker fined a PMDC supporter 200,000 leones 
(approximately USD 67), one goat, and five gallons of palm 
oil for holding a meeting.  The 100 or so people who attended 
the meeting were punished as well, we were told, and banned 
indefinitely from farming and mining on chiefdom lands.  When 
we asked what the attendees planned to do about it, we were 
told that the PMDC will inform the police and the UNIOSIL 
security advisor, but that the attendees would be instructed 
to continue farming and mining in defiance of the chieftaincy 
order.  While this kind of behavior could expose the section 
speaker's bluff, it could also lead to violence should the 
SLPP loyalists decide to make a statement. 
 
¶15. (C) In Bo, at least for now, opposition to the paramount 
chief's intimidation tactics are taking the form of people 
refusing to attend meetings when the paramount chief calls 
them.  PMDC supporters told us, however, that people will 
only be pushed so far and will eventually stand up for their 
rights, which means that there is a potential for violence. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶16. (C) Sustainable peace and democratic development in 
Sierra Leone will depend on credible elections in July 2007. 
Heightened tensions, hardball politics, and sporadic violence 
had characterized previous elections, but we did not expect 
to hear such extensive reports of SLPP intimidation and 
retribution to keep voters in line as the election is being 
 
FREETOWN 00000776  004 OF 004 
 
 
organized and well ahead of the official campaign period.  We 
were also surprised by PMDC strong organization that gives 
credibility to Margai,s candidacy, and this undoubtedly 
accounts for some of the SLPP,s abusive behavior.  While we 
expect the SLPP to use its incumbency to try to manipulate 
the election and will use paramount chiefs to do its dirty 
work, there is nevertheless a real possibility that with the 
rise of the PMDC and with the reapportionment of many 
parliamentary districts to APC strongholds, the SLPP might 
not get a majority in the balloting.  That threat could lead 
to violent confrontations that conceivably could destabilize 
the country. 
 
¶17. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED:  APPA is emerging as an outlet for 
opposition grievances and has opened channels of 
communication with the international community.  The NEC and 
PPRC need to become receptive APPA complaints.  The SLPP has 
denied them as fabrications, the evidence we found indicates 
otherwise.  To be credible, reports must be investigated, but 
no single organization has the capacity.  We have been told 
the UK intends to formally request from the UNSC a modest 
increase in UNIOSIL,s police and defense liaison staff next 
month.  We support that request as the best possibility for 
monitoring destailizing political abuses in Sierra Leone,s 
provinces. 
 
¶18. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED:  In the end, it will come down to 
the NEC, PPRC, and civil society to check the abuses of the 
SLPP incumbents, educate voters on their rights, and ensure 
that the elections are not manipulated to favor the ruling 
party.  If the political process is to retain the confidence 
of the opposition parties, NEC and the PPRC must become more 
effective, which will require more capacity building 
assistance from international donors.  Sierra Leone,s 
network of civil society organizations and the media must 
step up their vigilance, and the international community, 
which can speak without fear or retribution, needs to raise 
its voice to ensure that the proverbial playing field will be 
as level as possible for the elections.  The impediments are 
high, but so too will be the cost of failure.  END COMMENT. 
 
HULL