INITIATIVES OF CHANGE (IofC) (AN AGENDA FOR RECONCILIATION) www.hopesierraleone.org

CLEAN ELECTIONS CAMPAIGN (CEC) “SAVE MAMA SALONE”

REPORT ON THE PEACE CAMPAIGN (‘EMBEDDED OPERATION’) IN THE NORTH AND WESTERN AREA September 2007

Submitted by: M. Morrison Saidu, Coordinator, CEC Table of Contents

1. SUMMARY 3 1.1 INTRODUCTION 4 1.2 METHODOLOGY 5

2. TARGET GROUPS 5 2.1 EMBEDDED OPERATION PHASE ONE: BEFORE THE RUN-OFF 6 2.2 EMBEDDED OPERATION PHASE TWO: AFTER THE RUN-OFF 11 2.3 RADIO PHONE-IN DISCUSSIONS 13

3. ISSUES 15 3.1 ASSESSMENT 15 3.2 RECOMMENDATIONS 16

Acknowledgement

Hope- acknowledges with thanks financial support given by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Office, , towards this peace campaign.

2 1. SUMMARY The persistent attitudes of violence among citizens in Sierra Leone, and especially the increasing incidence of fights and destruction of property involving young people within the political parties, have given cause for grave concern.

In our society – one that is emerging from a devastating civil war lasting for over a decade – the end of the physical violence seems to have provided more opportunities for latent prejudices to fester, especially between and among political parties. Unfortunately, from time to time, they erupt into distressing experiences within whole communities, involving loss of life and destruction of private and public property.

Such demonstrations are facilitated by the volatile temperament of young people, many of whose conscious lives have been dominated by atrocities, as well as physical and psychological violence directed towards them.

During major political rallies and campaigns, the culture of violence permeates our society in the streets, the home, in business, in the social milieu, through the murderous traffic, and armed burglaries in the dead of night – all take a heavy toll on the effectiveness of the already overstretched police.

The presidential polling result after August 11, in which the total number of votes for the APC candidate was 815,523 (44.3%) and SLPP 704,012 (38.3 %), precipitated a host of violent incidents, especially in areas that were identified as strong holds by the runners-up.

Indeed, most of the attacks were attributed to militant party supporters organized by key players with the intent of influencing elections and thereby gaining political clout.

This ugly development further heightened concerns about the alleged links between political parties and organized crime, and about the government’s poor record on improving security.

Considering the extraordinary measures the citizens have had to take in order to stay safe, and the impact of violence on the country’s fledging democracy, Hope-Sierra Leone’s Clean Elections Campaign designed a one month, action-packed project tagged “Embedded Operation”. The project was divided into two phases: first, to address urgent concerns to facilitate citizen understanding of the September 8 run-off elections (to make violence less attractive to a wide array of youth groups); and, second, to ensure that the electoral results were accepted and respected.

In the build-up to the September 8 run-off elections, the Hope-Sierra Leone team repeatedly held meetings with the top executives of the Sierra Leone People’s Party and the All People's Congress to urge peaceful means in all their respective engagements.

The September 8 run-off election was characterized by hype and speculation. The most militant wings of the two parties had warned the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and the security forces that “if the election is rigged, we will consider it unacceptable and disrupt the entire process”. The CEC witnessed a host of violent incidents shortly after Candidates and Charles Margai (the third-placed candidates in the first round who threw his support behind the

3 APC) were forced to relinquish campaigning in the “If the election is country’s South East due to violence. rigged, we will consider Violent conflict continued in the East, in Segbwema, it unacceptable and the SLPP office was attacked by unknown assailants and set ablaze. These sad developments revealed ethnic disrupt the entire faults lines in a country with barely 5 million people, with the SLPP drawing its support from the Southern process” Mende people and the APC from in the Temne in the North and West.

The CEC team, in collaboration with a coalition of concerned partners comprising representatives from the SLPP and APC, the media and the Sierra Leone Police, engaged groups living in high risk communities in public and private discussions to urge calm ahead of the run-off.

Through private and public discussions, the operation, also tagged ‘Save Mama Salone’, was carried out on the streets, with political parties, and in ghettoes, lorry parks, market places, cinemas, cemeteries, slums, ferry terminals etc.

Each engagement was a moving plea, mainly to young people, not to go on the rampage for politicians or selfish citizens, but to contribute positively to the electoral process and experience the difference the new government will show in terms of better conditions “Whether you are from the East, North, South or Western Area, we belong to one country, we are one people – which means that we should reconcile” the CEC team declared. The team also called on them to “accept the outcome of the elections and remain peaceful, as insecurity will create bad fruits”. In one of the engagements, the Chairman of the Luma Boys, (Ascension Town Cemetery Youth, commonly known as ‘Skulls and Bones’) Benjamin Conteh, lamented “Living in the cemetery is very difficult. We want to enter mainstream society and flourish. We will not allow selfish individuals or politicians to engage us in violence”. A total of 3500 young people were engaged in the Western Area (Urban/Rural) and the North.

1.1 INTRODUCTION The embedded operation, also known as “Save Mama Salone”, was conceived immediately after the August 11 polling. Before then, H-SL had forged partnerships with all registered political parties and their respective candidates, which resulted in the integration of the CEC team within their normal political engagements. As a follow up activity, the CEC team visited the offices of the APC and SLPP. The initial focus had been to respond to the astronomical level of invalid votes totalling 144,898. However the team then had to concentrate on the wave of violence that had become the modus vivendi before, on, and after the August 11 elections, with a deep focus on the youth wings of these two parties.

On September 4, the CEC team held a meeting with representatives from APC and SLPP (two from each party) at the H-SL Headquarters, 56 Campbell Street, at 9:30 am. During that meeting the embedded operation concept was floated. Both political parties made a lot of inputs to the actual

4 design of the intervention strategy. The time line for the operation, style, and target locations were discussed and integrated. The APC and SLPP agreed to join forces with the CEC to educate their supporters and the public to refuse violence and accommodate one another – the blueprint for peaceful co-existence. The party representatives decided and agreed that they should be in their party colours.

1.2 METHODOLOGY Each engagement started with an overview of the mission by the campaign coordinator. Thereafter the target groups were requested to make inputs regarding the way they felt about the electoral process and to share their experience of what they do. The political party representatives played a reconciliatory role by making statements. The founder, H-SL, took them through a moment of reflection and visioning. Final announcements were then made for the next activity, such as a showing of the documentary film ‘The Imam and the Pastor’ and the setting up of a conflict prevention working committee. A journalist would conduct interviews and collect relevant data. Personal pieces of information were then collected in order to produce a data bank of the target group. The group made their final pledge refusing violence.

However, the methodology was sometimes altered in relation to the exact situation in each target location. 2. TARGET GROUPS In a bid to appeal to a larger share of the population, the team visited a host of vulnerable communities and groups in the Western Area (Urban/Rural), and the North. The operation started with follow up visits to APC and SLPP party HQ, parks, cemeteries, market places and local administration offices, as outlined hereunder:

WESTERN AREA URBAN PLACES VISITED

Songs of Slaves (Brookfields) Black Street Stadium Camp Diva (Susan’s Bay) Valley View (Fergusson Street) Dyncos Car Wash (National Stadium) Belgium Selves (Lightfoot Boston Street) Skulls and Bones (Ascension Town Cemetery) Bottom Mango (Wilberforce) Lumley Roundabout Kissy Ferry Terminal Hill Station APC and SLPP Party Headquarters Wellington Wharf

WESTERN RURAL

Waterloo Market Mile 91 Lorry Park

5 NORTHERN PROVINCE

MAKENI

APC Regional Office () SLPP Regional Office (Makeni) SLPP Regional Office (Port Loko) APC Regional Office (Port Loko) Rogbureh Ataya Base Association Menu Police Station, Makeni Central Police Station, Makeni Makeni Blackguard Makeni Lorry Park London Sport Ataya Base 5 Local/Community market centres

MILE 91

Mile 91 Police Station Original Fuel Stars Association, Mile 91 Ataya Base Association, Mile 91 Bike Renters Association, Mile 91 Mile 91 Youth Association

2.1 EMBEDDED OPERATION PHASE ONE: BEFORE THE RUN-OFF For most of this two-day operation the CEC team divided into two groups. One worked in the environs of Freetown (Western Area) and the other headed North to Makeni.

WESTERN AREA

The APC and SLPP Integrated Engagement

Photo: APC and SLPP at the SLPP Headquarters, Freetown

Considering the high turn-out in the August 11 polling, coupled with the proliferation of youth groups and associations, the embedded operation actually started in the Western Area. On September 6 at 10:00 am local time, two representatives from the APC, and two others from the SLPP respectively, met at the H-SL office headquarters. Earlier, the CEC team had repeatedly engaged the top party officials in an honest and productive dialogue. After a brief orientation, the four

6 representatives, the CEC team, two journalists and two police officers visited the SLPP party headquarters at Wallace Johnson Street. Amidst sporadic applause by supporters who had been expecting the team (especially the APC representatives), the delegation was welcomed at the SLPP office. They were ushered into the conference room where the top executive and other officials were waiting. The room was filled with 455 supporters. The APC representatives, Moseray Sufian Tarawally and Mabinty Dumbuya could not believe that they were at the SLPP office. The room was imbued with an aura of peace and lively expectancy. After introductory remarks by the CEC, the APC representatives were given the podium to deliver statements.

Statements:

Brima Koroma (Administrative Secretary, SLPP)

“Let me start by thanking Hope-Sierra Leone for this unusual but symbolic intervention. I am deeply elated at having to see our friends from the APC in SLPP office. On behalf of the SLPP, I want to welcome you and the rest of the CEC team and encourage you to feel at home.

To me, this event should be recorded and passed on to our children. The reconciliation you witness here today means that the APC and SLPP are one people .We cannot afford to divide the prosperity of our beloved country along party lines. We hope to witness a replication of this reconciliation drive in the APC office.

Let me conclude by extending apologies for whatever wrong the SLPP has committed (consciously or unconsciously).

Once more, I want to thank the CEC team and our friends and all the supporters that are gathered here for their understanding. I am sure that the spirit of peace and love for one another will guide the run-off election.

I thank you.”

Moseray Tarawally

“I bring you greetings from all APC supporters in the name peace and love. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to the CEC team for bringing us together on this symbolic day.

Let me also thank the executive and supporters of SLPP for welcoming us in their office. Now I realize fully that, despite the misunderstandings here and there, we are all one people. I must confess that I feel more secure today in the office of my stark rival. Let me join my friends from the SLPP to tell our detractors that we are here for peace and we will continue to maintain peace. I am absolutely impressed by this laudable gesture. I appreciate the efforts of Mr Christian Williams and Mr Abdul Ishmail from the SLPP for bringing me into their home. They are also my closest team members in this joint operation. Despite the party colours, we are all Sierra Leoneans, and I am grateful to the SLPP government for securing me a Grant-in-Aid that helped me a great deal to continue my Bachelor of Law degree. Many thanks to H-SL for organizing the ‘embedded operation’. I assure

7 you that we are ready to receive you in our office and we hope to continue like this. We are also very sorry for whatever wrong we have inflicted on the SLPP. I thank you all.”

Other speakers included Ms Mabinty Dumbuya (APC, Women’s Wing) and the Young Generation Leader (SLPP).

Visit to the APC Office

After the reconciliation exercise at the SLPP office, the APC representatives took their colleagues along to visit the APC office .However, the CEC team was faced with stiff resistance from the APC supporters. They would not allow the SLPP representatives to enter the office. The misunderstanding lasted for 38 minutes. The top executives of the APC were later informed. The SLPP representatives remained in the H-SL van and listened to the CEC jingle. The leader, Ernest Bai Koroma, and the publicity secretary, Alpha Khan, intervened and succeeded in bringing their supporters together. The situation was handled and sanity was restored. The engagement continued. The team later left the office and returned to the SLPP office to assure them that their representatives were safe.

Statement: Alpha Khan, National Publicity Secretary, APC

“On behalf of the APC, let me apologize to our friends from SLPP and CEC team for this unfortunate development. I want to say that we are saddened by this unwelcoming act by a few of our uninformed supporters. The APC totally condemn this act and ask our friends from the SLPP and the CEC team to forgive us. It happened due to poor communication. We are fully aware of the reconciliation exercise being conducted by Hope-Sierra Leone even before now, but a few people have not been updated. However, the leadership and supporters want to observe this moment as a very important moment in which we have been able to realize that APC and SLPP have a common agenda in terms of peace and the development of Sierra Leone. We will continue to observe this scenario and encourage our supporters to love peace and refuse violence.

On behalf of the leadership of the APC we wish to thank the SLPP and the CEC team for recognizing the right people to solve the alarming rate of political violence. I thank you all”.

The Kissy Terminal (Ferry Boys)

The team engaged 500 young people from different backgrounds and orientations. Hope-Sierra Leone had, in a previous engagement, assessed the immediate and long term needs of this group. Some could not afford a morsel a day. The group consists of marginalized youths with ages ranging from 17 -29. At Kissy, the team was sensitive to the impoverished and vulnerable condition of the youths. Their major task is to carry luggage for departing and arriving passengers onboard the ferry. The strongest and most militant of this group have been utilized by selfish politicians to ferment trouble at major political rallies. Some sleep on market tables and some in deserted ferries/boats along the wharf. The most interesting thing about these young people is that they are so interested in governance. They already have their own organisational systems. They were most attracted to the CEC jingle. “I like the soundtrack, One Love, by Bob Marley” one of them said.

8 The head of the group, often called “Innocent”, welcomed the CEC team and recognized John Bangura, founder of Hope-Sierra Leone, as an old friend who had always stopped by to discuss with them and had visited them several times in the past. He introduced his colleague and spoke about the kinds of job they do.

Photo: Experimental feeding at Kissy Ferry Terminal

The operation was climaxed by a feeding experiment. One by one, the head of the group gave each member a coupon bearing the name, date of birth and age (which had been developed into a code for easy identification and tracking) of each member. The hungry youth then queued up and were served food. They listened to the reconciliation message with keen interest:

“Don’t go on the rampage for anybody. The most important issue is to see how the government can be of help to young people in terms of employment. Whether you are from the, east, north, south or west, we want national reconciliation”, said John, in his appeal to the youths.

Skulls and Bones (Ascension Town Cemetery)

Also known as ‘Luma Boys’, this group of youths live in the Ascension Town Cemetery. They had lived there since 2002. Like other vulnerable youths, they have been manipulated by selfish citizens, leading to a number of violent incidents in and out of the Ascension Town community. They sell Cannabis Sativa (diamba) and cocaine, and sometimes clean the neighborhoods to eke out their living. They welcomed the CEC team after the introductory remarks and demonstrated interest in the Embedded Operation. One of them narrated how he had taken part in the major political rallies across the streets of Freetown. At regular intervals during the engagement they posed for photographs. They recognized the two police officers who tried to redirect a crowd in one of the political rallies. They had fruitful discussions with the police. The majority of them sleep on graves “because they are in constant touch with the dead”.

Statements:

Abu Bakarr Kamara

“We appeal to you as young people to accept the eventual outcome of the September 8 election result. Young people like you belonging to various political parties should refuse violence and reconcile with one another to save our beloved Mama Salone. Remember, the future of this beautiful country rests on your shoulders. . .”

9 Benjamin Conteh, Leader, Skulls and Bones

“We thank you for the peace message. We like the music. Also we have heard about you on the radio and have seen you on the TV. You are doing a very great job. We just want to assure you that we, the Luma Boys, are united and disciplined although the government and other citizens do not care about us. We will help you to ensure that the election is free from violence because we know the ones responsible for violence. Most of us have skills, but we are wasting. Why? We want jobs to keep us busy. Please, we want Hope-Sierra Leone to take this message to the government”.

Photo: John Bangura with the ‘Luma Boys’

NORTHERN PROVINCE

MAKENI

The team arrived in Makeni on September 6, two days ahead of the polling. Before then there had been incidents of violent conflicts between the APC and the SLPP. The APC and SLPP youths had been involved in several confrontations on the streets and in night clubs. The most startling incident that was recorded was when a group of APC supporters raided the premises of the SLPP Bombali District Chairman, Alhaji Amadu Wurie Jalloh, alleging that he had hidden ballot boxes ahead of the September 8 election. In the violent conflicts recorded in Makeni the youths were at the centre. A certain militant support group called the ‘Makeni Black Guards’ caused a lot of trouble in the build- up to the run-off election. Sources revealed that this group was sponsored by ardent APC supporters. After an independent assessment of the situation the CEC had a short meeting with the police. The police apportioned two police officers to the team. The team visited the SLPP and the APC office respectively. In a successful engagement with the chairmen of the two parties, two representatives each from the APC and SLPP were attached to the team to continue the operation. The team visited members of the popular Rogbaneh Ataya Base Association. In a 40-minute engagement Lamin Fofanah delivered a message on behalf of the APC, calling on supporters to ‘embrace one another’. Edwin K G Bangura delivered a statement on behalf of the SLPP. After the statement, the representatives agreed to visit the shops at Rogbaneh Road, preaching the message of peace and reconciliation. They engaged several dozens of market women at the central market, educating them on the dangers of hate and prejudice. The joint peace campaigners (APC and SLPP) posed for photographs. Other members of the CEC team continued the operation, visiting other youth groups including the largest group ‘Dollar Boys’. Later in the evening, the coordinator and two interns participated in a 90-minute radio phone-in talk at Radio Maria (a Christian radio station).

10 Waterloo Rural District

The team visited Waterloo (20 miles from Freetown) on September 6. At the Mile 91 lorry park, several dozen drivers and passengers were sensitized on the need to respect one another. At the central market a host of market women stopped by and listened to the peace message. They contributed immensely to the campaign, in particular by helping others to understand the voting process. A lot of voting materials were distributed. The team then returned to Freetown.

2.2 Embedded Operation Phase Two: After the Run off The CEC still retained its membership after the run-off, including the party representatives. During the counting, the situation was tense. Even though other supporters were apprehensive about the outcome of the result; the political party representatives were more committed. This time, there was a slight shift in focus: the campaign was geared towards consolidating the reconciliation among the political parties, encouraging them to accept and respect the official result of the NEC, and enhancing citizens’ confidence in the police. After the declaration of official and final results on September 17, the team was even more active in building relationships in areas where the election victory was celebrated violently.

MILE 91 ().

Mile 91 is no newcomer to violence. In February 2006 the police station was burnt down by pupils of the Yonni Bana Secondary School. The mob had attacked the police station demanding the unconditional release of the senior prefect who was detained for leading a group that attacked the school principal and his family. The town was torn apart between the police and the pupils and the government only just succeeded to pacify the situation.

Before and after the August 11 and September 8 elections, the APC and the SLPP had been involved in violent actions and counter-actions. The insurgence became terrible after the September 8 election declaration was made.

Photo: Quintin, Mariama and Moseray at Radio Gbafth, Mile 91

APC supporters overran the town while celebrating their much-awaited success. The celebration was flavoured by provocative political slogans in the neighbourhoods of their SLPP counterparts. This resulted in a confrontation between a notorious APC supporter, known as ‘Cosmos’, and the sons of a leader of the local authority – an alleged supporter of SLPP. According to sources, Cosmos had continuously shouted “Osei Owei” (the APC slogan) at the residence of the local authority leader. His sons reacted violently and attacked Cosmos. Other supporters, both APC and SLPP joined in the fight. The majority sustained wounds. The local authority leader and his family were forced to seek refuge at the newly refurbished police station.

11 They spent days there while the police tried to negotiate peace. This sad event caused unrest for all the inhabitants. It was publicized in our local tabloids and the international press.

Despite fears expressed here and there advising us not to go, the CEC team infiltrated the town using the by-pass through Makeni. We arrived at 9.15 on Saturday, September 22. We spoke to the police officer in charge, Ola Williams. He updated us about what had been happening on the ground. “You guys should go down and assess the situation yourselves, but I tell you, it has been tough all the way”, he concluded.

At 9:45 we visited the Member of Parliament representing Constituency 64, Dr. Mathew Teambo. He was very grateful to have H-SL visit his constituency at that precise moment, to preach the message of peace and reconciliation. He commended the team and had a lengthy discussion with the two political party representatives and a journalist from Concord Times. We discussed the causes of the violence which was deeply rooted in a long-standing family grudge. We also discussed the effect of this violence on the future of his constituency. We gave him a copy of the documentary film ‘The Imam and the Pastor’. The team was invited to take part in a later meeting between the Mile 91 community, including all party stakeholders and the police, and a delegation from the Office of the Vice President.

Showing of ‘The Imam and the Pastor’ at Mile 91

In the early afternoon the team engaged with three notorious youth groups at the town square. They were the ‘Original Fuel Stars’, the ‘Ataya Base Association’ and the ‘Bike Riders Association’. We met with 323 young people under a Bamboo shelter. The peace messages delivered by the two party representatives got the youths more involved and they willingly led the CEC in the remaining engagements.

MAGBURAKA

On Thursday, September 27, the team left with two interns for Magburaka, situated 25 km South- East of Makeni. Magburaka is the Administrative Centre for Tonkolili District in Northern Province. The President-elect and Leader of the APC, Ernest Bai Koroma, attended the Magburaka Boys’ High School.

On arrival at 11:30 am the team had a wonderful discussion on peace and reconciliation with members of the APC, SLPP and PMDC. Private discussions were also held with the SLPP and APC Chairmen. The meeting was witnessed by 500 supporters of the different political parties – including youth groups and representatives of the women’s wing.

Earlier, it had been reported that the town was marred by violent conflict. In one of the attacks, three vehicles belonging to the young generation leader, Kay Squire, were vandalized by alleged APC supporters. The home of one Chernor Wurie (related to the former Minister of Education, Science

12 and Technology) was allegedly attacked by angry APC supporters. In the meeting John Bangura encouraged the residents to accommodate one another. “We must put hate behind us”, he lamented.

Kay Squire called on the people of Magburaka to refuse violence, hatred and jealousy: “Having suffered the brunt of violence I want to suggest that we bury hate immediately after this meeting”, he cried. The H-SL team participates in the cleaning-up exercise Everyone walked out in procession and a symbolic burial of hate and prejudice was carried out. The people reflected on the past – especially on their loved ones who were brutally murdered during the civil war.

On the following day, one of H-SL’s ultra-modern Chinese tractors was brought to Magburaka to help clean the garbage around the town. After the exercise the CEC team and the Magburaka residents agreed on the following:

- No to hate, war and intolerance. Yes to prosperity and community empowerment. - Hate and prejudice must be buried and never allowed to rise. - September 28 to be named ‘Day of peace and reconciliation in Magburaka and the entire Tonkolili District’ and to be commemorated each year. - September 29 to be a ‘Clean-up’ day for cleaning the town of garbage and repairing the streets of Magburaka, which should be a priority for all households.

For the residents the intervention of H-SL was a rescue mission. The team left for Makeni in the evening to host a panel discussion at Radio Maria.

2.3 RADIO PHONE IN DISCUSSIONS UN Radio FM 103 Date: August 14 Length: Two hours Title of Programme: The need to strengthen Civic Education efforts to help the electorate to refuse violence.

Date: August 16 Length: Two Hours Title of Programme: Political Tolerance among Political Party Supporters Type of Programme: Discussion Coverage of Broadcast: Country-wide H-SL Participants: Two Number in the Programme: Six Major Topics raised: Tolerance, employment Evaluation of response: Good

13 Radio Maria Date: September7 Length: 90 minutes Title of programme: Voter Education to reduce invalid votes Type of Programme: Discussion (Phone –in) Coverage of broadcast: FM101 (Makeni) FM 90.7 (Freetown) FM 91.9 (Bo) Major Topics Raised: Voter empowerment Security, time for Polling H-SL Participants: Three Morrison Saidu and Genneh Moriba at Radio Maria

SKYY Radio Date: September 8 Length: Two hours Title of Programme: Reducing invalid votes Type of Programme: Discussion H-SL Participants: One

Radio Gbafth Date: September 22 Length: 75 minutes Title of Programme: Sierra Leone H-SL Participants: Two Major Topic Raised: Governance, Youth Employment, Peace and Reconciliation

UN Radio FM 103 Date: September 24 Length: Two hours Type of Programme: Interviews Title of Programme: Looking ahead H-SL Participants: 1

Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS) Date: September Length: 40 mins Type of Programme: Interview Coverage: Country-wide Topic: People and events H-SL Rep: One (Coordinator, CEC)

Talking Drum Studio Date: September 7 Length: 35 mins

14 Type of programme: interview Topic: Elections business H-SL: One

General feedback from the Radio programmes was very good. In most of the discussion programmes the audience requested a repeat broadcast. Other topics that were discussed included:

. Enhancing cooperation and dialogue among political party supporters . Addressing substantive issues that brought about violence . Over coming grief, fear and mistrust . Creating cohesion and activating youth into action . The place and role of youth in the future. 3. ISSUES Some of the issues that were identified in our engagement with target groups in the various places visited include:

. Political intolerance among the parties. . Hatred and jealousy. . Ethnic/tribal divisions being manifested in politics. . Poor management of victory after elections. . Insecurity felt by political party supporters. . Lack of civic/voter education in political parties. . Deep-rooted malice between and among communities . Failure of political parties to denounce violence . Absence of the continuous engagements of persons in vulnerable communities . Hunger and poverty . Poor coordination between communities and their representatives. . Lack of a united voice on issues relating to the development of the communities. . Exorbitant fines and punishment inflicted on young people. . Misinformation. . Lack of confidence in the police force. . Lack of continuous engagement mechanisms by CSOs in vulnerable communities. . Absence of jobs especially for too many disengaged youths. . Lack of basic knowledge of justice, rule of law, respect for human rights and dignity among citizens.

3.1 ASSESSMENT The one-month integrated campaign revealed again that the scourge of violence is an age-old malaise that has been duly manifested by political parties and their supporters in Sierra Leone. However, the embedded peace campaigners led citizens to realize that the solution rests largely and squarely in the hands of Sierra Leoneans (the majority being the youth). The young people in most of the places visited acknowledged the fact that lack of basic knowledge of justice, rule of law, respect for human rights and dignity among citizens has resulted in politicians ignoring or abusing the rights of its citizens without fear of repercussions. The engagement exposed the hard realities of

15 the different political arrangements such as the lack of basic knowledge on the codes and ethics of party operations, unwillingness of politicians to accept the electoral outcomes etc.

Alongside the legitimate objectives of the project, the campaigners did a complementary job helping the security forces respond to, and address, issues regarding public security.

Despite the sensational and biased reporting by local journalists on the wave of violence, the embedded operation proved that peace building cannot be pursued on the cheap and that it requires a willingness to take risks. It can yield results – but only if peace building is made a priority.

The blitz of actions helped a great deal to improve the way people perceive information, the way they think about one another and their role as citizens in finding the best ‘Sierra Leonean way’ of resolving conflict when and wherever it occurs.

The good news is that the project created a growing consensus that citizens cannot stand idly by when the authorities fail to unite and protect their communities. Most heartening is that the young people (in the places visited) have together decided to offer a potent counterforce to the culture of violence and live in peace with one another.

3.2 RECOMMENDATIONS The Government

To forge agreements that address the root causes of conflict and create the conditions for durable peace through sustained engagements of local authorities and citizens.

To prioritize and support the operations of organizations which are working effectively for peace and development.

CSOs

To consolidate the gains made in fostering peace by engaging in concrete and sustained programmes and ensure tight coordination with young people.

Citizens

To avoid inflammatory, party political sentiments and, instead, focus on the progress of their respective communities and the country as a whole.

To respect all members of the local community, irrespective of their political affiliations; and to communicate with the elected representatives on how best to bring positive change to the community.

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