Sierra Leone clerics ask U.N. to help end 'root cause' of war
11/15/2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York
NEW YORK (UMNS) - Two religious leaders from Sierra Leone, including a United Methodist bishop, are calling upon the United Nations to help eradicate the "root cause" of their country's long civil war.
Bishop Joseph C. Humper, along with Muslim leader Usman Nurudin Sahid Jah, spoke about the situation in the West African country during a Nov. 14 briefing at the Church Center for the United Nations. The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries and the World Conference on Religion and Peace were sponsors of the event.
As leaders of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone, both clerics have been personally involved in efforts to work with the government and the rebel faction, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), to bring peace to the nation.
When the council, which is a chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, was formed in April 1997, its active role in peace negotiations was not anticipated, according to Jah. But the council's neutrality has allowed it to work with both sides.
"The root cause of the fighting in Sierra Leone is not tribal, regional or religious," Jah explained. "It is an economic war caused by Charles Taylor of Liberia against the people of Sierra Leone."
Taylor, who led the rebellion that spurred Liberia's civil war and now serves as its president, has been implicated as a participant in the illegal diamond trade of the RUF. Liberia, which has exported billions of dollars worth of diamonds in recent years, is considered a transit point for these "conflict diamonds."
In 1999, members of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone arranged a visit with Taylor with the assistance of Liberia's council of churches and the United Methodist leadership there. But Liberia's president denied any involvement in Sierra Leone, Jah said.
A new cease-fire agreement between the Sierra Leone government and the rebels was reached on Nov. 10, but the Associated Press quoted a RUF leader as saying it was no guarantee the war would end. The rebels continue to control much of the country's interior, with about 13,000 U.N. peacekeepers standing between them and Freetown, the capital, AP reported.
Initially, Humper said, the rebels gave some members of the international community the impression that they were "liberators" of a people besieged by a corrupt government. While corruption and mismanagement did occur, it is now obvious that the RUF is not a liberating force but "a group of bandits," he said.
Unlike other wars in Africa, the issue is not ethnic conflict. "It is simply and clearly a war for diamonds," Humper declared.
The bishop noted that the United Nations and the U.S. government were slow to provide any assistance to war-torn Sierra Leone. But both clerics praised other groups that have assisted their peace efforts, including the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
Last July, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose a worldwide ban on the purchase of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone - often falsely labeled as Liberian -- until a system is established to certify the stones are being sold by the government and not illegally by the RUF.
Humper called for continued efforts by the United Nations to resolve this economic war and for support from the international community to help rebuild a "post-conflict" Sierra Leone.
Contributions for UMCOR's work to support Sierra Leone can be made to Advance No. 181205-1, "Sierra Leone Emergency." Checks can be placed in church collection plates or mailed to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Credit-card donations can be made by calling (800) 554-8583.
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