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PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHFN #0300/01 1721253
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 201253Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1998
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 FREETOWN 000300 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/20/2018 
TAGS: KDEM KWMM PGOV SL
SUBJECT: ELECTORAL PRESSURE BEGINS IN SIERRA LEONE 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR PERRY REASONS 1.4 B/D 
 
(C) Summary:  Rumors and news reports of candidate harassment 
prior to Sierra Leone's July 5 local elections appear 
accurate.  USG, UN and NDI employees met with female 
candidates in the country's Northeastern region where they 
heard reports of intimidation from several female candidates. 
 Disturbing threats of house burning and personal attacks by 
the country's Vice President or his henchman in the ruling 
All Peoples Congress, (APC) gives pause to the government's 
stated objection of equity and democracy. There were also 
reports that former Vice President Berewa's car was attacked 
by youth.  Strategic action by the international community is 
under way by the U.S. and UK Chiefs of Mission as well as by 
the UN's Special Representative. The independent Political 
Party's Registration Commission (PPRC) held a June 19 press 
conference condemning the incidents and called for peaceful 
elections. Ambassador Perry met with Vice President Summana 
June 19 to protest the treatment of candidates and urged the 
GoSL to speak out.  What is so far lacking is government 
leadership from the top to quell the tensions. END OF SUMMARY 
 
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Candidate Intimidation in Kono 
------------------------------ 
 
2.(C) Following a spate of newspaper reports of candidate 
harassment, NDI's team leader gave post's USAID contractor a 
heads up late June 15 that a scheduled women's debate the 
next day could be accompanied by threats or retaliatory 
action directed at participants.  Embassy, NOI and UN 
representatives traveled to the Northern section of Kono June 
16 to show visible international support for the female 
candidates. They were told that current GoSL Vice President 
Samuel Sam Summana, who has ties to Kono, had been in the 
region over the weekend and had allegedly told his people to 
threaten independent female candidates with rape, house 
burning, and killing of family members.  Also threatened were 
paramount chiefs who were ordered to abandon their allegiance 
to the ousted Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) or lose their 
authority. The women also related that the sister of Sierra 
Leone's First Lady, who comes from Kono, issued threats as 
well. 
 
¶3. (C) The presence of foreign observers encouraged women to 
go through with the broadcast debate.  However, fear of 
retaliation kept the women from returning to their homes late 
in the day.  Most disturbing are the repeated reports of the 
Vice President's involvement in this district that faced 
violence during the 2007 National Elections.  The Vice 
President denied such involvement in June 19 discussions with 
Ambassador Perry, said he supported "the rule of lawa" and 
that he would have the Sierra Leonean Police follow up on the 
reported cases. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Planning a Strategy to Diffuse Tensions 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) To begin mapping out a strategy to urge GoSL President 
Koroma to take a leadership stand, Ambassador met June 17 
with the UK High Commissioner.  The proposed plan, discussed 
with the UN's Special Representative Michael v.der 
Schulenburg the same day is to have a public statement on UN 
radio and in the press emphasizing peaceful and free 
elections.  The core donor group (U.S., UK, EC and UN) will 
seek an urgent meeting with President Koroma when he is in 
town.  Consequently, the U.S. funded Political Parties 
Registration Commission (PPRC) is working in all electoral 
districts to counter act potential harassment of candidates 
and to encourage them to stay in the race.  The National 
Electoral Commission (NEC) Chair, Christiana Thorpe is aware 
of the situation and told DCM she will consider her actions 
after reports from the Political Party's Registration 
Commission (PPRC) which has the legal mandate to monitor the 
conduct of the political parties. 
 
---------------------- 
PPRC Condemns Violence 
---------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) On June 19 the PPRC held a press conference to 
express concern about the "confirmed reports" of the 
incidents in Kono, which had been reported to them by various 
sources, including written complaints from those intimidated. 
The PPRC Acting Chairman Roland Ceasar emphasized the need 
for a peaceful election and announced that the PPRC would be 
traveling on June 20 to Kono on a fact finding mission (note: 
the trip is being facilitated by UNIOSIL). 
 
¶6.  (U) Ceasar reaffirmed the importance of maintaining a 
 
FREETOWN 00000300  002 OF 002 
 
 
level playing field and he tasked the press to sensitize the 
public to the need for a peaceful electoral process. The PPRC 
press release called upon political party members "to cease 
and desist from such unacceptable conduct We have come a long 
way from venting our feelings through violence. The PPRC 
condemns a all actions that are likely to disrupt the 
peaceful conduct of the forthcoming local council elections." 
 While the message was generally well received, SLPP and APC 
party members present clashed verbally during the question 
period. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (C) The Kono area was the site of some violence during the 
2007 National Elections. It will be critical for the current 
government to speak out against intimidation and harassment. 
Institutions set up to diffuse tensions, such as the PPRC 
have a key role to play and it is encouraging to see that 
they are speaking out. We note that the Sierra Leone Police 
(SLP) Inspector General has announced that he will make a 
week-long tour of the country to deliver the message that 
violence will not be tolerated. This suggests that the Vice 
President did follow up on our conversation as he had 
promised. However, it would be helpful for the President to 
step forward and make a similar public statement, 
particularly to encourage his party followers to respect the 
independence of all candidates and voters. The APC ran on a 
platform that emphasized the Sierra Leone's need for 
democratic governance and a break with the previous regime. 
Adherence to those promises is essential to the GoSL's 
credibility.  End comment. 
PERRY