By Judy Aita Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- Sierra Leone's foreign minister was at U.N. headquarters February 8 seeking support for U.S.- and British-proposed sanctions against Liberia until that government stops its illicit diamonds-for-arms trafficking with the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels fighting his government.
Foreign Minister Sama Banya said: "We think we must apply sanctions to Liberia because we do not believe a word that they are saying. Their assurances have meant nothing over the years and this time I think we should take action."
Liberia has said that it is unfairly accused of participating in diamond smuggling and gun running with the RUF and said that it has taken several steps, including grounding all Liberian aircraft, to halt the practice.
Banya said that Liberia has "only given these latest assurances because they see a determination on the part of the international community to take positive steps."
The foreign minister said that the mandatory sanctions in the U.S.-U.K. draft resolution being negotiated have been designed to have minimal consequences on ordinary Liberians.
"Liberian papers, Liberian movements, eight out of 10 political parties, 16 out of 20 affairs groups have called for sanctions because they say it is only the government functionaries who are going to be affected," Banya said.
Ordinary Liberians "have not benefited from all this diamond trade," he said. "You visit Liberia years after this [has been going on] and you find no social services in place. So what further suffering are they going to have?"
The British-U.S. draft resolution being negotiated in the Security Council would be under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, thus making it mandatory for all U.N. members. It includes a ban on trade in Liberian rough diamonds, a ban on flights by Liberian registered aircraft, a new arms embargo, a selective travel ban on senior Liberian officials, and a ban on the import of Liberian timber. The sanctions would be lifted as soon as the Security Council sees an end to Liberia's financial and military support for the RUF in Sierra Leone and to its support of armed rebel movements in other neighboring countries. The U.N. will also monitor the sanctions to gauge their effect on Liberian civilians.
Discussing the proposed sanctions in the Security Council in late January, U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham, acting U.S. permanent representative to the U.N., said: "We do not seek these restrictive measures out of animosity towards the Liberian people. Regrettably, we are forced to support new measures against the government of Liberia because of its illegal support for insurgents in Sierra Leone, its use of one of the world's most repugnant insurgencies as a proxy, its illegal exploitation of the natural wealth of Sierra Leone, and its promotion of instability in the region."
The sanctions effort was spurred by a December 2000 report by a special U.N. panel of experts that found Liberia, and especially President Charles Taylor, has been actively supporting the RUF at all levels by providing training, weapons, and logistical support. Diamonds have been a major source of revenue for the RUF, and the experts found that the bulk of RUF diamonds are being smuggled out of Sierra Leone through Liberia by RUF commanders and trusted Liberian couriers. Liberian registered aircraft are being used for illicit arms deliveries as well.
The experts recommended about 25 actions that can be taken by the Security Council, individual governments, and international organizations that would considerably tighten controls on diamonds and arms transfers in the region. They also suggested that a complete embargo be imposed on diamonds from Liberia until Liberia demonstrates convincingly that it is no longer involved in the trafficking of arms to, or diamonds from Sierra Leone.
At a press conference at U.N. headquarters, Sierra Leone's foreign minister urged the U.N. to act quickly both to impose the sanctions and to deploy the additional peacekeepers already mandated by the Security Council.
"The reputation of the United Nations is at stake unless we can move forward," Banya said. "People are beginning to doubt whether there is going to be any effective action or not."
The situation on the ground is a "kind of stalemate," he said.
"There is no actual shooting in the country, there is no fighting, but the rebels still occupy the diamond mining areas and we all know what they do with the proceeds from them," Banya said.
"The complexity of problems in Sierra Leone represents an extraordinary challenge which requires extraordinary actions," he said. "The current situation in the subregion is such that we cannot afford to be complacent."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)