--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: kpmoseley@juno.com (Katharine P Moseley)
To: WORLD SYSTEMS NETWORK <wsn@csf.colorado.edu>
Subject: "Osman A. Sankoh" <SANKOH@OMEGA.STATISTIK.UNI-DORTMUND.DE>:
Ecomog scores again for democracy - WA editorial 16-22 Feb.
Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 01:30:09 EST
After seeing fascinating piece by RKM on renascent hegemon, China,
thought many would be equally bemused by regional power politics
indicated below -- KP
--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: "Osman A. Sankoh" <SANKOH@OMEGA.STATISTIK.UNI-DORTMUND.DE>
To: LEONENET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Ecomog scores again for democracy - WA editorial 16-22 Feb.
Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 16:46:57 +0200
ECOMOG SCORES AGAIN FOR DEMOCRACY
*Editorial* -- "West Africa", 16-22 February, 1998
==================================================
As WEST AFRICA was going to press, the attention of the
world was riveted to Irag. It was being hotly debated
whether or not the US and UK would launch a blitzkrieg to
force Saddam Hussein to pay heed to the UN resolution on
arms inspection for weapons of mass destruction which he is
known to have been stockpiling. While this issue dominated
the international news headlines, Ecomog (by now a
household name) was quietly scoring its second major
success under its acknowledged role of peace enforcer and,
it must be added, restorer of democracy in the West African
sub-region.
On the weekend of February 14-15, Ecomog forces (under new
field commander Major-General Shelpidi) stormed into
Freetown and routed members of the military junta that
ousted, on May 25 last year, the democratically elected
President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah. It had all started with rebel
forces provoking Ecomog by launching military assaults on
the latter without any justification whatsoever. In self
defence, Ecomog returned fire for fire and, in doing so,
rightly decided to all proceedings to run into their
logical conclusion.
Before his ouster President Kabbah had detained Major
Koroma for plotting to overthrow his government. Dissidents
were later to spring the major from jail and install him as
leader of their junta. Kabbah fled to neighbouring Guinea
and, from there, shuttled several times to Nigeria whose
leader is the incumbent chair of Ecowas, the 'father' of
Ecomog; and which, as it happens, is the leading force of
the latter. At the beginning, Ecowas played fair - choosing
to negotiate with Koroma's junta in the hope that it would
sooner rather than later realise the futility of its
actions and relinquish power to Kabbah. The wider
international community imposed sanctions to chivvy them
along and was happy to leave the nitty gritty of
enforcement to Ecomog. It is now clear that this stance
lulled the putschists into a sense of complacency.
They gave the game away when they encouraged one of their
ministers to make several calls to WEST AFRICA, in what
they obviously perceived to be a smart public relations
exercise. This minister said in no uncertain terms that,
contrary to the agreement reached in Conakry that the junta
would step down in April this year, Koroma and his clique
would cling to power well beyond that deadline. What is
more, the rebels would not submit themselves to
demobilisation as agreed, and fresh elections were to be
arranged. After these declarations, Ecowas must have got
the message. Which is probably why Ecomog acted decisively
once the junta's forces provoked it into action.
As anyone following its progress will recall, Ecomog came
into being in 1990 following an appeal for help by then
leader of Liberia, Samuel Kanyon Doe, when dissent forces
led by incumbent President Charles Taylor invaded the
country. Then, as now, Nigeria provided the bulk of troops
and logistics. What started as a minor peace-monitoring
exercise soon escalated into a full-scale war, in the
process forcing Ecomog to assume the role of peace
enforcer. This task became even more difficult when other
factions surfaced to join Taylor's National Patriotic Front
of Liberia (NPFL). Along the way, some member countries of
Ecomog found the going too tough and withdrew. The UN
itself opted for a limited involvement, only sending
observers and providing some cash to fund Ecomog's
operations. As the stalemate continued, Taylor launced
OPERATION OCTOPUS in an all-out move to overwhelm Ecomog
which he hated enormously because he resented Nigeria's
dominance of it. It is to the credit of Nigerian
authorities that, despite some domestic misgivings, they
stood steadfast and prevailed. Taylor finally came round
and Ecomog organised and supervised the elections that
eventually saw him assuming the presidency of Liberia which
he craved.
After its significant success in Liberia, the soldiers of
neighbouring Sierra Leone should have sat up and taken
notice that in Ecomog West Africa had found a formidable
sub-regional 'policeman' that would brook no nonsense as
far as security, stability and democracy were concerned.
Instead, they chose to rock the boat. And they were
emboldened by the setbacks with Ecomog, ill prepared
intially, suffered. But they should have realised that time
was not on their side. All of the factions in Liberia could
not break Ecomog in that country. So there was no hope that
a small army that was riven by stragglers and undisciplined
rebels could conceivably defeat Ecomog in Sierra Leone.
Members of the junta, now in flight, must be ruing their
failure to realise this.
WITH MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, ECOMOG STANDS TODAY AS PROBABLY
THE WORLD'S BEST PEACEKEEPING MODEL. Credit must go to
Nigeria, the leading partner. For its part the
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, WHILE RIGHTLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE
US-IRAG IMBROGLIO, OUGHT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THIS SUCCESS. After
all, it had roundly condemned the overthrow of democracy in
Sierra Leone. Downplaying Ecomog's achievement only
reinforces Africa's position that it is being marginalised.
IT IS ALSO A REMIDER THAT SECTIONS OF THE WESTERN PRESS HAD
OPENLY AIRED THE VIEW THAT THE WEST WAS HAPPY TO ALLOW
NIGERIA TO DO THE DIRTY WORK FOR THE WORLD.
The lesson of Sierra Leone, WHICH IS BOUND TO ENDURE, is
that democracy must always prevail. The junta in Freetown
had its fun while the show lasted. But it is all over now.
Military establishments elsewhere in West Africa at least
must now be placed on notice that military coups are things
of the past. It is inconceivable that an officer or groups
of officers in this sub-region will in the foreseeable
future wake up one day and decide to overthrow a
democratically elected government, however unpopular that
government may be. The right to remove an elected
government rests with the voter, not the soldier. The
soldier's sworn duty is to defend the sovereignty of his
country and not undermine it. IF TEMPTATION SHOULD EVER GET
HIS WAY, HE SHOULD REMEMBER ECOMOG.
Still, as the peacekeeping force basks in its latest
achievement, perhaps the leaders of Ecowas should sit back
and consider Ecomog as a permanent feature. That will make
the force always available for deployment at short notice
if the need ever arises again. If this is done, however,
there ought to be a provision that all Ecowas member
countries should pull their weight. It is not fair on
Nigeria that it should carry a disproportionate share of
the burden all the time.
----------------------------------
Don't have time to read over, so blame me for all errors.
Mallam O.
==============================================
Osman A. Sankoh
(Environmental and Ecological Statistics)
Department of Statistics, University of Dortmund
P.O.Box 500 500
D-44221 Dortmund
Germany
Tel.: +49 231 755 4391, Fax : +49 231 755 5303
(HOME: Tel/Fax: +49 231 728 2695)
E-mail: sankoh@omega.statistik.uni-dortmund.de
=================================================
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