POSITION PAPER ON NEGOTIATION
As a nation, we in Sierra Leone have been living in a time of torturesome anxiety and daunting challenge--a time in which our people have been dragged through the dungeons of war, and in the course of the past six years, maintained on a diet of pain and deprivation, death and carnage, in sandwich with their own bitter blood. We have been beaten, robbed, raped, brutalised, morally and psychologically degraded, spiritually battered and misruled. Yes, our people have endured more than their own fair share of suffering and have done so with the stoicism and fortitude of the valiant; but, they have suffered enough; and enough is enough. The nation has been yearning for a change, the people had been praying for a redemption--praying for salvation from the yoke of war, hunger, poverty, absence of orientation and from autocratic rule imposed by a succession of selfish and dishonest men.
This salvation came on the 25th of May 1997, when we members of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) took over the reigns of Government of this land, to be joined three days later by forces of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), now the People's Army. Indeed, upon our invitation, the RUF marched proudly and jubilantly into town bringing with them the peace, goodwill and brotherhood which six years of hatred and strife, rivers of blood, incalculable loss of lives and properties, a failed Peace Accord and successive Governments could not bring. For this singular achievement alone, we the AFRC and the People's Army have every justifiable reason to be truly proud. For on that day when the AFRC and the People's Army joined forces for peace, mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace kissed each other. Sierra Leone was liberated from the scourge of war and Sierra Leone was liberated from the painful clutches of greedy and wicked men.
However, our deed of patriotism and love for the country has not been greeted with the acclaim it deserves from the various levels of the International Community.
Based almost exclusively on the notion that coups are no longer in fashion, the International Community has come down on us with premature condemnation even before taking the trouble to study the details and peculiarities of the case in question, even before stopping to ask what happened. Does the world really operate accordingly (sic.) to the principles of generalised formularies? Is a nation expected to function exclusively according to the vogues and vagaries of the times? Should Pol Pot have been allowed to continue practising genocide on his own people just because coups are not in fashion, or should Idi Amin have been allowed to continue his bloody and dictatorial rule in Uganda just to please an International Community? What about the case of Mobutu and Lawrence (sic.) Kabila? Are we being asked that we should sit down and wait until our situation deteriorates to the calamity of Liberia before we intervene? If the only answer to the last question is no than the International Community must accept that they have been guilty of unwholesome and unhealthy haste in the condemnation of our actions.
In that respect, we wish to express sincere gratitude and appreciation first to our sister Republic of Ghana and President Jerry John Rawlings, whose prompt and mature action in sending an emissary to study the situation on the ground invariably saved this our beautiful and beloved country from the vicious onslaught of trigger-happy Nigerian troops. In like terms, we recognize and record with thanks similar efforts by our sister Republic of Guinea and President Lansasa Conte, whose belief in dignity, decency and integrity is helping us ride with honour this most difficult of our storms. We reserve our deepest respect and profoundest appreciation to our sister Republic of La Cote d'Ivorie and President Henri Konan Bedie without whose support the peace we yearn for has no future.
As an integral part of the West African Community and as a Founder Member of ECOWAS, we subscribe fully to the aims and objectives of the Organisation. We stand ready at any time to uphold and to support the principles and tenets of this our Sub-regional Organisation. We also like to emphasise our commitment to peace and stability as well within the Sub-region as in the wider world at large. This, however, does not impute that we endorse the violation of the territorial integrity of any nation, independent of how small, in order to further the political/economic or other ends of a second party under the guise of Sub-regional [phrase indistinct].
We wish to reaffirm that our action of 25th May 1997 was not actuated by the lust for power, nor were we motivated by malice towards anyone, any group or any region, nor because we want to bring untold suffering on our people.
I implore you to take time to judge our intervention objectively and fairly, outside of a rehearsed and cast-iron framework and inside of a careful, honest and unbiased analysis. An understanding of political developments in Sierra Leone since independence in 1961 and especially over the past two to three years is imperative. Then and only then will it become clearly obvious that the justice and nobility of our cause has not been violated. To this end, it becomes our responsibility to unravel and place on record for posterity the underlying basis and the right context of the May 25 liberation of our beloved country from the brink of a calamity that is too horrendous even to contemplate.
Let me assure you that contrary to the deceitful and misguided notions that have been banded (sic.) around, we the architects of May 25, are Officers and men from the uniformed forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone and from the People's Army, sharing a combination of experience, talent and patriotism that cannot be questioned.
As you can see from our delegation, we have Officers who have been highly trained and men of distinction and high repute in civil society who are every conscious of their role and responsibility to the nation.
ORIGIN OF THE CRISIS IN SIERRA LEONE
The present crisis in Sierra Leone should be perceived within its right context as one symptom of a complex underlying socio-economic malaise whose causes and dimensions go beyond the immediate. these can be traced back to the period after independence. During this period, we have lapsed into a mind set that glossed over issues and settled for convenient short-term panaceas instead of finding long-term enduring solutions. As it has been rightly said, the definition of a problem is part of the solution to that problem. Our present crisis therefore affords us a unique opportunity to reflect more soberly on all aspects of our society and to find as near a definitive solution as is humanly possible. It is no longer the time for quick fixes or short-cuts.
Since independence, elections have been won or lost as a result more of the eagerness of the electorate to punish the incumbent than as preference for the opposition. For instance, the 1967 elections could be said to have been lost by the incumbent instead of being won by the Opposition. The same could be said about all subsequent elections. The institutionalization of humiliation in this country has had the effect of scaring off many a decent, patriotic and selfless Sierra Leonean, with the further obverse (sic.) and undesirable consequence of attracting those who are included to live off instead of for public life. Furthermore, in the sphere of policy-making, policies have either been adopted, if at all, without sufficient allowance for relevance, realism, the priority needs and interests of the target population, or simply sculpted to meet some external conditionality or to accord with the latest fashion. A gullible public that is at the same time illiterate and poor has been living on a diet or rhetoric which politicians have basically used to win popular support only to dispose of as soon as its purpose is served. In addition, the patronage system has had the effect of seriously damaging our larger national interest.
REASONS FOR THE TAKE-OVER
Against the background of the environment in which power was transferred from the NPRC military junta to the SLPP civilian government in 1996, it would have paid enormous benefits if greater sensitivity, caution and maturity had been shown by the SLPP Government in dealing with the Armed Forces of the Republic, in handling matters relating to the Constitution of the land and in addressing an economically, morally and politically starved population. The overall attitude of the Government was that of almost reckless unconcern and callous indifference towards their own governed. The list of grievances of the populace was getting longer every day. We shall here outline but a few:
1) A FLAWED DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
In their quest and eagerness for constitutional rule, the people of Sierra Leone hand clamoured for and succeeded in getting elections in February/March 1996, believing that all their woes would be solved thereafter. Unfortunately, these high expectations were to be dashed when the elections were massively rigged and shamelessly manipulated. The fact that the elections were held, even though there was general insecurity in most parts of the country, was tantamount to disenfranchising more than 30% of the eligible electorate. The people of Sierra Leone were in effect presented with terribly flawed elections. A careful study of the final report of the Interim National Electoral Commission (INEC) Report will reveal how dishonourable apparently decent-looking men can be.
The people of Sierra Leone accepted the elections results, not because they were unaware of the flaws in the electoral process, but because they were utterly disgusted with the rule of the youthful NPRC Government and were ready and willing to accept any alternative to it.
This aside, in a Proportional Representation System (PR), Members of Parliament (Mps) are elected on account of their respective parties' votes at the polls. Although this goes into collision with Sections 31 to 39 inclusive of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, the people embraced it exclusively in order to get rid of the NRPC. These Sections of the Constitution call for constituency representation and ensure direct responsibility of the elected to their electorate. The PR System in this respect transfers the loyalty of Parliamentarians from their individual Constitutiences to their respective Parties. In short, the people were robbed of a direct voice thorugh their Mps in their affairs and were landed with a heavily manipulated Parliament.
It is not being revealed that ll of these moves were subterfuges preparatory to the declaration of a one-party state, aimed at perpetuating the SLPP in power under the guise of a Government of National Unity. This course of action would inevitabley have been approved overwhelmingly by sycophantic and opportunistic MP's who by sitting and voting with the ruling party would have deserted their original parties to jump on the band-wagon of the ruling party. Can this be described as democracy? How can one justify all of the clamourings for the restoration of a system that was the exact antithesis of what it was supposed to be? Can it be understood that it is because it serves interests outside of this country?
2) POST-ELECTIONS SLPP GOVERNANCE
In the post-election governance, there was systematic and consistent violation of the Constitution which on his assumption of office, former President Kabbah had sworn to uphold. These areas of violation of the Constitution shall be addressed later. The tenuousness of the Presidency was of such magnitude that it found expression in the frequent confrontations between the President and the Legislature. On a number of occasions, the former President's dictatorial tendencies had the better of him when he tried to ride roughshod over Parliament's right to conduct its affairs free from executive interference. Even after the Abidjan Peace Accord had been signed, the former President denied Parliament its right to ratify this important instrument as required under the Constitution. Neither the President, nor his Ministers conceded to their obligation and responsibility to be accountable to the people of Sierra Leone. They saw themselves as being mightier than the State, whose trustees they are supposed to be, hence the corresponding requirement for probity and transparency in state governance. Contracts were awarded without any public tender and these invariably went to friends or relations, party supporters or government officials. The Kabbah Government indulged in massive retrenchments of public servants mostly out of party political consideration and without payment of benefits. Promises for the payment of salary increases were loudly made but were never fulfilled. The sum total of these disabilities was the loss of confidence in the Kabbah Government's management of the economy and national affairs. Almost as an act of desperation, the former Government tried by various subterfuges to muzzle the Press, which it had promised in a Presidential Address to strengthen and expand.
3) THE PEOPLE
The general populace, as reflected from the metropolis of Freetown - the pulse setter of the nation, was no longer the enthusiastic jubilant and hopeful band that welcomed democracy and the SLPP Government just over a year before. A cloud of frustration and hopelessness had replaced the euphoria that a return to democracy brought. It is true that part of this may have been triggered by over-expectation, but htis excuse could not have been all taking into consideration the serious short-comings in the leadership. People across the board were now disappointed to the extent that some were openly expressing preference for the previous civilian government even with all its faults. Front Page Newspaper Headlines often summarized the unsavory state of affairs in bold prints.
4). THE ECONOMY
The cost of the rebel war and the burden of reconstruction weighed heavily on the economy. the burder was not easy to carry. Most families in the urban centres became swollen by the flood of people fleeing the war in the countryside; people lived on bulgur and garri. World Bank and IMF conditionalities constituted the next most important contributing factors in the economic strangulation of the ordinary man. Massive retrenchments in the Government Service reduced many people overnight to the state of beggars Large scale imports of cheap sub-quality products or products that were either approaching their expiry dates put many budding enterprises out of operation thus [indistinct] number [indistinct] and reducing the already diminished percentage of breadwinners. The unfortunate aspect of the impositions of these International [indistinct] Agencies is tht there has been a visible increase i the opulence of the tiny proportion of the haves in the community while the overwhelming majority of have-nots were being drawn clear to destitution. To make things even worse, the administration did not appear to be showing sensitivity to the lamentations of the stricken masses; politicians paraded in affluence as if to spite the populace that could not afford the basic necessities of life.
5) BREACHES OF THE CONSTITUTION
The 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone, the bedrock of our democracy, which the various Arms of Government are sworn to uphold was systematically and consistently violated by the SLPP Government upon their assumption of office. Any violation of the Constitution by a President under Section 51 is regarded as misconduct punishable by impeachment. Thereis ample evidence, as highlighted by repeated Press calls, to show that the erstwhile Government violated the Constitution in a number of instances:
a) Contrary to the proviso of Section 56(1) a number of Ministers and Deputy Ministers were appointed from among sitting Members of Parliament. Added to this contrary to Section 56(3) and its proviso, Ministers and Deputy Ministers received emoluments without prior approval of Parliament. The same applies for the President and Members of Parliament, 48(1) and 74(4) respectively. In addition, Ministers and Deputy Ministers are barred from profit-making enterprises, a provision that was openly flouted. The appointment of the erstwhile Chairman of INEC as Permanent Representative to the United Nations with Cabinet rank was in contravention of Sections 56(2)(a), (3) and 76(1)(b).
b) Loans, gifts, donations, grants and pledges were not reported to Parliament in breach of Section 118(7).
c) As required by Section 40(4)(d)(i) and (ii), 73(3) and 105 of the Constitution, the Abidjan Peace Accord was not laid before Parliament as was mentioned earlier.
d) The creation of the tribal militia, Kamajor, breached Section(s) 166 and/or 155(2) of the Constitution.
A number of other cases of such violation of the Constitution can be cited (See Annex...)
6) THE MILITARY
The regular army, whose constitutional role is to defend the territorial integrity of the country, was deliberately and calculatedly marginalised and disadvantaged. This included, amongst other things, drastic reduction in their rations, lack of adequate housing, arbitrary discharge of soldiers and retirement of Officers from the Army without availing them of earned entitlements, and without making arrangements for their reintegration into civil society. Most humiliating of all was the removal of the Army from security areas and their replacement with Kamajors.
The President added more insult to injury by replacing national soldiers who were manning security posts at his residence and at State House with foreign soldiers (mostly Nigerians). Facilities enjoyed by these foreign soldiers were disproportionately superior to those provided for the regular Army. The disparity of life styles between the two was embarrassingly glaring.
The former Government was openly threatening to drastically downsize the national Army at a time when it showed little or no interest in the welfare of families of fallen soldiers and in the many wounded and disabled that were abandoned around the country. In the face of all this, former President Kabbah, by his own admission, was provided with intelligence by the military that a coup was in the making three days before it actually happened. Invariably, he distrusted his Army so much that he took no action.
7). THE REVOLUTIONARY UNITED FRONT (RUF)
The RUF has asserted that, in deciding to take up arms, there were initially reacting to a state of affairs in which autocracy and militarism had reduced the population to the bondage of poverty and human degradation. They were fighting for a rejuvenated Sierra Leone, a Sierra Leone of freedom, justice and equal opportunity for all, and a Sierra Leone where the vast natural resources will be utilised in the interest of all, instead of being monopolised by a rapacious few. This fratricidal feud raged until November 30th, 1996, when the Abidjan Peace Accord was signed.
This Peace Accord held out great hopes and expectations which were to be disappointed when the Tejan Kabbah Government acted in bad faith. On the one hand, the Government tried to bring divisiveness in their camp by buying over the RUF's accredited delegation that had arrived in Freetown to consolidate the Abidjan Accord. On the other hand, Tejan Kabbah conspired to have the RUF leader, Corporal Foday Saybana Sankoh, detained in Nigeria where he is still held, even though the purpose of the RUF leader's trip to Nigeria was to solicit support for the full implementation of the Abidjan Accord, and to halt the hostilities that had arisen between the Kamajors and the Sierra Leone National Army.
Furthermore, the Kabbah Government, up to its ouster, did not take practical steps to implement the Abidjan Peace Accord, especially with particular reference to the demobilisation, disarmament and resettlement of ex-combatants. Recalling from an earlier paragraph that Parliament was not given the opportunity to discuss the Peace Accord, the whole process became effectively a non-starter.
It should be noted that the RUF made positive responses to peace overtures of previous Governments by declaring cease-fires and coming out of the bush. However, they soon discovered that each time they did so, their men were either killed or used for propaganda purposes. The situation changed radically when within three days of AFRC's take-over of Government, the RUF's positive response to the AFRC's invitation to stop fighting, effectively restored peace to Sierra Leone. Since then the RUF and the AFRC have been working close together to consolidate the peace and to map out a course for the future development of the country. In the light of this collaboration, the challenge to the International Community is to encourage the present momentum towards an enduring peace.
8) THE KAMAJORS
Against the requirements of the National Constitution, the tribal militia - the Kamajors, were initially established as a supporting unit to the Army in prosecuting the rebel war. Headed by then Deputy Defence Minister, Mr. Hinga Norman and with the encouragement and full support of Mr. Tejan Kabbah, this unit proceeded to make both the constitutional Army and the RUF their principal target of attack.
Despite the Peace Accord, the county, as a result started sliding back into full scale hostilities involving the Army, the militia and the RUF. The Tejan Kabbah Government, in its further deliberate attempt to sabotage the legitimacy of the military, gave preferential treatment to the Kamajors, and provided them with large quantities of arms and ammunition, which they used to slaughter our soldiers with impunity. Within a few months, the number of Kamajors had swollen to 37,000 men, thus vastly outnumbering the deprived and dispirited 14, 000 men and women in the National Army. This situation deteriorated to the point where the Kabbah Government was obliged to appoint a Commission to investigate these frequent confrontations. The situation was further compounded by ill-motivated politicians who took advantage of and endorsed the existence of private armed militia groups. The discovery of a vast cache of sophisticated weapons in the house of Hinga Norman, then Deputy Minister of Defence, and in other parts of the country, and also the discovery of special uniforms with insignias of rank for Kamajors are pointers to the alarming direction in which the nation was perilously heading. The paradox of this entire scenario is that it has now unfolded that the allegiance of the Kamajors had never been to ex-President Kabbah, but to the self-proclaimed tribal leader, Hinga Norman.
9) EX-PRESIDENT TEJAN KABBAH
There is sufficient evidence to show that the national leadership of Tejan Kabbah was weak, lacked direction, visionless, and without political experience. Such frailties in a National leader, a godly nation may find heart to forgive. However, there are certain moral attributes the absence of which go beyond forgiveness especially in national leadership. This should hold true for Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the sum total of whose character is embodied in the Report of the Beoku-Betts Commission of Inquiry on the Special Coffee Deal of the Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board 1967. I quote:
"Mr. Tejan Kabbah, one-time Permanent Secretary at the then Ministry of Trade and Industry, a highly placed Civil Servant, lacks integrity and from his showing in this Inquiry, we feel he could easily lapse into corrupt practices which in our view disqualifies him from holding any high office for which good character and integrity are prerequisites..." Dated this 4th Day of August 1967, signed Justice R.W. Beoku-Betts.
In the light of all that has been said, coupled with the above-mentioned indictment, let us ask ourselves: What will Tejan Kabbah be coming back to were he to be imposed on Sierra Leone at this crucial state? He will be coming back to:
i) a population whose moral support he no longer commands, especially after the careless manner in which he allowed power to slip through his fingers to be followed by his unfortunate pronouncement that he is willing to swim back to power in the blood of his own countrymen;
ii) a military that no longer has confidence in him as their Commander-in-Chief;
iii) the RUF/Peoples Army that is belligerent to and distrustful of Tejan Kabbah's leadership;
iv) a Kamajor militia whose loyalty he may not be assured of, and
v) a state of insecurity in which he would require an entire foreign Army to maintain himself in power against our Armed Forces, the RUF/Peoples Army and possibly even the Kamajors.
Ex-President Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah no longer has a place in the leadership of Sierra Leone.
10) CONCLUSION
The AFRC affirms its commitment to restore constitutional Government in Sierra Leone within the shortest possible time. Within this period, the AFRC will be concerned with:
a) the consolidation of the national peace by ensuring the timely and full implementation of the Abidjan Peace Agreement, including in particular, matters relating to resettlement, rehabilitation, reconstruction in a fair, equitable and non-discriminatory manner;
b) making arrangements for the organisation and conduct of genuinely free and fair local government elections within the shortest possible time;
c) making arrangements for the organisation and conduct of genuinely free and fair Presidential and Parliamentary elections, preferably on the basis of Constituencies, as laid down in the 1991 Constitution, or in accordance with recommendations of a National Conference.
Without prejudice to any of the aforementioned, the AFRC is further committed to continue to exert every effort in incorporating the Kamajors and any other belligerent group(s) into the peace process.
Finally, in the light of the above commitments and in order to create an enabling environment for the establishment of constitutional order within the shortest possible time, the AFRC strongly appeals to the International Community to support the immediate replacement of foreign forces in the territory of Sierra Leone with an International Peace-Keeping Force.
ANNEX
BREACHES OF THE CONSTITUTION OF SIERRA LEONE (Act No. 6 of 1991) BY EX-PRESIDENT AHMAD TEJAN KABBAH & GOVERNMENT
AND EVENTS THAT LED TO THE AFRC TAKE-OVER OF SUNDAY, MAY 25, 1997
MAY 1997
On Friday, March 29th, 1996, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah took the Presidential Oath of Office and promised to preserve, support, uphold, maintain and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
Section 51 of the 1991 Constitution of the Republic of Sierra Leone has sanctions for MISCONDUCT BY PRESIDENT. This Section embodies any violation of the Constitution for which the sanction is impeachment of the President by Parliament.
From 29th March, 1996 to the 25th of May 1997, Alhaji Tejan Kabbah as President of our Republic and defender of our Constitution, he violated the following Constitutional provisions in complicity with PARLIAMENT in their joint attempt to destroy DEMOCRACY and Sierra Leone. According to Section 51 of the Constitution, Parliament should have impeached the President. Parliament failed to do so.
(a) Section 11 (Eleven) of the 1991 Constitution says: the press, radio and television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this Constitution and highlight the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people.
(b)Section 25 (1): Except with his own consent, no person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of his freedom of expression, and for the purpose of this Section the said freedom includes the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference with his correspondence, freedom to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions, and academic freedom in institutions of learning. Since Kabbah and the SLPP assumed power, the PRESS did not enjoy the underlying principles of Sections 11 and 25 - the protection of freedom of expression and the press and both Sections of the Constitution are entrenched in the HUMAN RIGHTS CHARTER. The passage by Parliament of the PRESS BILL and the MASS MEDIA PRACTITIONERS BILL were a contravention of the Constitution.
(c) Section 40(4)(d)(i) and (ii) Section 40(4) says "Notwithstanding any provisions of this Constitution or any other law to the contrary, the President shall, without prejudice to any such law as may for the time being be adopted by Parliament, be responsible, in addition to the functions conferred upon him in the Constitution for:
Section 40(4)(d): the execution of treaties, agreements or conventions in the name of Sierra Leone.
Provided that any Treaty, Agreement or Convention executed by or under the authority of the President which relates to any matter within the legislative competence of Parliament or which in any way alters the law of Sierra Leone or imposes any charge on, or authorises any expenditure out of, the Consolidated Fund or any other fund of Sierra Leone, and any declaration of war made by the President shall be subject to ratification by Parliament:
(i) by an enactment of Parliament; or
(ii) by a resolution supported by the votes or not less than one-half of the Members of Parliament.
In accordance with Section 40(4)(d)(i) and (ii) of Act No. 6 of 1991 (The Constitution of Sierra Leone) Parliament should have treated the Abidjan Peace Agreement in accordance with Section 40(4)(d)(i) and (ii). Parliament failed to do so. Both the Executive and the Legislature violated the Constitution with regard to the Abidjan Peace Agreement - thus the Rebel War continued to rage on.
Section 73 (3): Parliament may make laws for the PEACE, security, order and good government of Sierra Leone. This section was not recognised with regard to the Abidjan Peace Agreement.
Section 105: Parliament shall be the supreme legislative authority for Sierra Leone. This section also, was not observed in handling the Abidjan Peace Agreement; hence the civil war raged on.
(d) Section 41: No person shall be qualified for election as Presidentunless he: (a) is a citizen of Sierra Leone. This continues to be a contention that Alhaji Tejan Kabbah is not a citizen of Sierra Leone.
(e) Section 48(1): The President shall receive such salary and allowances as may be prescribed by Parliament and such salary and allowances payable to the President are hereby charged on the Consolidated Fund. The former President did not request Parliament to approve of his Salary/Allowances. Public money he expended as Salary or imprest or per diem etc. contravened Section 48(1) of the Constitution.
(f) Section 56(1): There shall be, in addition to the Office of Vice President, such other offices of Ministers and Deputy Ministers as may be established by the President: PROVIDED THAT NO MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT SHALL BE APPOINTED A MINISTER OR DEPUTY MINISTER. With the complicity of PARLIAMENT and with utter disregard for the Constitution, Alhaji Tejan Kabbah appointed the majority of his ousted Cabinet from amongst sitting Members of Parliament.
(g) Section 56(3): A Minister or a Deputy Minister shall not, while he continues in office, hold any other office of profit or emolument whether by way of allowances or otherwise, whether private or public, and either directly or indirectly: Salaries, allowances and incidents of Office of Ministers and Deputy Ministers were paid without recourse to Parliament as required by Section 56(3) of the 1991 Constitution. The President and some of his Ministers/Deputy Ministers were engaged in financial enterprises against the spirit and letter of this Section. Examples abound. (h) Section 76(1) - No person shall be qualified for election as a Member of Parliament - (b) If he is a Member of any Commission established under this Constitution, or åååå (i) Section 76(3) - Any person who is the holder of any Office the functions of which involve responsibility for, or in connection with, the conduct of any election to Parliament or the compilation of any register of voters for the purposes of such an election shall not be qualified for election to Parliament. When Section 76(1)(b) and Section 76(3) are read jointly with Section 56(2) which says: a person shall not be appointed a Minister or Deputy Minister unless - (a) he is qualified to be elected as a Member of Parliament; and ååå(b)åå.. In the case of Dr James Jonah, the then Chairman of INEC - Electoral Commission for the 1996 February/March Parliamentary and Presidential elections, he (Dr Jonah) was accordingly disqualified for the post of Sierra Leone's Permanent Representative to the United Nations with Cabinet rank. Dr Jonah's appointment, when Sections 76(1)(b), 76 (3) and 56 (2)(a) - are read jointly - was, a breach of the 1991 Constitution of Sierra Leone (Act No.6 of 1991). (j) Section 77 (1) - Tenure of Seats of Members of Parliament A Member of Parliament shall vacate his seat in Parliament: (k) if he ceases to be a member of the political party of which he was a member at the time of his election to Parliament and he so informs the Speaker, or the Speaker is so informed by the Leader of that political party. Parliament 'misused' this section of the Constitution re the 14 'Rebel' UNPP Members of Parliament. Then, Parliament used Section 95 - Contempt of Parliament and suspended from Parliament, the Leader of the Opposition for a year. This action was not in the interest of peace, democracy and this nation. The Opposition in Parliament was silenced by these actions. (k) Section 118(7): Parliament shall be notified by the appropriate Minister or authority of all gifts, donations, grants and pledges made to the State of Sierra Leone. The Kabbah Government received many gifts from India, Iran, Kuwait, the European Union, etc. but failed to report to Parliament. This was in breach of the Constitution. (l) Section 149(4): Where a Commission of Inquiry makes an adverse finding against any person, which may result in a penalty, forfeiture or loss of status, the report of the Commission of Inquiry shall, for the purposes of this Constitution, be deemed to be a judgement of the High Court of Justice and accordingly an appeal shall lie as of right from the Commission to the Court of Appeal. The work of Justice Cross and the SLPP White Papers published thereafter were an infringement of Section 149(4) of the Constitution. The SLPP administered selective injustice to those affected and certainly denied a host of affected people, their rights under the 1991 Constitution. (m) Section 155(2): No person shall raise any police force except by or under the authority of an Act of Parliament. The Kamajors are sometimes referred to as an Auxiliary Police to be deployed at Chiefdom level. If the above is true, then the Kamajors, as a Police Force are an unconstitutional SLPP creation. The Kamajors syndrome ignited the May 1997 Coup. (n) Section 166: PROHIBITION OF PRIVATE ARMED FORCES. No person shall raise any armed force except by or under the authority of an Act of Parliament. The Kamajors are an unconstitutional Private Army of the SLPP. Parliament under Kabbah's Presidency did nothing to correct this unconstitutional creation of an Armed Force. The PRESS, TEACHERS, TRADES UNIONS, Sierra Leoneans, Nigeria and Nigerian soldiers, ECOWAS and ECOMOG, the International Community - all remained silent whilst Ex-President Kabbah and his Government breached the Constitution and the Abidjan Peace Agreement. Parliament equally failed to recognise and uphold the rights of Parliament according to the Constitution, and, at the same time, failed to uphold democracy, failed to impeach Ex-President Tejan Kabbah, failed to ensure that the Abidjan Peace Agreement was laid before Parliament and then failed to save Sierra Leone from imminent disaster. All Sierra Leoneans failed to stop Tejan Kabbah in the excesses he had gone so deep. The Military Intervention of May 25, 1997 was the only cure to halt Kabbah, get the Peace Agreement back on course, make Sierra Leone a country devoid of Kamajors, of tribalism, set in motion machinery for an all-participatory democratic elections and then, return the country to a democratically elected civilian Government. The events of May 25, 1997 may be bitter. But, when hard-won DEMOCRACY however fraudulent is hurriedly, yet calculatedly manipulated into AUTOCRACY, stability and PEACE are destroyed. AND NO PRICE IS TOO GREAT TO PAY FOR PEACE. Few years of AFRC administration will afford Sierra Leone the following, amongst others:- (1) PEACE and implementation of the Abidjan Peace Agreement. (2) Conduct population CENSUS and delimitation of CONSTITUENCIES (3) Establishment of credible Electoral Commission and Political Parties Registration Commission in accordance with Sections 32 and 35 respectively of the Constitution. (4) Revision of the Voters Register to enable the registration of the RUF, all former Refugees and Displaced. (5) Hold Sierra Leone as a nation devoid of any eminent Tribal War. (6) Conduct FREE and FAIR ALL-PARTICIPATORY ELECTIONS AND Hand-Over to the Democratically Elected Civilian Government. The AFRC administration is viewed as a stop-gap corrective measure. The International Community is requested to show sympathy for an already war-torn, traumatised, and poverty stricken country in the light of PEACE NOW and then lasting Democracy. Thank you, Your Excellency, for carefully going through this document. I wish you and the AFRC well.