UN Security Council Delegation visits President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah at The Presidential Lodge
By Yusuf Alghali

Leader of the UN Security Council Delegation to West Africa, Ambassador Sir Jeremy Greenstock, has indicated that there were many good lessons the Security Council could borrow from Sierra Leone's recent post war history.

Clearly delighted by the remarkable general improvement achieved over the past year, Ambassador Greenstock told journalists at the President's Hill Station Lodge: "We knew of these improvements, but it's good to see them on the ground". He said he had very good discussions with President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah about Sierra Leone and the entire sub region, noting that there were "good lessons" about the Sierra Leone situation, which the UN Security Council could apply in peacekeeping operations in Liberia and elsewhere.

During an earlier discussion with the President, Ambassador Greenstock, also President of the Security Council, explained that his mission was here to see how much progress had been achieved and find out what the present constraints and challenges were. He spoke of his earlier visits to Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire, noting that much of what the mission had been doing in the sub-region lately had a lot of relevance to the Sierra Leone situation.

He promised that his final report to be presented to Council would contain recommendations as to how the Security Council could help address the interlinking Mano River Union security problems, as well as that of Cote D'Ivoire, stressing that his mission was eagerly looking forward to an early resolution of the problem facing Liberia.

The envoy congratulated President Kabbah and the people of Sierra Leone for the significant development srecorded since the war was declared over, including the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections and government's decisive action taken towards administering diamond mining activities. In this connection, Greenstock drew attention to a recent Security Council decision lifting the embargo on rough diamonds from Sierra Leone using the certification process and further indicated his support for possible steps to enhance activities in the mining sector.

Noting his expectations of a possible UNAMSIL troop draw down, President Kabbah appealed for a 'careful troop draw-down" in view of the persistent security problems facing Liberia and went on to express the need for the current UNAMSIL mandate to be expanded.

On the Special Court, the Head of State regretted that many had misunderstood the purpose of the court as an institution created to address impunity and thus further the peace process. As a lawyer himself, he said he was aware that he could not interfere with the working s of the court, which must maintain its independent identity. The UN envoy, who endorsed the President's support of UN Security Council mission.

Continuing, President Kabbah touched on government's decision to divorce partisan politics from local government elections. He said the policy was based on experience and aimed at preventing a situation, which could lead to a deviation from the central role of local councils, which are to serve as catalysts and agents of development. Introducing party politics in local councils, the President argued, would engender petty divisions and man over among people whose unity of purpose must remain the main driving force of development at local level.

Also, President Kabbah expressed thanks to Council for lifting the embargo on rough diamonds from Sierra Leone without certification, but noted that there were some grey areas requiring clarifications. He intimated the visiting Un mission that government had already extended an invitation to De Beers a globally renowned diamond -dealing firm, to invest in Sierra Leone. He said he hoped to hold talks with representatives of De Beers during his visit to London shortly.

Other issues discussed included the control of the illegal flow of weapons, which might be used to wreak havoc and instability on the sub region. The mission leader pledged his team's support for any regional initiative designed to hold the trafficking of small arms.

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