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afrol.com, 19 December - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan today recommended extending the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) through the end of March 2001 to respond to the requirements of the Abuja ceasefire agreement. Meanwhile, there is outright confusion whether the RUF-leadership is agreeing to the Abuja terms or not. In a just released report, the Secretary-General says the situation in the country remains "precarious" and notes the spillover effect of fighting along Guinea's borders with Sierra Leone and Liberia. The reported involvement of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) terrorists in the incursions into Guinea raises further serious questions about the sincerity of the group's commitment to disarmament and the peace process, he writes. Annan writes that the "rebel group clearly needs to demonstrate its good faith by immediately opening roads in RUF-controlled areas to all traffic, allowing United Nations access, returning to [the UN Mission] all weapons seized from peacekeepers and proceeding with the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of its combatants," urging the RUF "not to lose this unique opportunity to return to the peace process." According to Mr. Annan, if the RUF complies with the 10 November ceasefire, the UN operation will be able to deploy forward, in the discharge of its mandate, which may require an expansion of its current troop strength. The Secretary-General urges militarily capable countries to contribute troops to the UN Mission. In this context, he recalls his earlier recommendation to increase the operation's strength to 20,500. Whether the UN will be able to deploy forward into RUF-occupied areas, as outlined in the Abuja Agreement, now is the main point of confusion. The RUF's interim leader Issa Sesay is said to be against the Abuja Agreement in general, although there are no credible sources quoting him directly on that. There is, however, one credible source quoting Sesay on making the release of the imprisoned historical leader of the RUF, Foday Sankoh, a condition for letting UN forces deploy forward - being a press release published on the website of the RUFP - the political party linked to the terrorists. The press release, titled "Official Press Statement from General Issa Sesay", was published on 13 December, only two days after Sesay met with UNAMSIL Force Commander. Lt. Gen. Daniel Opande, assuring him that RUF would compile to the Abuja Agreement, this including letting UN forces enter RUF-occupied territory (roughly one half of Sierra Leone). The press release however quoted Sesay saying "Effective immediately I am ordering that the UNAMSIL 'observers' be barred from entering RUFP fields of operations until certain conditions have been met." The conditions focused on the release of Foday Sankoh and other RUFD "political prisoners". UNAMSIL commander Opande reacted in distrust, and on Thursday stated that Sesay had set no conditions on the movement of UN troops when they had met. "In fact, he said he would like to have the military observers move in as soon as possible," Opande told the BBC. Today, UN sources claim that Sesay has said that the "statement had not been authorized or issued by the RUF leadership." While widely used by the press as a source to the RUF's point of view, lately the authenticity of the RUFP website has been questioned. One journalist, claiming to "have known who was behind the RUFP press releases for a considerable time," indicates that in fact Foday Sankoh is behind the releases, as the site is registered in his wife's name. The editor of the RUFP site rejects the allegations, quoting the excuse of the party's administration that the site is lead by "loyal individuals who are not skilled in Press Releases". The disputed release remains on the site, and the editor, Jim Scott, maintains that the statement is genuine. While the UN seems confused, it also contributes to confusion. IRIN, a UN agency always careful to state that its news articles "may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations," questioned the authenticity of the RUFP website and attacked the press release by the RUF (from the same website) in one and the same article, arguing against the demands in the release saying "the RUF effectively forced its way out of the government after it attacked UN peacekeepers at the start of May". The UN News site does not doubt that the release is from the "RUF website" - but prefers to take Sesay's word (as quoted by Opande). Whether authentic or false, the release has cost the RUF some credibility, and made the UN turn to a more aggressive language. Even Kofi Annan's report is naming names when it comes to terrorist attacks on the Guinean side of the border. The UN demand on deploying forward certainly only is growing through this confusion.
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