Six months ago, while neighboring Liberia seemed well on its way to ending its catastrophic civil war, Sierra Leone stood out in the minds of many in this region as the most hopeless case in West Africa. Army officers who had seized power ruled over the capital, Freetown, enriching themselves in the clandestine diamond trade.
South African mercenaries bloodily prosecuted a seemingly unwinnable bush war against one of the continent's most vicious guerrilla movements. With the rebels burning villages and hacking peasants to death without any apparent provocation or explanation, talk of holding democratic elections this year was greeted with deep skepticism by foreign donors and, for a time, indifference by the country's war-weary people. But in one of the most remarkable changes of fortune this continent has seen since the dawn of independence from European colonialism nearly 40 years ago, Sierra Leone carried out its most peaceful and democratic national elections ever in March, replacing its young military dictators with a civilian Government.
In recent weeks, the new Government has concluded a cease-fire with the rebels, and the country now seems well on its way to peace. The turnabout can be atributed to many factors, foremost among them war fatigue among the rebels and a growing sense of isolation as neighboring countries have declined to give them a sympathetic hearing. And when Sierra Leone's military leaders repeatedly sought to back out of the elections, Western donors sent sharp warnings of consequences ranging from a cutoff of badly needed aid to diplomatic isolation.
Now Freetown, a city with a dilapidated charm, is suddenly abuzz with development consultants, aid donor delegations and relief experts. No one predicts that the road ahead will be easy, or that a country that has been as unstable as this one is immune from setbacks. But where foreign diplomats and aid officials only recently saw hopelessness for what is by some measures the world's poorest country, many now see a tremendous opportunity for a mineral-rich and sparsely populated land to have another crack at building a modern state. "Africa never runs out of surprises," said Berhanu Dinka, the United Nations special representative to Sierra Leone, who played a key role in holding the military to its election schedule and helped draw the rebels into peace talks. "The lesson here is that things can always change for the better, and it is never too late to save a situation."
The story of how Sierra Leone was able to hold its improbably successful elections and advance toward peace is a story of personal and collective heroism. It is a striking example of what can happen when a devastated country's international partners pull determinedly, if only briefly, in the same direction.
At the center of this story stands the unshakable will of one man, James Jonah, 62, a former senior United Nations official from Sierra Leone. He returned home at the military's invitation to head an electoral commission, and surprised the army by taking its promises of holding honest elections seriously. By all accounts, Mr. Jonah then proceeded to deftly outmaneuver the military leadership each time it tried to slip out of its commitments. More than once, Mr. Jonah's determination nearly cost him his life. When he refused a request to lower the minimum age required for presidential candidates so that the 30-year-old military ruler, Capt. Valentine Strasser, could run, Mr. Jonah's home and office were bombed.
When Captain Strasser was overthrown in January by his deputy, Brig. Julius Maada Bio, Mr. Jonah pressed ahead with his election plans as if nothing had changed. The military responded by stepping up its peace feelers toward the rebels, and urged that with peace within reach it would be irresponsible to rush into elections. Unmoved by those arguments, and initially backed by few, Mr. Jonah pressed ahead. "Those of us who have had the privilege of living in open societies as I have for 40 years have a special obligation to promote the idea of democracy to our brothers and sisters," Mr. Jonah said. "A lot of people told me I was crazy, or that I was importing European ideas that didn't apply here. But I was convinced that if the people got a chance to have a say in how their country was being run for once, they would seize it." Seize it they did. Turnout in the first round of voting, on Feb. 26, was 65 percent. In the final round, which produced a new President, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, turnout rose to 75 percent despite threats by the rebels to disrupt the vote and maneuvers by the army to panic voters.
Mr. Jonah plays down suggestions of his own heroism, preferring to talk of that of the citizens, led in many instances by women's groups, who withstood weeks of intimidation. When Mr. Jonah told Brigadier Bio that he would hold the vote as scheduled, regardless of the results of the peace talks, the military leader challenged Mr. Jonah to prove that the people really wanted elections. So two weeks before the vote, Mr. Jonah convened a meeting of civic groups, from religious organizations to student and labor unions, in which each was invited to express its view on the subject.
To discourage turnout, the army lined the route to the meeting place with the most impressive display of weapons ever seen in the capital. Those taking part had to walk the final mile to the conclave under the hostile gaze of soldiers. Still, hundreds showed up, and their verdict -- elections now -- was so overwhelming that the military walked out of the conference center. Once-skeptical diplomats began to throw their full weight behind the elections, warning the army at every turn of the consequences -- from international isolation and arms embargoes to trade sanctions -- should the military interfere with the vote.
On the day of the second round of voting, March 15, with citizens waiting to vote in long lines, diplomats say the military engineered a series of loud explosions in the capital to create the impression of a rebel attack. But instead of fleeing for shelter, people defiantly held their ground, chanting: "We must vote! We must vote! Jonah, Jonah, we must vote!"
Rather than fight, the country's military leadership, including Brigadier Bio, finally took its cue and has begun taking up foreign offers of assistance in arranging scholarships abroad. "This was an extraordinary moment for the forces of democracy in Sierra Leone and an extraordinary moment for the forces of democracy in Africa," said John L. Hirsch, the United States Ambassador.
Responsibility for fulfilling this opportunity now rests largely on the shoulders of the new President, Mr. Kabbah, 64, a lawyer and former United Nations Development Program official, who took office last month. "We have decided to embark on fully open government," Mr. Kabbah said in an interview at his home in Juba Hills, a mountainside suburb overlooking a broad azure bay. "Everything that this Government does will be fully explained to the people, and public accountability will become the rule, not the exception."
Mr. Kabbah's first order of business was to consolidate a tentative peace agreement with the rebels. He traveled almost immediately to the neighboring Ivory Coast to meet with the rebel leader, Foday Sankoh, hitting it off well enough to get Mr. Sankoh to agree to an "indefinite" truce. Mr. Kabbah said that when Mr. Sankoh, an enigmatic former army photographer and corporal who has spent the last five years in the bush, expressed wonder over the gleaming high-rises and smoothly paved roads of the Ivory Coast, he told him, "Yes, there are many nice things here, and with peace there is no reason we shouldn't have all this and more."
Source: New York Times
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