WHAT HAPPENED AT THE UN YESTERDAY
By Kabs Kanu
There were two sessions held at the UN yesterday on Sierra Leone, according to the earlier announcement from the organization.
The first one was an open UN Security Council briefing and remarks from members of the cpuncil on the security situation in West Africa and the Sahel.
Then, according to the previous anouncement by the UN, there was to have been a closed door meeting to specifically discuss Sierra Leone and the tripartite talks. I do not know whether it was held and what was discussed.
In the first session, however , some very significant things happened that need analysis.
1. The UN Special Rep. and head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simao , Madam Lori Theroux – Benoni and many of the delegates informed the UN Security Council ( Though without going to details ) that there were post- elections tensions in Sierra Leone and they gave the picture that all was not well). The SRSG even said that the hope for peace in Sierra Leone was the tripartite dialogue. They all did not go to details probably because they had planned to do so during the Closed door meeting , if held.
2. The most significant occurrence, though, which I am sure nobody listening missed , was that though there were many elections held in West Africa during the period under review, the U.N Security Council members persistently praised only Liberia and the Ivory Coast for the free, fair and credible elections they held. They did not praise Sierra Leone and Nigeria at all .
Only 2 members praised Sierra Leone for the progress made in having more women elected. The Sierra Leone representative, His Excellency Ambassador Imran Kanu , also outlined that among the list of achievements the SLPP Government has made. This we too want to commend the government for accomplishing it.
It however became very embarrassing hearing every security council member praise Liberia and the Ivory Coast and say nothing about Sierra Leone and Nigeria. This should worry President Bio and the SLPP. It was very clear that the UN Security Council did not acknowledge that something called a credible election was held in Sierra Leone.
3. Another thing that should also worry President Bio and the SLPP was that though this was a briefing on Security in West Africa, nobody mentioned anything about the alleged abortive coup in Sierra Leone. Since many of the problems the Security Council highlighted in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea stemmed from military coups, it should have been a source of concern to the UN Security Council that a coup was attempted in Sierra Leone. At least, they should have acknowledged that and called for action against the perpetrators of the coup, knowing the effects the attempted coup would have had in Sierra Leone if it had succeeded ; even when it did not succeed , it was supposed to forbade bad vibes for regional security. The Security Council would have even called for action against the perpetrators . But conspicuously, nothing was mentioned about a coup attempt in Sierra Leone. For a briefing on Security in the UN Security Council, which is responsible for international peace and security, it is very strange and the SLPP must worry about this. This will be subject to many interpretations. Some people would say it could be because the UN is going by the general belief that it must have been a stage- managed coup. Because, why was it not mentioned ?
We will , for now, not be privy to what discussions took place in the closed door meeting later, if it was held and I will not speculate on that. Let us wait for more information.
However, we must note that for Sierra Leone to have been discussed at UN Security Council level, however briefly, it means that the situation in the country has been expedited by the UN. Normally, the situation should have been first discussed in the UN General Assembly who would have then referred it to the Security Council.
We keep our ears cocked for more information but as I rightly said in the TV interview yesterday, with the UN being neutral and non- partisan, there would be no attacks on President Bio or his government, as is diplomatic policy. I said anybody expecting that would be disappointed. I said that they would rather praise Bio for the good things his government had done, which was what happened. Nobody attacked his government. This is how the UN operates. The time for that will come after full and impartial investigations.
However, the silence of the Council on events being trumpeted by the government and used to arrest opponents and destabilize the country was telling. But this is what happens at times in diplomacy. Diplomats express their feelings not just through the things they say but also the things they refuse deliberately to say. It was a snub and it should make us all worry.
The important thing now is that with the adoption of the agenda by the UN Security Council to have all today’s matter discussed, a PROCESS has started. Now, the UN Security Council has formally received the report that all is not well in Sierra Leone and that is a significant development for those of us seeking increased international attention to the situation in Sierra Leone. We, Concerned Sierra Leoneans, should be happy.
